In this course, students learn how to build reactive, single-page applications and interfaces for the web using Vue.js, an open-source JavaScript framework. What is a single-page application (SPA)? In a traditional website, much of the processing is done on the server, where content is loaded and then delivered to the browser for rendering. For example, imagine a site like Wikipedia: you click a link and are led to a page where the content is loaded and displayed. If you click on another link, the same process happens again, reloading all the content you see in the browser. We categorize this approach as a multiple-page application with new content delivered via a new page request for every action. Now compare this experience to using a more robust web application like Gmail where the actions we take (for example, applying a label to a message) create an almost immediate response in the browser, changing just the content relevant to the action we took. This latter approach falls under the umbrella of a single-page application because the majority of the experience happens within a single page, without the need to entirely reload the page from the server. Single-page applications are built with HTML/CSS and powered by JavaScript-based SPA frameworks such React, Angular, Ember, or Vue.js. In this course, students learn about SPA development via the lens of Vue.js, but we also take a broad look at SPA frameworks to understand the aspects common to each, such as data-binding, components, templates, and routing. By comparing and contrasting the various framework options, students can make informed decisions about which tool or framework is most appropriate for their next project or area of study.
