How to Use Vue Router: A Complete Tutorial
I. Introduction
Vue.js is a popular JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. One of the key features of Vue.js is its routing system, which allows developers to create Single Page Applications (SPAs) that dynamically change content without requiring a full page refresh. In this article, we'll discuss the basics of Vue.js routing and how to implement it in your Vue.js applications.
II. What is Routing?
Routing is the process of mapping URLs to specific components or views in an application. In a traditional server-side web application, a URL request would be handled by the server, which would render the requested content and send it back to the client. In a SPA, the routing is handled on the client-side using JavaScript, which allows for dynamic content updates without requiring a full page refresh.
III. Vue.js Router
Vue.js provides a built-in routing library called Vue Router, which makes it easy to implement routing in your Vue.js applications. Vue Router is a plugin that can be installed and used in any Vue.js project.
IV. Installation and Setup
To install Vue Router in your Vue.js project, you can use npm or yarn. Here's an example of how to install Vue Router using npm:
```
npm install vue-router
```
Once Vue Router is installed, you can import it into your Vue.js application and use it to define your routes.
V. Defining Routes
To define routes in your Vue.js application, you need to create a Vue Router instance and define your routes using the `routes` property. Here's an example:
```
import Vue from 'vue'
import VueRouter from 'vue-router'
import Home from './views/Home.vue'
import About from './views/About.vue'
Vue.use(VueRouter)
const router = new VueRouter({
routes: [
{
path: '/',
name: 'home',
component: Home
},
{
path: '/about',
name: 'about',
component: About
}
]
})
```
In this example, we're importing the `VueRouter` plugin and defining two routes: one for the home page and one for the about page. Each route is defined as an object with a `path` property (the URL path), a `name` property (a unique name for the route), and a `component` property (the Vue.js component that should be rendered when the route is accessed).
VI. Router Links
To create links between routes in your Vue.js application, you can use the `router-link` component. Here's an example:
```
<router-link to="/">Home</router-link>
<router-link to="/about">About</router-link>
```
In this example, we're creating two links: one to the home page and one to the about page. The `to` property is used to specify the URL path for each link.
VII. Dynamic Routes
In addition to static routes, Vue Router also supports dynamic routes, which allow you to pass parameters in the URL path. Here's an example:
```
const router = new VueRouter({
routes: [
{
path: '/users/:id',
name: 'user',
component: User
}
]
})
```
In this example, we're defining a dynamic route for user profiles. The `:id` parameter in the path indicates that the ID value will be passed in the URL. When the user navigates to a URL like `/users/123`, the `User` component will be rendered with the ID value passed as a prop.
VIII. Navigation Guards
Vue Router also provides navigation guards, which allow you to guard the navigation to a route. Navigation guards can be used to prevent unauthorised access to certain routes, prompt the user before leaving a page, or perform data validation before loading a route.
There are three types of navigation guards in Vue Route
1. Global guards: These guards are applied to all routes in your application and can be used to implement authentication or perform global data validation
2. Route guards: These guards are applied to specific routes and can be used to implement route-specific authentication or data validation
3. Component guards: These guards are applied to individual components and can be used to perform component-specific data validation
Here's an example of how to define a global navigation guard:
```
router.beforeEach((to, from, next) =>
const isAuthenticated = localStorage.getItem('user'
if (to.matched.some(record => record.meta.requiresAuth))
if (isAuthenticated)
next(
} else
next('/login'
} else
next(
}
```
In this example, we're defining a global navigation guard that checks whether the user is authenticated before allowing them to access certain routes. The `beforeEach` method is called before every route change and takes three arguments: the destination route (`to`), the current route (`from`), and a `next` function that must be called to continue the navigation. The `matched` property of the `to` route object contains an array of all the matched route records for the current route. We're using the `some` method to check whether any of the matched routes have the `requiresAuth` meta property set to `true`. If the user is not authenticated and the `requiresAuth` meta property is set to `true`, we're redirecting the user to the login page
IX. Conclusion
Vue.js routing is a powerful feature that allows you to create SPAs with dynamic content updates without requiring a full page refresh. With Vue Router, defining and navigating between routes is easy, and you can even implement dynamic routes with parameters in the URL. Navigation guards provide an extra layer of security and data validation to your application. By understanding the basics of Vue.js routing and navigation guards, you'll be well on your way to creating robust and secure Vue.js applications.
