SoFunction
Updated on 2025-04-04

Specific use of Vuex localStorage

In front-end development, state management is a very important topic. In this, Vuex is a powerful state management tool, while localStorage is a mechanism for storing and obtaining local data. Although both of these things can be used to store data, there are still big differences between them.

Necessity of status management

Before understanding Vuex and localStorage, let's take a look at the necessity of state management.

In an application, the state of a component needs to be shared among multiple components. If state is saved inside a component, communication across components becomes difficult. Additionally, when processing asynchronous requests or using WebSocket connections, the status may change based on the information received. In this case, if you do not use the state manager, you may encounter problems such as repeated rendering of the same data, lack of correct query results, etc.
For flexibility and maintainability, a state manager is required. The state here refers to variable data in the application.

localStorage

HTML5 introduces a mechanism called localStorage. It allows us to store simple key-value pairs like cookies, but it is more powerful and secure than cookies, and it has no size limit. Of course, we can also use sessionStorage and IndexedDB, but none of these are suitable for long-term use.

Store and obtain data

localStorage provides two methods setItem() and getItem(), which can easily store and obtain data.

('name', 'Tom');
var name = ('name');
(name); // Output: Tom

Here we store the name Tom in localStorage and retrieve the data using the getItem() method.

life cycle

Data set through localStorage is long-term unless the user manually clears them. This means that even if you close the browser and reopen it, the data will still exist.
Moreover, localStorage can also share data between different tabs. Let's look at an example:

Do the following in tab A:

('count', 0);

Do the following in tab B:

var count = ('count');
(count); // Output: 0

In this example, we set the count initial value to 0 in tab A, and then we can access the value in tab B.

Vuex

Vuex is a state management tool. It concentrates all states shared in the application in one store. This makes communicating across components easier, while also supporting asynchronous operations, making component re-rendering easier when data changes.

Vuex concept

Vuex contains five core parts: state, getters, mutations, actions and modules.

  • State: It is equivalent to a property (data) in a component. It is unique and drives all states of the application.
  • Getters: It can be understood as the computed property of state, just like computed. They cache some commonly used calculation results, which can improve performance.
  • Mutations: Used to change properties in vuex state. They must be done synchronously. Vuex does this using commit instead of direct mutation.
  • Actions: Specifies a method to trigger mutation in a component, which can contain any asynchronous operations.
  • Modules: Allows splitting vuex global state to module. Each module has its own state, mutations, actions and getters. This makes larger and complex applications easier to manage.

Vuex's workflow

The action may change the vuex state when the user interacts with the application and triggers the action. Here is the workflow for changing the vuex state:

  • The component distributes an action
  • Action calls the API or perform other asynchronous operations
  • API response returns specific data to action
  • Action calls mutation to update status
  • Mutation changes the status and notifies all registered observers
  • All components registered with this mutation will be updated

The difference between Vuex and localStorage

After understanding the basics of Vuex and localStorage, let's take a look at the difference between them.

  • The two tools are designed for different purposes: Vuex is designed to manage state in an application, while localStorage provides a simple local storage mechanism.
  • Different life cycles: Data saved in localStorage can exist for a long time unless explicitly cleared, while data stored in Vuex only exists within the life cycle of the Vuex instance.
  • Different objects are oriented: localStorage is key-oriented/value pairs, while Vuex is state-oriented (state is an object that can be used as a dictionary key).

For large data volumes, localStorage may have problems with performance. Since Vuex is a library that specializes in maintaining state, it is more efficient and fast than localStorage in terms of data volume and read and write operations.

Summarize

Of course, there are many factors to consider when choosing to use state manager or local storage. localStorage is suitable for holding small and lightweight data, and can be read and written easily without relying on a server. Vuex is suitable for handling state management of large and complex applications. It provides a rich API and component update lifecycle that can significantly simplify state management in your application.

The usage scenarios in the project also need to be selected according to actual conditions. For example, sharing some states between multiple pages or plug-ins will make it more convenient and quick to use Vuex, while lightweight and long-standing content such as user information and tokens is more suitable for caching using localStorage.

Finally, by using both tools, you can better maintain the status of your web application and build a more efficient user experience.

This is the end of this article about the specific use of Vuex localStorage. For more related Vuex localStorage content, please search for my previous articles or continue browsing the related articles below. I hope everyone will support me in the future!