How to handle routing in a Vue.js application

In Vue.js, routing is typically handled using the official routing library called Vue Router. Vue Router allows you to build single-page applications with navigation between different views or components. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to handle routing in a Vue.js application:

1. Install Vue Router:

Make sure to install Vue Router using npm or yarn:

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# Using npm
npm install vue-router

# Using yarn
yarn add vue-router

2. Set up Vue Router in your main.js (or main entry file):

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import Vue from 'vue';
import VueRouter from 'vue-router';
import App from './App.vue';

// Use VueRouter
Vue.use(VueRouter);

// Define your routes
const routes = [
  { path: '/', component: Home },
  { path: '/about', component: About },
  // Add more routes as needed
];

// Create a router instance
const router = new VueRouter({
  routes,
  mode: 'history', // Use 'history' mode for cleaner URLs (requires server configuration)
});

// Create and mount the root instance
new Vue({
  render: (h) => h(App),
  router,
}).$mount('#app');

3. Create Components:

Create the components that correspond to your routes. For example, you might have Home.vue and About.vue.

4. Set up Router Links:

Use the <router-link> component to create navigation links in your components. For example:

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<template>
  <div>
    <router-link to="/">Home</router-link>
    <router-link to="/about">About</router-link>

    <router-view></router-view>
  </div>
</template>

5. Configure Navigation:

You can navigate programmatically in your components using $router.push or $router.replace. For example:

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// Inside a component method
methods: {
  navigateToAbout() {
    this.$router.push('/about');
  },
},

6. Route Parameters:

You can use route parameters to create dynamic routes. For example:

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const routes = [
  { path: '/user/:id', component: User },
];

And in your component:

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<template>
  <div>
    <p>User ID: {{ $route.params.id }}</p>
  </div>
</template>

7. Navigation Guards (Optional):

Vue Router provides navigation guards for additional control over navigation. You can use guards like beforeEach, beforeResolve, and afterEach to perform actions before or after route changes.

This basic setup should get you started with routing in a Vue.js application. Adjust it according to your project's needs.