Computed and Watch

This section uses single-file component syntax for code examples

Computed values

Sometimes we need state that depends on other state - in Vue this is handled with component computed properties. To directly create a computed value, we can use the computed method: it takes a getter function and returns an immutable reactive ref object for the returned value from the getter.

const count = ref(1)
const plusOne = computed(() => count.value + 1)

console.log(plusOne.value) // 2

plusOne.value++ // error

Alternatively, it can take an object with get and set functions to create a writable ref object.

const count = ref(1)
const plusOne = computed({
  get: () => count.value + 1,
  set: val => {
    count.value = val - 1
  }
})

plusOne.value = 1
console.log(count.value) // 0

watchEffect

To apply and automatically re-apply a side effect based on reactive state, we can use the watchEffect method. It runs a function immediately while reactively tracking its dependencies and re-runs it whenever the dependencies are changed.

const count = ref(0)

watchEffect(() => console.log(count.value))
// -> logs 0

setTimeout(() => {
  count.value++
  // -> logs 1
}, 100)

Stopping the Watcher

When watchEffect is called during a component's setup() function or lifecycle hooks, the watcher is linked to the component's lifecycle and will be automatically stopped when the component is unmounted.

In other cases, it returns a stop handle which can be called to explicitly stop the watcher:

const stop = watchEffect(() => {
  /* ... */
})

// later
stop()

Side Effect Invalidation

Sometimes the watched effect function will perform asynchronous side effects that need to be cleaned up when it is invalidated (i.e. state changed before the effects can be completed). The effect function receives an onInvalidate function that can be used to register an invalidation callback. This invalidation callback is called when:

• the effect is about to re-run
• the watcher is stopped (i.e. when the component is unmounted if watchEffect is used inside setup() or lifecycle hooks)

watchEffect(onInvalidate => {
  const token = performAsyncOperation(id.value)
  onInvalidate(() => {
    // id has changed or watcher is stopped.
    // invalidate previously pending async operation
    token.cancel()
  })
})

We are registering the invalidation callback via a passed-in function instead of returning it from the callback because the return value is important for async error handling. It is very common for the effect function to be an async function when performing data fetching:

const data = ref(null)
watchEffect(async (onInvalidate) => {
  onInvalidate(() => { /* ... */ }) // we register cleanup function before Promise resolves
  data.value = await fetchData(props.id)
})

An async function implicitly returns a Promise, but the cleanup function needs to be registered immediately before the Promise resolves. In addition, Vue relies on the returned Promise to automatically handle potential errors in the Promise chain.

Effect Flush Timing

Vue's reactivity system buffers invalidated effects and flushes them asynchronously to avoid unnecessary duplicate invocation when there are many state mutations happening in the same "tick". Internally, a component's update function is also a watched effect. When a user effect is queued, it is by default invoked before all component update effects:

<template>
  <div>{{ count }}</div>
</template>

<script>
  export default {
    setup() {
      const count = ref(0)

      watchEffect(() => {
        console.log(count.value)
      })

      return {
        count
      }
    }
  }
</script>

In this example:

• The count will be logged synchronously on initial run.
• When count is mutated, the callback will be called before the component has updated.

In cases where a watcher effect needs to be re-run after component updates (i.e. when working with Template Refs), we can pass an additional options object with the flush option (default is 'pre'):

// fire after component updates so you can access the updated DOM
// Note: this will also defer the initial run of the effect until the
// component's first render is finished.
watchEffect(
  () => {
    /* ... */
  },
  {
    flush: 'post'
  }
)

The flush option also accepts 'sync', which forces the effect to always trigger synchronously. This is however inefficient and should be rarely needed.

Watcher Debugging

The onTrack and onTrigger options can be used to debug a watcher's behavior.

• onTrack will be called when a reactive property or ref is tracked as a dependency.
• onTrigger will be called when the watcher callback is triggered by the mutation of a dependency.

Both callbacks will receive a debugger event which contains information on the dependency in question. It is recommended to place a debugger statement in these callbacks to interactively inspect the dependency:

watchEffect(
  () => {
    /* side effect */
  },
  {
    onTrigger(e) {
      debugger
    }
  }
)

onTrack and onTrigger only work in development mode.

watch

The watch API is the exact equivalent of the component watch property. watch requires watching a specific data source and applies side effects in a separate callback function. It also is lazy by default - i.e. the callback is only called when the watched source has changed.

• Compared to watchEffect, watch allows us to:

  • Perform the side effect lazily;
  • Be more specific about what state should trigger the watcher to re-run;
  • Access both the previous and current value of the watched state.

Watching a Single Source

A watcher data source can either be a getter function that returns a value, or directly a ref:

// watching a getter
const state = reactive({ count: 0 })
watch(
  () => state.count,
  (count, prevCount) => {
    /* ... */
  }
)

// directly watching a ref
const count = ref(0)
watch(count, (count, prevCount) => {
  /* ... */
})

Watching Multiple Sources

A watcher can also watch multiple sources at the same time using an array:

const firstName = ref('');
const lastName = ref('');

watch([firstName, lastName], (newValues, prevValues) => {
  console.log(newValues, prevValues);
})

firstName.value = "John"; // logs: ["John",""] ["", ""]
lastName.value = "Smith"; // logs: ["John", "Smith"] ["John", ""]

Watching Reactive Objects

Using a watcher to compare values of an array or object that are reactive requires that it has a copy made of just the values.

const numbers = reactive([1, 2, 3, 4])

watch(
  () => [...numbers],
  (numbers, prevNumbers) => {
    console.log(numbers, prevNumbers);
  })

numbers.push(5) // logs: [1,2,3,4,5] [1,2,3,4]

Attempting to check for changes of properties in a deeply nested object or array will still require the deep option to be true:

const state = reactive({
  id: 1,
  attributes: {
    name: "",
  },
});

watch(
  () => state,
  (state, prevState) => {
    console.log(
      "not deep ",
      state.attributes.name,
      prevState.attributes.name
    );
  }
);

watch(
  () => state,
  (state, prevState) => {
    console.log(
      "deep ",
      state.attributes.name,
      prevState.attributes.name
    );
  },
  { deep: true }
);

state.attributes.name = "Alex"; // Logs: "deep " "Alex" "Alex"

However, watching a reactive object or array will always return a reference to the current value of that object for both the current and previous value of the state. To fully watch deeply nested objects and arrays, a deep copy of values may be required. This can be achieved with a utility such as lodash.cloneDeep (opens new window)

import _ from 'lodash';

const state = reactive({
  id: 1,
  attributes: {
    name: "",
  },
});

watch(
  () => _.cloneDeep(state),
  (state, prevState) => {
    console.log(
      state.attributes.name,
      prevState.attributes.name
    );
  }
);

state.attributes.name = "Alex"; // Logs: "Alex" ""

Shared Behavior with watchEffect

watch shares behavior with watchEffect in terms of manual stoppage, side effect invalidation (with onInvalidate passed to the callback as the 3rd argument instead), flush timing and debugging.