Another JavaScript Framework?
Yes! The JavaScript fatigue is a real thing. However, Vue.js (Evan You), it’s community and it’s ecosystem have grown tremendously in 2016 and 2017. It’s easily risen its way to be one of the top three “go-to” JavaScript frameworks of choice, the others being React (Facebook) and Angular (Google). The Vue framework has grown so much that major companies and organizations like Nintendo, NASA, Expedia, Netflix, and even Facebook (for their Newsfeed) have fully adopted or partially integrated it into their products or services.
If you haven’t tried out Vue before, perhaps now it’s time to give your attention to it as it addresses a lot of pain points of the other frameworks and for the reasons stated above. Vue.js is often described as the perfect mix of React and AngularJS; if you have experience with the other two, you will understand. Vue.js borrows the reactive Virtual DOM approach of React and the directive, scoped approached of AngularJS.
Vue.js is often described as the perfect mix of React and AngularJS; if you have experience with the other two, you will understand. Vue.js borrows the reactive Virtual DOM approach of React and the directive, scoped approached of AngularJS.
Maybe you knew all of that and just want to expand on and continue with you Vue.js journey; perhaps that’s why you bought this book! Maybe you have no idea what Vue.js, Angular, or React are but you heard that Vue.js is robust, powerful, and simple to use. Either way, I am excited that you chose this book to get you aquatinted with Vue.js’ ecosystem and tools.
What Do You Need to Know Prior to Reading?
The very basics of Vue.js. This book is primarily focused on Vue.js’ and the tools that are developed and maintained by the Core Team and the community. With that stated, this book does go over the basics of Vue.js in Chapter 1: Getting Started With Vue.js. However, don’t expect to learn everything there is to know about Vue.js in one chapter; that could be a whole book within itself!
The more you know about Vue.js, the better. This book will go over various things including some cutting-edge systems that were just released at the time of writing, most notably VuePress and Vue CLI 3.
Please note, that throughout this book, we will most of the time be referring to Vue.js as a framework. However, it is technically a library but these terms will be used interchangeably.
What Will This Book Provide?
This book is designed for everyone with at least basic knowledge of Vue.js and JavaScript. If you are here to learn more about Nuxt, that’s great. Want to know more about static site generation? Fantastic. Do you know very little about Vue.js? Not a problem. Vue.js has a terrific community that is quickly growing with each passing day. As a popular comic book character in a recent superhero blockbuster once said, “Vue.js is not a technology; it’s a community”. I’m paraphrasing of course.
It’s pretty incredible how far Vue.js and the community have come. Especially with it all starting with one person and _not_ having the backing of a multi-billion corporation behind it. Vue.js’ ecosystem is maturing much quicker than React’s and Angular’s; in part due to the fact that it is newer of the three. By the end of this book, you should have a general understanding of things like mobile app development with NativeScript, static site generation with VuePress, server-side rendering with Nuxt.js, and more.
Author Biography
Dave Berning has been a front-end web developer for more than six years. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Electronic Media. During his tenure as a UC Bearcat, he learned how to create interactive websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In addition to his B.F.A., Dave has several awards and recognitions from his peers and co-workers. Dave currently builds rich progressive web applications with Vue.js for Drees Homes; a home builder located in Greater Cincinnati. He is also a contributing writer for Alligator.io, LogRocket, and ButterCMS. In June of 2017, Dave started organizing the CodePen Cincinnati meetups where he lectures and leads workshops about the latest technologies in the field. You can find him almost anywhere on the Internet as @daveberning.
Acknowledgments
Dave would like to acknowledge first and foremost, his beautiful wife Stephanie for her immense love and support over his career and for the writing of this book. He also would especially like to thank his parents, Dave and Barb Berning Jr. for all their love and support over the years as well as his in-laws, Mark and Theresa Strong.
Other acknowledgements include: Eric Anderson, Bill Boyle, Johnnathon Grant Jones-Louden, Russell Sowell, Craig Mullin, Craig Rahtz, Stacey Koenig, Michael Woodruff, Colin Lutz, Logan Sommer, Steven Creech, Israel “Izzy” Jones, Joe Carlson, John Hodges Drake VIII, Ryan LaFary, Brett Valls, Matt Bennett, Lou Olenick, Pete Bender, H. Michael Sanders, Dave Hubble, Sarah Wolfe, Marcus Langford, Carly Trimboli, Tresha Lewis, Zac Rogal, Lori Jerome, Andrea Berning, Steve Berning, Chris Berning, and last but most certainly not least, Randy Bell.