**Course Title:** Mastering Vue.js: Building Modern Web Applications **Section Title:** Fetching Data with Axios and API Integration **Topic:** Create a Vue application that fetches and displays data from a public API, implementing loading and error states.(Lab topic) In this lab topic, we'll create a Vue application that fetches and displays data from a public API, implementing loading and error states. We'll use Axios for making HTTP requests, and we'll cover essential concepts and techniques for building robust and efficient data-driven applications. **Exercise Overview:** We'll build a simple Vue application that fetches data from the [JSONPlaceholder API](https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/). Specifically, we'll fetch a list of posts and display them in a table. **Step 1: Create a new Vue application** Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command to create a new Vue application: ```bash vue create api-fetcher ``` Choose the " Manor" option and select the default settings. **Step 2: Install Axios** Install Axios by running the following command: ```bash npm install axios ``` **Step 3: Create a new component for fetching and displaying data** Create a new file called `PostList.vue` in the `src/components` directory: ```vue // src/components/PostList.vue <template> <div> <h1>Posts</h1> <table v-if="posts"> <thead> <tr> <th>ID</th> <th>Title</th> <th>Body</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr v-for="post in posts" :key="post.id"> <td>{{ post.id }}</td> <td>{{ post.title }}</td> <td>{{ post.body }}</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p v-else-if="loading">Loading...</p> <p v-else-if="error">{{ error }}</p> </div> </template> <script> import axios from 'axios' export default { data() { return { posts: null, loading: false, error: null } }, mounted() { this.fetchPosts() }, methods: { async fetchPosts() { this.loading = true try { const response = await axios.get('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts') this.posts = response.data } catch (error) { this.error = error.message } finally { this.loading = false } } } } </script> ``` This component uses Axios to fetch the list of posts from the JSONPlaceholder API. We display a loading message while the data is being fetched, and we display an error message if the request fails. **Step 4: Add the component to the main application** Open the `src/main.js` file and add the following line to import the `PostList` component: ```javascript import PostList from './components/PostList.vue' ``` Then, add the following line to render the component: ```javascript new Vue({ el: '#app', render: h => h(PostList) }).$mount('#app') ``` **Step 5: Test the application** Start the application by running the following command: ```bash npm run serve ``` Open your browser and navigate to `http://localhost:8080`. You should see a table displaying the list of posts. **Key Concepts and Takeaways:** * Use Axios to make HTTP requests to external APIs. * Implement loading and error states to handle asynchronous operations. * Use conditional rendering to display different content based on the application state. * Use the `mounted` lifecycle hook to fetch data when the component is mounted. * Use the `try`-`catch`-`finally` block to handle errors and loading states. **What's Next?** In the next topic, we'll cover **Understanding slots for building flexible components**. **Leave a Comment or Ask for Help:** Have any questions or need help with implementing this exercise? Leave a comment below, and we'll be happy to assist you. **Additional Resources:** * [Axios Documentation](https://axios-http.com/docs/intro) * [JSONPlaceholder API](https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/)