Is this a javascript object in Vue.js?

Question

I see the following format of code in Vue.js tutorials a lot and was wondering if it is a javascript object. I'm checking w3schoosl now and it seems javascript objects are defined by a variable instead of having the straight return command followed by the parenthesis. Could someone guide me in the correct direction? Thanks! :) I'm trying to learn the code one by one and sometimes am confused whether something belongs to the framework I'm using or plain javascript. :)

return {
        messages: [
          {
            message: 'Hey!',
            user: 'John Doe'
          },
          {
            message: 'Hello!',
            user: 'Jane Jennings'
          }
        ]
      }

Answer 1

This is a plain javascript object. Returning the way that you did or assigning to a variable produces the same result, it still a javascript object. Directly returning the object is just a shortcut and reduces the amount of code, producing the same results.

Vue is written using javascript so it uses javascript objects too.

Answer 2

You are returning a javascript object with a property called messages which, in turn, is an array containing several objects, each separated by a comma.

You can tell it's an object because of the { ... } that encapsulates a group of properties.

// object
{
    property: 'value'
}

You can tell that the message property is an array because of the [ ... ] that encapsulates a list of items, separate by commas.

message: [
    {}, // first object, notice the comma
    {}  // second object
]