Reactivity In Depth

Basic Reactivity Example

let A0 = 1
let A1 = 2
let A2 = A0 + A1
console.log(A2) // 3
A0 = 2
console.log(A2) // Still 3

When we change A0, A2 doesn’t automatically update. To create reactivity:

let A2
function update() {
  A2 = A0 + A1
}
whenDepsChange(update)

How Vue Implements Reactivity

Vue uses JavaScript’s Proxy to detect when reactive properties are accessed or modified:

function reactive(obj) {
  return new Proxy(obj, {
    get(target, key) {
      track(target, key)
      return target[key]
    },
    set(target, key, value) {
      target[key] = value
      trigger(target, key)
    }
  })
}

For primitive values, Vue uses a ref object:

function ref(value) {
  const refObject = {
    get value() {
      track(refObject, 'value')
      return value
    },
    set value(newValue) {
      value = newValue
      trigger(refObject, 'value')
    }
  }
  return refObject
}

Tracking Dependencies

// This will be set right before an effect is about to be run
let activeEffect

function track(target, key) {
  if (activeEffect) {
    const effects = getSubscribersForProperty(target, key)
    effects.add(activeEffect)
  }
}

function trigger(target, key) {
  const effects = getSubscribersForProperty(target, key)
  effects.forEach((effect) => effect())
}

The dependency tracking system uses a WeakMap<target, Map<key, Set<effect>>> structure.

Effect Registration

function whenDepsChange(update) {
  const effect = () => {
    activeEffect = effect
    update()
    activeEffect = null
  }
  effect()
}

Vue’s API Example

Using ref and watchEffect:

import { ref, watchEffect } from 'vue'

const A0 = ref(0)
const A1 = ref(1)
const A2 = ref()

watchEffect(() => {
  // tracks A0 and A1
  A2.value = A0.value + A1.value
})

// triggers the effect
A0.value = 2

Using the computed property:

import { ref, computed } from 'vue'

const A0 = ref(0)
const A1 = ref(1)
const A2 = computed(() => A0.value + A1.value)

A0.value = 2

DOM Updates Example

Vue automatically batches DOM updates:

import { ref, watchEffect } from 'vue'

const count = ref(0)

watchEffect(() => {
  document.body.innerHTML = `Count is: ${count.value}`
})

// updates the DOM
count.value++

Debugging Reactivity

Vue provides hooks for debugging reactivity:

<script setup>
import { onRenderTracked, onRenderTriggered } from 'vue'

onRenderTracked((event) => {
  debugger
})

onRenderTriggered((event) => {
  debugger
})
</script>

The debugging event object:

type DebuggerEvent = {
  effect: ReactiveEffect
  target: object
  type:
    | TrackOpTypes /* 'get' | 'has' | 'iterate' */
    | TriggerOpTypes /* 'set' | 'add' | 'delete' | 'clear' */
  key: any
  newValue?: any
  oldValue?: any
  oldTarget?: Map<any, any> | Set<any>
}

Debugging computed properties:

const plusOne = computed(() => count.value + 1, {
  onTrack(e) {
    // triggered when count.value is tracked as a dependency
    debugger
  },
  onTrigger(e) {
    // triggered when count.value is mutated
    debugger
  }
})

// access plusOne, should trigger onTrack
console.log(plusOne.value)

// mutate count.value, should trigger onTrigger
count.value++

You can also debug watchers:

watch(source, callback, {
  onTrack(e) {
    debugger
  },
  onTrigger(e) {
    debugger
  }
})

watchEffect(callback, {
  onTrack(e) {
    debugger
  },
  onTrigger(e) {
    debugger
  }
})

Integration with External State Management Libraries

Using shallowRef with Immer:

import { produce } from 'immer'
import { shallowRef } from 'vue'

export function useImmer(baseState) {
  const state = shallowRef(baseState)
  const update = (updater) => {
    state.value = produce(state.value, updater)
  }
  return [state, update]
}

Integration with XState:

import { createMachine, interpret } from 'xstate'
import { shallowRef } from 'vue'

export function useMachine(options) {
  const machine = createMachine(options)
  const state = shallowRef(machine.initialState)
  const service = interpret(machine)
    .onTransition((newState) => (state.value = newState))
    .start()
  const send = (event) => service.send(event)
  return [state, send]
}

Alternative API Patterns

Vue’s ref pattern requires using the .value property, while some libraries like SolidJS use a different approach:

// SolidJS style
const [count, setCount] = createSignal(0)
count() // access the value
setCount(1) // update the value

You can implement a similar API in Vue:

import { shallowRef, triggerRef } from 'vue'

export function createSignal(value, options) {
  const r = shallowRef(value)
  const get = () => r.value
  const set = (v) => {
    r.value = typeof v === 'function' ? v(r.value) : v
    if (options?.equals === false) triggerRef(r)
  }
  return [get, set]
}

Alternative signal implementation:

import { shallowRef } from 'vue'

export function signal(initialValue) {
  const r = shallowRef(initialValue)
  const s = () => r.value
  s.set = (value) => {
    r.value = value
  }
  s.update = (updater) => {
    r.value = updater(r.value)
  }
  return s
}

// Usage:
const count = signal(0)
count() // access the value
count.set(1) // set new value
count.update((v) => v + 1) // update based on previous value

The function call approach () compared to using .value offers different API ergonomics depending on preferences.