Understanding the Styles of APIs in Vue.js

Vue is a JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. It builds on top of standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and provides a declarative, component-based programming model that helps you efficiently develop user interfaces of any complexity.
Vue components can be authored in two API styles: Options API and Composition API(Introduced above version 2.6), Both approaches have their unique benefits and drawbacks, and choosing the right one for your project can be a difficult decision.

Let’s dive deep into both styles of understanding

Options API:
The Options API is the traditional way of building Vue components. It defines a component's behavior and state using a set of options like data, methods, and computed properties.
data(): This function returns an object containing the component's reactive data properties. These properties will update the component's rendered output when their values change.
methods(): This function returns an object containing methods (functions) that can be used inside the component's template or other methods. These methods can manipulate the data or perform actions.
computed properties: These functions return a value based on the component's data. They are recalculated whenever any of their dependencies (reactive data properties) change.
One of the main benefits of the Options API is that it is simple and easy to understand. It follows a clear, declarative pattern that is familiar to many developers, and it is well-documented in the Vue documentation. This makes it a good choice for beginners who are just starting with Vue.

However, the Options API has some limitations that can make it difficult to use for more complex projects.
Another limitation of the Options API is that it can be inflexible when it comes to sharing logic between components.
Unit testing components built with the Options API can be more challenging. The spread of logic across different options makes it harder to isolate specific functionalities for testing.

Let's see the Example of Options API styling :

<template>
    <div>
        <h4>{{ name }}'s To Do List</h4>
        <div>
            <input v-model="newItemText" v-on:keyup.enter="addNewTodo" />
            <button v-on:click="addNewTodo">Add</button>
            <button v-on:click="removeTodo">Remove</button>
        </div>
        <ul>
            <li v-for="task in tasks" v-bind:key="task">{{ task }}</li>
        </ul>
    </div>
</template>
<script>
    export default { 
    data() { 
           return 
               {  name: "John", 
                  tasks: ["Buy groceries", "Clean the house"], 
                  newItemText: "", 
                };
            }, 
   methods: { 
          addNewTodo() 
            { 
               if (this.newItemText !== "") 
                {  this.tasks.push(this.newItemText); 
                   this.newItemText = ""; 
                } 
            }, 
         removeTodo(index) { this.tasks.splice(index, 1); }, }, };
</script>

1. Composition API :

The Composition API is a set of tools introduced in Vue 3 (and available for Vue 2 through a plugin) that provides an alternative way to write component logic compared to the traditional Options API. It focuses on composing reusable functions to manage a component’s state and behavior.
With Composition API, we define a component’s logic using imported API functions. It also allows developers to use the full power of JavaScript to define component behavior.
Composition API is typically used with . The setup attribute is a hint that makes Vue perform compile-time transforms that allow us to use Composition API with less boilerplate.
The foundation of Composition API is Vue’s built-in reactivity system. Functions like ref and reactive create reactive data that automatically updates the component when it changes. This simplifies state management compared to manually setting up getters and setters in the Options API.
The Composition API supports dependency injection through functions like provide and inject.
The Composition API is particularly beneficial for:

Building complex and reusable components
Projects that prioritize code organization and maintainability
Applications that leverage TypeScript for type safety
The Composition API may seem like the best option to use. However, the Composition API is not without its drawbacks. One issue is that it can be more difficult to learn for developers who are not familiar with functional, reactive programming.
Another issue is that the Composition API is not backward compatible with Vue 2.6 and under by default. This means you will need to either upgrade to Vue 3.0 or import the Composition API via a plugin.

Let’s see the Example of Composition API styling :

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