Building Reusable Vue Components

Tutorial 1 of 5

1. Introduction

This tutorial aims to guide you on the path to creating reusable Vue components, a fundamental concept in Vue.js. Components are reusable Vue instances with a name, and we can use them to create custom elements in our application.

By the end of this tutorial, you'll be able to:

  • Understand what a Vue component is
  • Create a reusable Vue component
  • Use your Vue component in your application

Prerequisites

  • Basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Familiarity with Vue.js would be helpful but is not required

2. Step-by-Step Guide

What is a Vue component

Vue components are encapsulations of reusable code. They can contain both HTML and JavaScript logic, making them self-contained entities capable of rendering complex interfaces.

Creating a Vue component

Vue components are typically defined using Vue.component(tagName, options).

// Define a new component called 'button-counter'
Vue.component('button-counter', {
  data: function () {
    return {
      count: 0
    }
  },
  template: '<button v-on:click="count++">You clicked me {{ count }} times.</button>'
})

Using a Vue component

Once a component is registered, we can reuse it in an instance or component by using its name as a custom element.

<div id="components-demo">
  <button-counter></button-counter>
</div>

Tips

  • Use clear and descriptive names for your components
  • Components are reusable, so avoid storing state directly in them

3. Code Examples

Here is a practical example of a reusable Vue component:

// Define a new component called 'blog-post'
Vue.component('blog-post', {
  props: ['title'],
  template: '<h3>{{ title }}</h3>'
})

// Now you can use it in your application
new Vue({
  el: '#blog-post-demo',
  data: {
    post: {
      id: 1,
      title: 'My journey with Vue'
    }
  }
})

In this component:

  • The props option is an array containing the names of the properties that the component accepts.
  • template is the HTML that will be inserted wherever the component is used.
  • The <h3>{{ title }}</h3> in the template will be replaced with the value of the title prop.

The expected output is the title of the blog post, "My journey with Vue", wrapped in an h3 tag.

4. Summary

In this tutorial, we've learned what a Vue component is, how to create one, and how to use it in your application.

To further your understanding, try creating different components and using them in your application. For more advanced features of Vue components, check out the Vue.js Guide.

5. Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Create a user-card component that accepts a user prop and displays the user's name and email.

Exercise 2: Create a post-list component that accepts a posts prop (an array of blog posts) and uses the blog-post component from the example above to display each post.

Remember, practice is the key to mastering any concept. Keep experimenting with different types of components and how they can interact with each other. Good luck!