Smooth Navigation Transitions in Angular

Creating visually appealing transitions between routes in Angular applications enhances the user experience. This challenge focuses on implementing a smooth fade-in/fade-out transition effect when navigating between different components, making the application feel more polished and responsive. This is a common requirement in modern web development and demonstrates understanding of Angular's router and animation capabilities.

Problem Description

You are tasked with creating a reusable Angular component that applies a fade-in/fade-out transition effect whenever a route changes. The component should listen for route changes and trigger an animation that smoothly fades out the exiting component and fades in the entering component. The transition should be subtle and not overly distracting.

Key Requirements:

Route Change Detection: The component must detect when the Angular router navigates to a new route.
Fade-In/Fade-Out Animation: Implement a fade-in/fade-out animation using Angular's animation system. The exiting component should fade out, and the entering component should fade in.
Reusability: The component should be reusable across different parts of the application without requiring significant modifications.
Performance: The animation should be performant and not cause noticeable lag or slowdowns, even on less powerful devices.
No Direct Route Manipulation: The component should not directly manipulate the router. It should react to route changes.

Expected Behavior:

When the user navigates to a new route, the current component should smoothly fade out over a short duration (e.g., 0.3 seconds).
Simultaneously, the new component should smoothly fade in over the same duration.
The transition should be visually appealing and not jarring.

Edge Cases to Consider:

Rapid Route Changes: Handle scenarios where the user quickly navigates between multiple routes. Avoid animation conflicts or unexpected behavior.
Components with Existing Animations: Ensure the transition component doesn't interfere with any existing animations on the components themselves.
Initial Load: The initial component load should not trigger the fade-in animation.

Examples

Example 1:

Input: User navigates from Component A to Component B.
Output: Component A fades out, and Component B fades in simultaneously.
Explanation: The transition component detects the route change and triggers the fade-in/fade-out animation.

Example 2:

Input: User rapidly navigates between Component A, Component B, and Component C.
Output: Each transition is smooth and doesn't overlap or cause visual glitches.
Explanation: The transition component manages the animation states to prevent conflicts during rapid navigation.

Example 3:

Input: Component A already has its own animation running.
Output: The transition component's animation doesn't interfere with Component A's existing animation.
Explanation: The transition component should be designed to be non-intrusive and respect existing component animations.

Constraints

Animation Duration: The fade-in/fade-out animation duration should be between 0.2 and 0.5 seconds.
Angular Version: The solution should be compatible with Angular 14 or later.
Component Structure: The solution should be implemented as a reusable Angular component.
Performance: The animation should not significantly impact the application's performance. Avoid complex calculations within the animation trigger.

Notes

Consider using Angular's trigger, state, and transition functions to define the animation.
The RouterOutlet is crucial for detecting route changes.
Think about how to handle the initial load of the application to avoid triggering the fade-in animation on the first component.
You can use CSS opacity to achieve the fade-in/fade-out effect.
Focus on creating a clean, reusable, and performant solution.