There are just so many libraries and frameworks for building frontend, backend, and even full-stack web applications. It’s so hard to keep track of innovations and what new updates there are in all of these tools. Well, not to worry, I have already spent countless hours and days watching release conferences, reading documentation, and working with experienced vue.js developers. So that you can find all the required information and resources in just one article. Today I will share everything about what is Vue js and why use Vue js. If you are a complete beginner in web development, I recommend you start with Introduction to Web Development.
Vue is a JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. It builds on top of standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and provides a declarative and component-based programming model that helps you efficiently develop user interfaces, be they simple or complex.
What is Vue js?
Vue.js is a Progressive JavaScript Framework for building client-side applications (User Interfaces). It is used mainly to create single-page applications like react. A JavaScript framework is just a group of JavaScript code libraries. From an MVC ( Model, View, Controller) architecture Vue.js focuses on View and that is where it got its name from. Since Vue is just a french translation of View. The original idea was to provide a super simple focused utility to sync DOM with some JavaScript object.
The creator of Vue (Evan You) wanted to work on a framework of his own, and that’s when he created Vue as a personal project. Only after the initial project became popular Vue.js core team started to expand the scope and added more pieces to the ecosystem which eventually made it a framework.
Why use Vue js?
Vue.js is a frontend JavaScript framework that gives users the ability to build powerful and engaging user interfaces in the browser. It is a mixture of Angular.js and React.js. Top companies such as Netflix, Xiaomi, Trivago, Grammarly, GitLab, UpWork, and much more use Vue as a frontend framework.
What makes Vue stand out is that you can use it as much or as little as you need it depending on the size and complexity of your project. You can use it like jQuery, a tool that makes it easier to add features and enhancements to parts of a project, or you can use it as a whole foundation for your web application.
How Does Vue js Works
Web pages can have lots of DOM nodes which is why we have frameworks like Vue that do the heavy lifting for us. However, searching and updating the DOM can still be slow which is why we have Virtual DOM. A virtual DOM is a way of representing the actual DOM with JavaScript Objects. Think of Virtual DOM as a blueprint of a building and Actual DOM as the building itself.
Vue has three core module
- Reactivity Module – This allows you to create JavaScript reactive objects that can be watched for changes.
- Compiler Module – Takes HTML templates and compiles them into render functions.
- Rendered Module – It contains code for three different phases of rendering a component to a web page i.e – Render Phase, Mount Phase, and Patch Phase.
Purpose of Vue Js
Initially, a lot of developers started with Angular.js version 1 and there was a sense that it was very simple. Once Angular.js updated to version 2 it was shockingly different due to which google renamed it to Angular instead of Angular.js. Around the same time, React was introduced. Which took the place of a lot of those developers who came in and saw react as the next big thing. But developers were still missing the ease of use that Angular version 1 had. Therefore, it created this hole that Angular version 1 had left wide open.
Moreover, Vue js filled the void for people who wanted a lower barrier to entry but also wanted the strength and the flexibility that you had with React. One of the strong suits of Vue.js is that it takes the best from different frameworks and different platforms.
Why is Vue js popular?
Vue is a trusted technology that offers you the right tools for the job no matter how big you are building. Under the hood, Vue has a refined reactivity system combined with declarative rendering. Which means Vue does a lot of heavy lifting for you. Because Vue is a progressive framework you can start with the core library and add on the things you need from its interconnected ecosystem. It’s designed with versatility in mind and prevents components from over-rendering. Vue offers you the freedom to get creative and stay productive.
What’s special about Vue Js 3?
On February 7th, 2022, Vue 3 became the default version which means when you type ‘ npm install vue ‘ it will install Vue 3 by default. The new version has improved almost every aspect of the framework. it offers a New Build Toolchain which is based on Vite. Vite leverages native ES (ECMAScript) modules and ES build to give users a blazing-fast development experience. The new version has hot module replacement that doesn’t slow down as the project grows. Moreover, it has minimal configuration compared to webpack.
As vue 3 grows more integrated with TypeScript good TypeScript support in the IDE was essential. Hence, volar is the new vscode recommended extension by the Vue.js core team. Volar provides first-class TypeScript support in SFCs (Single File Component). More importantly, it provides a tsx like template IntelliSense and has support for the latest and greatest script setup syntax.
What is Nuxt Js?
Nuxt.js is an intuitive web framework build on top of Vue.js. The goal of Nuxt.js is to make web development intuitive and performant with a great developer experience in mind. With Nuxt.js you can create static sites, single-page applications, and progressive web apps.
Nuxt.js is all about making the development of Vue.js applications easier. One of the core features of Nuxt is that it allows server-side rendering which means that you can build a Vue application where you can pre-render the page before serving it to the user. It has great effects on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In a nutshell, what Next.js is to React. Nuxt is the same for Vue.
Why use Vue js: Final Thoughts
Vue is the youngest kid in town and unlike React and Angular, Vue isn’t developed by a big corporation. It was developed by an ex-google employee Evan You in 2014 and now is maintained by a group of passionate developers.
Since Vue is build on top of standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is required to get started with vue. However, when compared with its competitor (React and Angular) vue is the easiest to learn, but it could be challenging to find jobs. If you are looking for a job in web development, I would recommend going with React. But if you are someone who is looking to get started with a framework for web development Vue.js is the way to go. Moreover, Vue.js will help you in understanding React as well.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Difference between v-bind and v-model
V-model is for two-way binding which means if you change the input value, the bound data will be changed and vice versa. Whereas, v-bind is called one-way binding which means you can change the input value by changing bound data but you can’t change bound data by changing the input value.
Why is Vue.js so popular in china?
The creator of Vue.js is Chinese and when Chinese people see that they feel like a real part of the community because they are personally connected with the creator of the product.
What is DOM or Document Object Model
DOM is our browser interface and it represents the page so that programs can change the document structure, style, and content. The DOM represents the document as nodes and objects; that way, programming languages can interact with the page
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