Modern Web App Development with Laravel: A Comparison of Livewire and Vue
The Evolution of Web Development
In recent years, the web development landscape has undergone significant changes. Traditional Laravel applications, built with Blade and JavaScript libraries like jQuery, struggle to keep up with modern demands for dynamic, interactive user experiences. Single-page applications (SPAs) built with JavaScript frameworks like React, Svelte, and Vue have become the norm, offering seamless page updates without reloads. Fortunately, the Laravel community has responded with innovative solutions, making it possible to build modern web apps with ease.
The Rise of Livewire and Vue
Two popular frontend technologies have emerged to help build modern web apps with Laravel: Livewire and Vue. Livewire promises the SPA experience without the complexity of React and Vue, while Vue offers a robust, reactive framework for building dynamic applications. In this article, we’ll delve into the differences between Livewire and Vue, exploring their strengths and weaknesses.
Prerequisites
To follow along, you’ll need:
- Knowledge of Vue 3 (or at least Vue 2)
- Familiarity with Laravel
- Experience using Blade to create templates
Background
Since Laravel 8, two main approaches have emerged for scaffolding authentication and frontend development: Laravel Jetstream and Laravel Breeze. Jetstream offers a more comprehensive solution, including authentication, email verification, and password reset systems, while Breeze provides a simpler, more streamlined approach. Both Jetstream and Breeze offer the option to use either Inertia.js or Livewire for building modern web apps.
Setup
To get started with Livewire or Vue, you don’t need to use Jetstream or Breeze. Vue comes pre-installed in Laravel, and you can use Laravel Mix to compile Vue components into a single JavaScript file. For Livewire, simply run composer require livewire/livewire and include the directives in Blade.
Laravel Livewire
Livewire extends Laravel’s features, allowing you to build dynamic, interactive components without writing JavaScript. With Livewire, you create components that make AJAX calls to the server, and instead of reloading the entire page, Livewire mutates the DOM with the changes. This approach offers a more PHP-centric development experience.
Inertia.js
Inertia.js, on the other hand, connects a JavaScript frontend to a different backend without the need for an API. It allows you to use React, Svelte, or Vue as your frontend framework, while leveraging Laravel’s backend capabilities. Inertia.js handles components and templating differently than Livewire, as it’s responsible for facilitating communication between the PHP backend and JavaScript frontend.
Creating Components and Templates
Livewire and Inertia.js approach component creation and templating differently. Livewire extends Laravel’s features, allowing you to create dynamic components using Blade and PHP. Inertia.js, however, helps a PHP backend “talk” to a JavaScript frontend, making it easier to build SPAs with Laravel.
Accessing Data
Before Inertia.js, sharing data between a Vue frontend and Laravel backend required a REST API. Now, data sharing and access are simplified, regardless of whether you choose Livewire or Inertia.js. However, the way data is rendered differs significantly between the two. Livewire renders data on the server-side, while Inertia.js renders data on the client-side.
Reactivity Handling
Livewire and Vue handle reactivity differently. Vue tracks changes to specific variables and re-renders affected parts of the DOM. Livewire, on the other hand, stores component state on the server, which can lead to performance issues for dynamic components that update frequently.
Conclusion
In conclusion, both Livewire and Vue offer powerful solutions for building modern web apps with Laravel. While Livewire provides a more PHP-centric development experience, Vue offers a robust, reactive framework for building dynamic applications. Ultimately, the choice between Livewire and Vue comes down to personal preference and your comfort level with JavaScript.