**Course Title:** Mastering Vue.js: Building Modern Web Applications **Section Title:** Building Real-Time Applications with Vue and WebSockets **Topic:** Building a chat application with Vue and WebSockets **Overview** In this topic, we will explore how to build a real-time chat application using Vue.js and WebSockets. We will cover the basics of WebSockets, how to establish a connection, and how to handle real-time data updates. By the end of this topic, you will have a solid understanding of how to build a real-time chat application using Vue.js and WebSockets. **Prerequisites** Before starting this topic, make sure you have a basic understanding of Vue.js and WebSockets. You should also have a development environment set up with Vue CLI, Node.js, and NPM. **Setting up the Project** To start, let's create a new Vue project using Vue CLI: ```bash vue create chat-app ``` Next, install the WebSocket library: ```bash npm install ws ``` **Establishing a WebSocket Connection** To establish a WebSocket connection, we need to create a WebSocket object and set up an event listener for the `open` event. We will also set up an event listener for the `message` event to handle incoming messages. ```javascript // src/main.js import { createApp } from 'vue' import App from './App.vue' const app = createApp(App) app.config.globalProperties.$ws = new WebSocket('ws://localhost:8080') app.mount('#app') ``` **Handling Real-Time Data Updates** To handle real-time data updates, we need to set up an event listener for the `message` event. We will also use the `JSON.parse()` method to parse the incoming message as JSON. ```javascript // src/App.vue <template> <div> <h1>Chat App</h1> <ul> <li v-for="message in messages" :key="message.id">{{ message.text }}</li> </ul> <input type="text" v-model="newMessage" /> <button @click="sendMessage">Send</button> </div> </template> <script> export default { data() { return { messages: [], newMessage: '' } }, mounted() { this.$ws.onmessage = (event) => { const message = JSON.parse(event.data) this.messages.push(message) } }, methods: { sendMessage() { const message = { text: this.newMessage, id: Date.now() } this.$ws.send(JSON.stringify(message)) this.newMessage = '' } } } </script> ``` **Conclusion** In this topic, we covered how to build a real-time chat application using Vue.js and WebSockets. We established a WebSocket connection, set up event listeners for the `open` and `message` events, and handled real-time data updates. By the end of this topic, you should have a solid understanding of how to build a real-time chat application using Vue.js and WebSockets. **Additional Resources** * [WebSocket API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebSockets_API) * [Vue.js WebSocket Example](https://vuejs.org/v2/guide/components.html#Dynamic-Component-Names) **Leave a comment or ask for help if you have any questions or need further clarification on any of the concepts covered in this topic.**