Is there a way to modify Vue component properties using plain JavaScript code?

Question

Is there a way to modify Vue component properties using plain JavaScript code?

I am currently working on a Vue 2 project developed using Vue CLI, and my goal is to package it as a library. I want to create a wrapper script that abstracts away dependencies and Vue syntax to enable easy interaction like the examples below:

// Mounting the component on a plain JS webpage
const myComponent = new MyComponent('#my-component');

// Handling events from the component in vanilla JS
myComponent.on('load', someHandler);

// (A.) Calling a component method and getting a return value
const processedData = myComponent.process(123);

// (B.) Accessing/mutating reactive component data properties
myComponent.setMessage('Hello world!');

I have attempted to modify the "build target" according to the instructions in the Vue documentation to build a Library or Web Component. While I can successfully mount the library component and handle events, there is no mention of how to interact with the component data externally from the Vue VM (referencing comments A and B).

What is the best approach to accessing Vue component methods and data properties from outside the Vue VM using vanilla JavaScript?

javascript vue.js vuejs2

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to access the properties and methods of a Vue component outside of the Vue instance, you can use a "template ref" to mount it like this:

const vm = new Vue({
    components: {
        MyComponent,
    },

    template: `
        <my-component
            ref="myComponent"
        />
    `,
}).$mount('#mount-element");

After mounting, you can call its methods as follows:

vm.$refs.myComponent.someFunction();

This will allow you to retrieve values and manipulate reactive properties inside the Vue instance. To implement the class syntax mentioned in the original question, you can create a simple class that encapsulates the Vue component:

// Import the Vue CLI-built component using the "library" build target
// (exports `MyComponent` globally)
import './MyComponent.umd.min.js'; 

import Vue from 'https://unpkg.com/vue@2/dist/vue.esm.browser.min.js';

export default class {
    constructor(mountElement) {
        // Mount the Vue VM with a template ref for property access
        const thisClass = this;
        this.vm = new Vue({
            components: {
                MyComponent,
            },

            template: `
                <my-component
                    ref="myComponent"
                />
            `,
        }).$mount(mountElement);

        this.component = this.vm.$refs.myComponent;
    }

    // Define methods that can invoke this.component's functions
    someFunction() {
        // Perform actions
        return this.component.someFunction()
    }

}

This method works effectively. One potential enhancement could involve building the component library using a different tool, since Vue CLI v3 (for Vue v2 projects) does not support ESM module file output, resulting in a global UMD module definition.

Answer 2

If you want to access the properties and methods of a Vue component outside of the Vue instance, you can use a "template ref" to mount it like this:

const vm = new Vue({
    components: {
        MyComponent,
    },

    template: `
        <my-component
            ref="myComponent"
        />
    `,
}).$mount('#mount-element");

After mounting, you can call its methods as follows:

vm.$refs.myComponent.someFunction();

This will allow you to retrieve values and manipulate reactive properties inside the Vue instance. To implement the class syntax mentioned in the original question, you can create a simple class that encapsulates the Vue component:

// Import the Vue CLI-built component using the "library" build target
// (exports `MyComponent` globally)
import './MyComponent.umd.min.js'; 

import Vue from 'https://unpkg.com/vue@2/dist/vue.esm.browser.min.js';

export default class {
    constructor(mountElement) {
        // Mount the Vue VM with a template ref for property access
        const thisClass = this;
        this.vm = new Vue({
            components: {
                MyComponent,
            },

            template: `
                <my-component
                    ref="myComponent"
                />
            `,
        }).$mount(mountElement);

        this.component = this.vm.$refs.myComponent;
    }

    // Define methods that can invoke this.component's functions
    someFunction() {
        // Perform actions
        return this.component.someFunction()
    }

}

This method works effectively. One potential enhancement could involve building the component library using a different tool, since Vue CLI v3 (for Vue v2 projects) does not support ESM module file output, resulting in a global UMD module definition.

Is there a way to modify Vue component properties using plain JavaScript code?

Answer №1

Similar questions

Discovering if an ID already exists in a Firebase real-time database with React.js

Steps to have the initial link redirect to a designated webpage

JavaScript: A guide to solving systems of equations

Generate three random names from an array and assign them to an element

Insert fresh user information into the div

When you define a parent route in Vue Router with no specified path, it automatically matches the root route of the application

Argument-based recursive method

Tips to prevent the webpage from scrolling to the top when clicking on an anchor with an ID

Ingesting RSS feed into an Express server

JavaScript does not function properly with dynamically loaded content

Personalized HTML selection list

Node.js: How to handle spaces when running a UNIX command

Adjusting the width of the rail in Material UI's vertical Slider component in React

The checkbox is not updating as anticipated

Using PHP to dynamically update image source upon clicking an upload button:

Having trouble with Angular's ng-class performance when dealing with a large number of elements in the

I'm experiencing very slow page load times in dev mode with Next.js (30s+). What could be the reason behind this sluggishness?

Uh-oh! Angular 6 has encountered an unexpected error with template parsing

How can I use Angular to dynamically open a video that corresponds to a clicked image?

Is it possible to incorporate a combination of es5 and es2015 features in an AngularJS application?