Passing down props using <slot> vs <component> and useSlots()

#1

Hi! This is my first post on this forum and I would like to know if there are any differences between these 2 ways of passing down a prop from parent → children → more children. Each component can have an arbitrary number of children.

Is there any difference between these 2 methods of passing a certain object down from the parent assuming I will always pass down a context? I am leaning towards the 2nd approach with the <component> tag and useSlots().

Thank you for the help and apologies if this has been asked before!


Using Slots

App.vue

<template>
  <Parent :context="context" v-slot="slotProp">
    <Child :context="slotProp.context" v-slot="slotProp">
      <DeeperChild :context="slotProp.context" />
    </Child>
  </Parent>
</template>

Parent.vue (same for the child compnents)

<template>
  <slot :context="context" />
</template>

Using the component tag and useSlots

App.vue

<template>
  <Parent :context="context">
    <Child>
      <DeeperChild/>
    </Child>
  </Parent>
</template>

Parent.vue (same for the child components)

<script setup>
import { useSlots } from 'vue';

const props = defineProps({
  context: {
    type: Object,
  },
})
})
const slots = useSlots();
</script>

<template>
  <component
    v-if="slots?.default"
    v-for="(component, i) in slots.default()" 
    :key="i"
    :is="component"
    :context="doSomeChange(context)"
  />
</template>
#2

The main difference between the two approaches is that the first one uses named slots to pass context data down the component tree while the second approach uses scoped slots and the useSlots hook to dynamically render components with context data.

Using named slots (first approach), you can pass context data from a parent component to child components using v-slot directive and provide it as a prop to the child components. The child components access the context data using the named slot prop (in this case, “slotProp”).

The second approach uses scoped slots and the useSlots hook to dynamically render components with context data. The context data is passed as a prop to the parent component, then the parent component passes it to the children components using the useSlots hook and the component tag. The child components access the context data using the “context” prop.

Ultimately, the choice between the two approaches depends on the specific use case and design preferences. However, the first approach might be easier to understand and maintain if the number of components and nesting levels is not too deep, while the second approach provides more flexibility and dynamic rendering capabilities.