Understanding Vue.js Navigation with Vue Router

In Vue.js, to programmatically navigate to a different route with Vue Router, the correct method to use is this.$router.push('/path'). Vue Router is the official router for Vue.js. It deeply integrates with Vue.js core to make building Single Page Applications a breeze.

Navigating with Vue Router

Navigating programmatically in Vue.js is a common task, especially when we want to link to another route without the need for an anchor tag. Vue Router offers methods that allow you to achieve this programmatically: among them, this.$router.push('./path') is the correct approach.

This method pushes a new entry into the history stack. This awakens the router and activates the route with which the method is associated. Here is an example of how you could implement this:

methods: {
  goToHomePage: function() {
    this.$router.push('/')
  }
}

In this example, the goToHomePage method will navigate to the home page of the application when it is invoked.

Router.push() Function Signature

The router.push method function signature looks like this:

router.push(location, onComplete?, onAbort?).

• The location parameter is a string representing the path on which you want to navigate.
• The onComplete and onAbort callbacks are optional and can be used to perform some operation after the navigation is complete or if the navigation is aborted, respectively.

Best Practices and Additional Insights

While this.$router.push() provides an effective way to navigate, it’s important to remember that using this approach will create a new history entry, meaning the back button will not function in the way users might expect. If you want to prevent this from happening you can use this.$router.replace() which will not add a new entry in the history stack.

In conclusion, the Vue Router provides powerful navigation methods, enabling not only declarative routing via components, but also imperative routing allowing you to control the navigation flow within your Vue.js application programmatically. It's always a good practice to understand and use them according to the requirements of your application to provide a seamless navigation experience.