2.4 ----vue render源码

vm._render 最终是通过执行 createElement 方法并返回的是 vnode  
Vue.prototype._render = function () {
      var vm = this;
      var ref = vm.$options;
      var render = ref.render;
      var _parentVnode = ref._parentVnode;

      if (_parentVnode) {
        vm.$scopedSlots = normalizeScopedSlots(
          _parentVnode.data.scopedSlots,
          vm.$slots,
          vm.$scopedSlots
        );
      }

      // set parent vnode. this allows render functions to have access
      // to the data on the placeholder node.
      vm.$vnode = _parentVnode;
      // render self
      var vnode;
      try {
        // There's no need to maintain a stack because all render fns are called
        // separately from one another. Nested component's render fns are called
        // when parent component is patched.
        currentRenderingInstance = vm;
vm.$createElement 方法定义是在执行 initRender 方法的时候，可以看到除了 vm.$createElement 方法，还有一个 vm._c 方法，它是被模板编译成的 render 函数使用，而 vm.$createElement 是用户手写 render 方法使用的， 这俩个方法支持的参数相同，并且内部都调用了 createElement 方法。
        vnode = render.call(vm._renderProxy, vm.$createElement); 
      } catch (e) {
        handleError(e, vm, "render");
        // return error render result,
        // or previous vnode to prevent render error causing blank component
        /* istanbul ignore else */
        if (vm.$options.renderError) {
          try {
            vnode = vm.$options.renderError.call(vm._renderProxy, vm.$createElement, e);
          } catch (e) {
            handleError(e, vm, "renderError");
            vnode = vm._vnode;
          }
        } else {
          vnode = vm._vnode;
        }
      } finally {
        currentRenderingInstance = null;
      }
      // if the returned array contains only a single node, allow it
      if (Array.isArray(vnode) && vnode.length === 1) {
        vnode = vnode[0];
      }
      // return empty vnode in case the render function errored out
      if (!(vnode instanceof VNode)) {
        if (Array.isArray(vnode)) {
          warn(
            'Multiple root nodes returned from render function. Render function ' +
            'should return a single root node.',
            vm
          );
        }
        vnode = createEmptyVNode();
      }
      // set parent
      vnode.parent = _parentVnode;
      return vnode
    };
  }

 function initRender (vm) { 
    vm._vnode = null; // the root of the child tree
    vm._staticTrees = null; // v-once cached trees
    var options = vm.$options;
    var parentVnode = vm.$vnode = options._parentVnode; // the placeholder node in parent tree
    var renderContext = parentVnode && parentVnode.context;
    vm.$slots = resolveSlots(options._renderChildren, renderContext);
    vm.$scopedSlots = emptyObject;
    // bind the createElement fn to this instance
    // so that we get proper render context inside it.
    // args order: tag, data, children, normalizationType, alwaysNormalize
    // internal version is used by render functions compiled from templates
    vm._c = function (a, b, c, d) { return createElement(vm, a, b, c, d, false); };
    // normalization is always applied for the public version, used in
    // user-written render functions.
    vm.$createElement = function (a, b, c, d) { return createElement(vm, a, b, c, d, true); };

    // $attrs & $listeners are exposed for easier HOC creation.
    // they need to be reactive so that HOCs using them are always updated
    var parentData = parentVnode && parentVnode.data;

    /* istanbul ignore else */
    {
      defineReactive$$1(vm, '$attrs', parentData && parentData.attrs || emptyObject, function () {
        !isUpdatingChildComponent && warn("$attrs is readonly.", vm);
      }, true);
      defineReactive$$1(vm, '$listeners', options._parentListeners || emptyObject, function () {
        !isUpdatingChildComponent && warn("$listeners is readonly.", vm);
      }, true);
    }
  }