React.js vs. Vue.js: Making Sense of the Differences

Introduction

JavaScript is one of the most popular languages among developers. Due to its performance and ease, we can observe a lot of frameworks and libraries based on the language. Every day there are new libraries and frameworks being developed on JavaScript. With the ever-growing landscape of JavaScript frameworks and libraries, it’s essential to navigate the options and choose the right one for your development needs.

Related read: Top 15 JavaScript Frameworks To Use In 2023

React.js

React.js was developed and maintained by Facebook since 2013. It is a lightweight library based on JSX, an HTML-like language used to develop React Components.

Major Features of React.js

🔸 JSX: JSX is a syntax extension for JavaScript that allows you to write HTML-like code in your JavaScript files. It is a key feature of React and enables developers to write reusable UI components.

Example:

import React from 'react'; 
export default function App() { 
return( 
<div> 
<h1 className = "hello" >Hello React</h1> 
</div> 
); 
} 
export default App;

🔸 State and Props: State and props are two fundamental concepts in React. State is used to manage data that changes within a component, while props are used to pass data from a parent component to a child component.

import { useState } from "react";

function FavoriteColor() {
const [color, setColor] = useState("");
}

🔸 React Hooks: A new addition to React that allows you to use state and other React features without writing a class.

🔸 Higher Order Components(HOCs): HOCs are an important concept in React that helps in encapsulating common code.

function withLogger(WrappedComponent) {
return class extends React.Component {
componentDidMount() {
console.log(`Component ${WrappedComponent.name} mounted.`);
}

render() {
return <WrappedComponent {...this.props} />;
}
}.

Vue.js

Vue.js is yet another JavaScript framework used to develop interactive UIs. It’s known for its simplicity, component-based architecture, and versatile ecosystem making it a popular choice for web development.

Features of Vue.js

🔸 Two-way data binding: Unlike React which, follows one-way data binding, Vue.js follows 2-way data binding.

<div id="app">
<input v-model="message" type="text">
<p>{{ message }}</p>
</div>

Let’s say we have a simple input field and a paragraph element. We want to bind the value entered in the input field to be displayed in the paragraph element, and also update the input field if the paragraph value changes.

new Vue({
el: '#app',
data: {
message: '' // Initial value of the message
}
});

🔸 Directives: Vue.js has built-in directives that enable you to add special behaviours to your HTML elements. Directives like v-if, v-for, and v-bind allow you to conditionally render elements, loop over arrays, and dynamically bind data, respectively.

🔸 Vue Router: Vue.js has an official routing library called Vue Router. It allows you to create single-page applications with multiple views and handle navigation between them. It provides features like dynamic route matching, nested routes, and route transitions.

import Vue from 'vue';
import VueRouter from 'vue-router';

// Import your components for each route
import Home from './components/Home.vue';
import About from './components/About.vue';
import Contact from './components/Contact.vue';

Vue.use(VueRouter);

const routes = [
{ path: '/', component: Home },
{ path: '/about', component: About },
{ path: '/contact', component: Contact }
];

const router = new VueRouter({
routes
});

new Vue({
router
}).$mount('#app');

Difference Between Vue.js and React.js

🟠 Two-Way Binding and One-Way Binding:

React.js: Binding in React.js is based on one-way binding, the concept of “one-way binding” refers to the flow of data from a parent component to its child component. It means that changes to the data in the parent component will be reflected in the child component, but not vice versa. One-way binding ensures that data flows in a single direction.

function ParentComponent() {
const [message, setMessage] = useState('Hello');

const handleClick = () => {
setMessage('Updated message');
};

return (
<div>
<ChildComponent message={message} />
<button onClick={handleClick}>Update Message</button>
</div>
);
}

Vue.js: In Vue.js, two-way binding refers to the synchronization of data between a parent component and its child component. It allows changes in either component to automatically update the data in the other component.

🟠 Template and JSX

React.js: React.js, on the other hand, uses JSX (JavaScript XML), which allows embedding HTML-like syntax within JavaScript. JSX provides a more JavaScript-centric approach to defining components.

import React from 'react';

function MyComponent() {
const message = 'Hello, JSX!';

return <div>{message}</div>;
}

export default MyComponent;

Vue.js: Vue.js uses a template-based syntax that combines HTML and JavaScript to define component templates. It provides a more declarative approach to building UI.

<template>
<div>
<h1>{{ greeting }}</h1>
<p>Welcome to my Vue.js app.</p>
<button @click="changeGreeting">Change Greeting</button>
</div>
</template>

🟠 State Management

React.js: React.js does not provide an official state management solution but is often used with external libraries like Redux or MobX for state management.

Vue.js: Vue.js provides Vuex, a state management pattern and library, which is officially maintained by the Vue.js team. It helps manage application state, especially for large-scale applications.

🟠 Component Communication

React.js: React.js primarily relies on props for parent-to-child component communication and uses callback functions or context API for more complex scenarios.

function ParentComponent() {
const name = 'John Doe';
const age = 25;

return (
<div>
<h1>Parent Component</h1>
<ChildComponent name={name} age={age} />
</div>
);
}

Vue.js: Vue.js offers multiple ways for components to communicate with each other, including props, custom events, and a built-in event bus ($emit and $on).

<!-- ChildComponent.vue -->
<template>
<div>
<button @click="emitEvent">Click me</button>
</div>
</template>

<script>
export default {
methods: {
emitEvent() {
this.$emit('custom-event', 'Event payload');
}
}
};
</script>

In the example above, the ChildComponent has a button that triggers the emitEvent method when clicked. Inside the method, the $emit method is used to emit a custom event named custom-event and pass an optional payload, in this case, the string ‘Event payload’.

<!-- ParentComponent.vue -->
<template>
<div>
<ChildComponent @custom-event="handleEvent" />
<p>{{ eventData }}</p>
</div>
</template>

<script>
import ChildComponent from './ChildComponent.vue';

export default {
components: {
ChildComponent
},
data() {
return {
eventData: ''
};
},
methods: {
handleEvent(payload) {
this.eventData = payload;
}
}
};
</script>

This example demonstrates how the child component emits a custom event using $emit, and the parent component listens to that event using the @custom-event syntax and responds by updating its own data property. This way, components can communicate and exchange data through custom events in Vue.js.