Vue.js - an easy-to-use JavaScript framework

Vue.js is a framework for building simple and powerful user interfaces. Here we explain more about what it is, what the main pros and cons are, and how it differs from other frontend frameworks.

What is Vue.js?

Vue is a JavaScript framework for creating easy-to-work-with and powerful interfaces. To understand what it really is you need to know what a JavaScript framework entails. In short, a JavaScript framework helps us build modern applications. It gives us an architectural template to work from as well as code libraries that can be used to create custom applications.

Vue was created by the former Google employee Evan You. Today Vue is run by a dedicated, independent and international development team led by You. Version 1.0 was released in 2015 and today we are on version 3.

React and Angular have for a time been the two most common tools in the frontend world, but in recent years Vue has risen in popularity. The different frameworks/libraries differ somewhat from each other, but their purpose is essentially the same - to render interfaces using reusable components.

How does Vue differ from React and Angular?

Angular includes a very large number of ready-made features and tools in its core version, which is convenient. But the question is whether all these features are needed in every individual project or whether the features instead are just unnecessary and make things messy.

React is in many ways the exact opposite - as pared down as possible so that you can tailor the solution with only what you need. Here the problem is the opposite of Angular - since you don't get anything for free it also takes longer to get started. The advantage is that React becomes very flexible.

Vue sits somewhere in the middle. It is shipped with the most common functions and tools you might need but not to the generous degree that Angular does. Therefore Vue manages to stand as the easiest framework while still offering an easy-to-work-with but powerful development environment.

Advantages of Vue

• Vue is accessible

Many report that accessibility is one of the biggest reasons they chose Vue. As a frontend developer you now wrestle with your tools more often than ever before. For that reason many have come to appreciate its low barrier to entry and linear difficulty curve. You don't necessarily need to immerse yourself in JSX or dig into TypeScript. If you can code HTML, CSS and JavaScript there's not much more required to get started with Vue — and that is the key to much of its popularity. It can be as simple or as complex as your needs require. Naturally, more advanced projects demand a more advanced setup, but because you get some things included with Vue there's less risk of getting stuck.

There are many ways to adapt Vue to your own coding style. You can either have HTML, CSS and JavaScript in the same file or split them into separate files, structure the code as you see fit, include TypeScript, or not! If you want to render code declaratively in the style of Angular that's fully possible, otherwise you can control rendering more with JavaScript.

• Developed by a community – not a company

Unlike Facebook's React and Google's Angular, Vue is entirely developed and driven by the independent Vue team and its community. Development is therefore guided by the users and not necessarily by any company's agenda. Angular and React are both designed to fit into Google’s and Facebook’s ways of working, include license agreements written by them and are more likely to receive the updates those companies prioritize. Because Vue is so community-driven there is also a very lively and constructive discussion around the framework that contributes to a better product.

• Good documentation

One factor that has contributed to Vue's popularity is the extensive work done on the documentation. Whether you're a beginner who wants to learn or a veteran hunting for the fine print, you are helped by well-structured, well-written documentation translated into many different languages.

Disadvantages of Vue

• Relatively young

As with advantages, there are also drawbacks to a new framework. Vue is younger compared to, for example, React and therefore doesn't have as large a library of third-party plugins. Vue hasn't reached the same popularity as React and Angular, which in turn has meant it is not as sought after in recruitment contexts.

• Too flexible

Although flexibility is an advantage it can also be seen as a drawback. In large projects with many developers there is a greater risk that developers will start coding in their own styles. This can lead to fragmentation and poorer readability. Fortunately this is something the development team has acknowledged and aims to fix in Vue 3.x, among other things with the help of the new Composition API.

How should I think as a customer?

We are often asked by customers which framework or library "applies". The three most common ones we've mentioned in this article – Vue, Angular and React – all meet the basic requirements you can expect from a modern framework. As a customer or developer we therefore don't need to worry about future-proofing or functionality, and can instead focus on which of the advantages in each framework fit particularly well for the project in question.

We naturally help make that decision, and in some cases it may not even be something you as a customer need to decide on if it's not a relevant question for you. Often our choice lands on React or Vue, but not always.

It's easy to get lost among all the frameworks and libraries. That's why it's important to remember that the purpose of all these frameworks is to build interfaces using reusable components. They should be seen as nothing more than a tool to speed up development and improve the quality of the solution.

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