[Angular 8] Keep original DOM structure with ng-container

ng-container is using for grouping elments together, a bit similar to div.

If you want to group some elements together, but don't want to break the DOM structure, you can use ng-container.

For example:

<p>
  I turned the corner
  <span *ngIf="hero">
    and saw {{hero.name}}. I waved
  </span>
  and continued on my way.
</p>

You also have a CSS style rule that happens to apply to a <span> within a <p>aragraph.

css:

p span { color: red; font-size: 70%; }

The p span style, intended for use elsewhere, was inadvertently applied here.

Another problem: some HTML elements require all immediate children to be of a specific type. For example, the <select> element requires <option> children. You can't wrap the options in a conditional <div> or a <span>.

<div>
  Pick your favorite hero
  (<label><input type="checkbox" checked (change)="showSad = !showSad">show sad</label>)
</div>
<select [(ngModel)]="hero">
  <span *ngFor="let h of heroes">
    <span *ngIf="showSad || h.emotion !== 'sad'">
      <option [ngValue]="h">{{h.name}} ({{h.emotion}})</option>
    </span>
  </span>
</select>

Using ng-contianer:

<p>
  I turned the corner
  <ng-container *ngIf="hero">
    and saw {{hero.name}}. I waved
  </ng-container>
  and continued on my way.
</p>

<div>
  Pick your favorite hero
  (<label><input type="checkbox" checked (change)="showSad = !showSad">show sad</label>)
</div>
<select [(ngModel)]="hero">
  <ng-container *ngFor="let h of heroes">
    <ng-container *ngIf="showSad || h.emotion !== 'sad'">
      <option [ngValue]="h">{{h.name}} ({{h.emotion}})</option>
    </ng-container>
  </ng-container>
</select>