The Role of Vuex in Vue 3: Why It’s Still Essential

Advanced Debugging Capabilities

One significant advantage Vuex has over Vue 3’s built-in features is its advanced debugging capabilities. These tools save developers a tremendous amount of time and effort, making Vuex an essential tool for complex applications.

Plugins and Organization

Vuex also offers plugins that extend its capabilities, providing a more organized structure than the Composition API. While it’s possible to replicate some plugin functionality using the Composition API, Vuex does it better and with more elegance.

When to Use Vuex

So, when should you use Vuex? The answer is simple: whenever your application requires complex state management. In smaller applications, the Provide/Inject API or Composition API’s reactive features might be sufficient. But for larger, more complex apps, Vuex is the way to go.

Installing Vuex with Vue 3

To get started with Vuex, you can install it using the script tag method. This involves adding scripts for Vuex 4 and Vue, then using the Vuex global object in your code.

<script src="undefined.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/vue.min.js"></script>
<script src="undefined.jsdelivr.net/npm/[email protected]/dist/vuex.min.js"></script>

Creating Data Stores

A Vuex store is an object that wraps your application’s state, providing access to features like mutations, actions, and getters. To create a store, you call the Vuex.Store constructor with an object including the states and mutations you want to add.

const store = new Vuex.Store({
  state: {
    count: 0
  },
  mutations: {
    increment(state) {
      state.count++
    }
  }
})

Using Getters

Getters are functions that return a state or states that have been operated on or combined with other values. They make it easy to add store states to your app.

const store = new Vuex.Store({
  state: {
    count: 0
  },
  getters: {
    doubleCount(state) {
      return state.count * 2
    }
  }
})

For example, you can create a getter that returns a count state multiplied by two.

Modifying State with Mutations

Mutations are methods that modify states in the Vuex store. They can take a payload, which is used to modify a state value. You can also use object-style commits to pass multiple data properties to update your Vuex state.

const store = new Vuex.Store({
  state: {
    count: 0
  },
  mutations: {
    increment(state, payload) {
      state.count += payload.amount
    }
  }
})

store.commit('increment', { amount: 5 })

Async Coding with Actions

Actions are methods that let you run mutations to modify a state. They can run any kind of code, including async ones. This makes them ideal for tasks like fetching data from an API.

const store = new Vuex.Store({
  state: {
    data: []
  },
  actions: {
    async fetchData({ commit }) {
      const response = await fetch('undefined.example.com/data')
      const data = await response.json()
      commit('setData', data)
    }
  },
  mutations: {
    setData(state, data) {
      state.data = data
    }
  }
})

store.dispatch('fetchData')

The Future of Vuex

In conclusion, Vuex 4 is not a radical departure from previous versions. It’s mainly an update for compatibility with Vue 3. With its advanced debugging capabilities, plugins, and organized structure, Vuex remains an essential tool for complex Vue applications.