Benefit to using Vue Router in a desktop application

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Developing a Windows Desktop application that uses Chromium Embedded Framework for the UI frontend, but I assume this would apply equally to Electron and similar platforms as well.

The application will have multiple pages, each implemented as its own component. In a traditional SPA this would typically be implemented using Vue Router, but I assume the main benefits of Vue Router are the ability to route to the appropriate resource based on URI, parse URI query parameters, and enable the forward and back buttons with history.

Since none of these really apply to my Desktop application, I am thinking that Vue Router will bring little to the table and just add more boilerplate noise to the codebase. If I'm missing something and there is a significant benefit in Vue Router for my use case, please let me know.

Side note: I do plan on using Vuex to allow the different page components to work on the same set of state data without a lot of tedious prop/event binding.

chromium-embedded vue-router electron vue.js
2 Answers

I would still opt for vue-router, since it provides a standardized way for in-app routing in Vue apps. It is not some sort of exotic dependency you are introducing.

If your app is growing and you need things like nested routes and dynamic routing, passing props to a route, having navigation guards like ‘beforeEach’, you can just use it, without creating your own solution or rework the app to use the router. Also, another vue developer immediately understands the app routing and so do you, if you have to change something in the app after a year not working on it. And it is all well documented.

And you are developing a desktop app, which makes a few kB more or less in the bundle not a concern, I would think.

user_174388900
  • Automatic active link CSS classes
  • HTML history with back/forward navigation support
  • Nested components
  • etc.
user_33309810
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