What is the MEAN stack, AngularJS, Node.js, and MongoDB?

The term MEAN stack refers to a collection of JavaScript-based technologies used to develop web applications.

MEAN is an acronym for MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, and Node.js. From client to server to database, MEAN is full stack JavaScript. This article explores the basics of the MEAN stack and shows how to create a simple bucket list application.

MEAN Stack Application Development is a modern and evolving trend for JavaScript development. MEAN is basically an acronym of:

M: MongoDB: It is the open-source, free, cross-platform database for JavaScript. It uses JSON document-oriented style for all the data representation. The logic behind choosing MongoDB is that it restricts us to just one language-JavaScript for the whole application development.

E: ExpressJS: Express.js is one of the most vital tools for developing effective mobile and web applications. It is the minimal framework for web development using Node.js. However, its functions are pretty massive. It is possible to build a whole website just using Node.js and Express.js. The combination enables us to build software on the server-side in which Node.js is essential, while Express.js helps to publish the app on our website. It offers a diverse variety of features like database integration, simplified multiple routing, template engines.

A: AngularJS: It is a front-end JS framework that extends HTML with few new attributes. It is used in developing client-side applications with modular code and a data binding User Interface. It is absolutely perfect for developing (SPAs) Single Page Applications. It is easy to learn.

N: Node.js: Node.js is a very powerful, open source, a cross-platform JavaScript-based run-time framework built on Google Chrome’s JSV8 engine. Being a completely free platform, it is used by thousands and thousands of developers around the world. It combines with ExpressJS for the application development.

Benefits of using MEAN Stack for Application Development are-

1. Single Language Development– The most obvious benefit is that the complete code for the development will be written in JavaScript. This covers the development right from the client-side to the server-side. This would be a blessing in disguise for developers who would have invested their time and money in learning the language from the scratch.
2. Open Source platform- The components of MEAN stack are open-source. Hence, the stack gets updated often.
3. Ease to learn- It is pretty easy to learn and flexible to grasp, understand and implement during development.
4. MEAN provides quality user interfaces as it supports Model View Controller (MVC) architecture.
5. Massive library of functions to work with- Node.js provides its users with a rich variety of JavaScript modules from its humongous library. These modules make it easier to develop web applications using Node.js.
6. MongoDB provides flexible structure- MongoDB offers a flexible JSON document structure for all the data representation. It is great for the larger projects.
7. Faster speed and usability- The non-blocking architecture of Node.js makes MEAN superfast. Angular JS offers maintenance, reusability, and testability. Working in a single language also makes the job of the developers a lot easier.
8. MEAN enables Isomorphic Coding- MEAN allows us to transfer between frameworks. If we write the code in a particular framework and then decide to transfer it to another, it can be done so easily and will function in the exact same way. This is where MEAN stack development is ahead of the rest of the pack.
9. MongoDB is Cloud compatible- MongoDB was developed specifically to make it easy to host the web applications into the cloud. So this is the best choice if our applications are required to provide cloud functions within it. It also brings in an ease in performing tasks like testing and maintaining. It also spreads across our cluster of servers to offer failure support which leads to automatic replication.
10. JSON everywhere- Both AngularJS and Node.js offer JSON. MongoDB is the database framework of MEAN and even it offers us to store all the data in JSON format. Even Express uses it. MEAN uses a common JSON format for data everywhere. Hence, the data flows precisely among the layers in JSON and it doesn’t require reformatting or rewriting. JSON also makes working with the APIs extremely easy.