When Vue's watch Made Me Think of React's useEffect

So I was just messing around with Vue, exploring how watch works.

At first glance — smooth experience. No drama.

Just tell Vue what to keep an eye on, and boom — it handles the rest.

And then it hit me:

“Arrey yaar, this feels just like React’s useEffect!”

Same Thought, Different Syntax

In React, we write something like:

useEffect(() => {
  // Do something when value changes
}, [value]);

Clean. You change the value, and React runs that function.

Now look at Vue’s watch:

watch: {
  value(newVal, oldVal) {
    // Do something when value changes
  }
}

Almost the same logic. Just different clothes.

React needs you to manage that dependency array — one tiny mistake, and you're debugging for hours.

Vue? You just say, “Bhai, watch this value,” and done.

Vue Does the Heavy Lifting

What I love about Vue is that you don’t need to overthink.

Just declare the thing you care about, and Vue handles the nitty-gritty behind the scenes.

watch: {
  userId(newVal) {
    this.fetchUser(newVal);
  }
}

No stale closures. No mental gymnastics with dependency arrays.

It just works. Like good chai — simple, warm, and no fuss.

Deep Watching? Vue's Got Your Back

React devs, you know the pain of tracking nested state.

You either pull out lodash, or do a JSON.stringify() dance. 😅

In Vue, just say deep: true and chill.

watch: {
  settings: {
    handler(newVal) {
      // Handle deeply nested settings
    },
    deep: true
  }
}

That's it. Vue’s like: “Bhai, I got this.”

Vue vs React: Not a War, Just Taste

Let’s be clear — I’m not saying Vue > React.

Both are solid, battle-tested frameworks.

But when it comes to watch vs useEffect, Vue just feels more intuitive.

You don’t manage the system — you declare your intent, and Vue handles the rest.

Feels less like babysitting code, more like writing what you mean.

TL;DR:

Vue’s watch is kinda like React’s useEffect, just with fewer moving parts.

It’s clear, focused, and beginner-friendly.

Same job — responding to data changes — but Vue gives you that “no tension” vibe.