What is Vue?

What is Vue and What is it Used For?

Vue is a JavaScript framework used for building user interfaces on websites and applications. It’s designed to be lightweight, straightforward and incrementally adoptable, so developers of all levels can begin using it as long as they know JavaScript. Vue’s focus is on the view layer only, but can easily integrate with other libraries or existing projects. Its main use cases include:

• Building web interfaces and single-page applications.
• Creating reusable UI components.
• Integrating with other projects and libraries.

Vue's simplicity, flexibility, active community and intuitive API make it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced developers looking to build web applications and has contributed immensely to its growing popularity.

Brief History of Vue

Vue was created by Evan You after working for Google and using Angular in several projects. He wanted to take the part he liked about Angular and create something else that was more lightweight and straightforward. Vue was first released in February 2014 and has since seen rapid adoption due to its simplicity, detailed documentation, and short learning curve. 

Is Vue Open Source?

Yes, Vue is open source, licensed under the MIT License. Its open source nature has contributed to its rapid growth, with a vibrant community creating a wealth of resources, plugins, and third-party tools to complement the core library.

Vue vs React

React, developed by Facebook, is another popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces. Both Vue and React are similar in that they both provide reactive and composable view components, are JavaScript based, and versatile. However, there are several key differences:

• Learning curve: Vue is often praised for its easy learning curve, thanks to its straightforward syntax and detailed documentation. React's learning curve can be steeper for beginners, particularly those not familiar with JSX.
• Simplicity: Vue applications are typically smaller and more lightweight than React’s, white still being powerful.
• Application: Vue is a framework, while React is a library. That means that with Vue you can build a complete app, while React focuses exclusively on the UI part of an app. 

Vue vs Angular

Angular, developed by Google, is an open source platform and framework for building single-page client applications. While both are frameworks, assist in the front end development process, and are based on JavaScript, they differ in a few key ways:

• Complexity: Angular is more complex and offers more out of the box, while Vue is simpler and more flexible, allowing developers to choose the tools that best fit their project. You can think of Vue as a simplified/downsized Angular.
• Learning curve: Due to its complexity and comprehensive nature, Angular has a steeper learning curve than Vue. Vue’s simplicity and the option to integrate it gradually into projects make it accessible for beginners and experienced developers alike.
• Community and ecosystem: Angular has strong enterprise-level adoption with a wide array of features built into the framework. Vue, while having a smaller footprint, boasts a vibrant community and a rapidly growing ecosystem.

HotWax and Vue

It’s no secret that at HotWax we rely heavily on OFBiz as the foundation for so much of what we do for our clients: custom ERP and open source software development, as well as being OFBiz implementation specialists. After 25 years of being in business, we can confidently say that Vue is our preferred framework for user experience. 

At this point, we have a long history of working in Vue, and the apps we build are used by clients with hundreds of retail locations. We found that working in Vue helped us unify our skill set for app development and eCommerce front end development, and all of our application development for Vue is open source. 

We have multiple themes and pre-built applications that offer a great head start to our clients. And we find that the active, innovative, and open source community culture of Vue meshes nicely with the similar culture of HotWax. 

Because of this, we recommend clients leverage OFBiz for their underlying services and data, and Vue for cutting edge user experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Vue.js offers a unique combination of simplicity, flexibility, and power that make it an excellent choice for both small projects and large-scale applications. Its progressive nature, vibrant, active community and open source culture allows developers to start small and gradually scale up as needed.

We prefer working in Vue for the front end presentation layer for all our clients, and find it works perfectly with OFBiz's presentation layer-agnostic nature. Whether you're a beginner looking to dive into web development or an experienced developer seeking a more streamlined framework, Vue offers an exciting blend of features, community, and an approachable learning curve.