What are composition functions?
Assesses fundamental understanding of Vue.js conventions, runtime behavior, and memory/performance considerations.
Hiring managers look for precision, avoidance of ambiguous jargon, and ability to explain trade-offs under real production conditions.
Composition functions (commonly called Vue Composables) are functions that leverage Vue's Composition API to encapsulate, manage, and reuse stateful logic across components.
Composables are Vue's architectural equivalent to React Custom Hooks. By convention, their names start with use....
### Practical Composable Example:
// composables/useWindowSize.ts
import { ref, onMounted, onUnmounted } from 'vue';
export function useWindowSize() {
const width = ref(window.innerWidth);
const height = ref(window.innerHeight);
function update() {
width.value = window.innerWidth;
height.value = window.innerHeight;
}
onMounted(() => window.addEventListener('resize', update));
onUnmounted(() => window.removeEventListener('resize', update));
return { width, height };
}
### Using It in Any Component:
<script setup>
import { useWindowSize } from '@/composables/useWindowSize';
const { width, height } = useWindowSize();
</script>
<template>
<p>Viewport: {{ width }} x {{ height }}</p>
</template>
### Advantages over Mixins:
- Explicit Data Sources: You see exactly where every reactive variable originated.
- No Namespace Collisions: Destructured properties can be renamed easily (
const { width: screenWidth } = useWindowSize()). - Full TypeScript Support: Provides end-to-end type inference.
Candidate Response Strategy & Interview Tips
- Start with a concise one-sentence summary: Deliver a direct, confident answer first before expanding into nuances.
- Demonstrate real-world trade-offs: Discuss where this approach excels and when you would avoid it in production systems.
- Discuss complexity & edge cases: Proactively explain time/space complexity or boundary conditions (null values, scale limits).
- Prepare for interviewer follow-ups: Technical hiring panels frequently probe deeper into concurrency, backward compatibility, or alternative libraries.