Vue Expert — Gotchas & Decisions

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Key Decisions

decisions[4]{choice,use_when}:
  ref vs reactive,"ref for primitives + single values. reactive for objects. Never destructure reactive — loses reactivity"
  Pinia vs provide/inject,"Pinia for shared app state. provide/inject for component tree scoping"
  Options vs Composition,"Always Composition API with <script setup>. Options only for legacy"
  Composables vs mixins,"Always composables (use* functions). Mixins are deprecated pattern"

Gotchas

• Destructuring reactive() object loses reactivity — use toRefs() or stick with ref()
• ref() auto-unwraps in template but NOT in JS — use .value in script
• watch vs watchEffect: watch needs explicit source, watchEffect auto-tracks. Use watch for old/new comparison
• computed is readonly — don't assign to it. Use writable computed with get/set if needed
• <script setup> auto-exposes to template but NOT to parent $refs — use defineExpose()
• Props are readonly — never mutate. Emit event to parent instead
• v-for + v-if on same element: v-if has higher priority in Vue 3 (opposite of Vue 2)
• Pinia: use storeToRefs() for destructuring store state/getters. Actions don't need it
• nextTick() needed after state change to access updated DOM