MEAN Stack Development: All That You Need To Know

Web development is not the same it was in the early internet age. It is a fast-paced and diverse environment. With the continuous advancements in frameworks, programming languages, and tools, it becomes difficult to choose the “right” tech to ensure rapid, accurate, and secured web application development. 

When you are building an application from the ground up, it is important to engage a constant and standardized software stack. Although, in the current era, the domain of stack is overcrowded with a number of options, like Django, Ruby on Rails, LAMP, etc. There’s no one-size-fits-all stack as each of them has its pros and cons. 

So, today we will learn more about MEAN stack development.

What is MEAN?

The word MEAN is an abbreviation for MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, and Node.js. The foundation of MEAN is full-stack JavaScript. MEAN leads to faster development and deployment of client-side and server-side elements of web applications. Apart from that, it also helps in handling the database of the application.

But, what does each segment of MEAN do? Let’s get into it.

• MongoDB

MongoDB is an open-source No-SQL database program that uses JSON documents with optional schemas. MongoDB helps in accelerating the development, address diverse data sets, and adapt instantly to any changes. It naturally supports JSON, and its expressive query language can be easily learned and used by developers. 

• ExpressJS

ExpressJS is a free and open-source web application framework designed for Node.js. ExpressJS is the de facto standard server framework for Node.js.  It provides a simple application programming interface (API) to build web apps, back ends, and websites. Express is highly flexible with numerous npm modules that can be directly plugged into it. 

• AngularJS

AngularJS is an open-source, structural front-end framework used to develop single-page dynamic web applications. It lets developers use HTML as the template language and extend its syntax to express components of the application precisely. 

• Node.js

Just like the other three, Node.js is also an open-source, cross-platform backend JavaScript runtime environment. Node.js runs on the V8 engine. With Node.js, you can create dynamic page content, collect data and modify the database. Node.js allows the building of scalable web applications. It is enriched with an ecosystem of open source libraries and components, including npm.

Why Use MEAN Stack?

MEAN stack has become one of the widely used stacks of the era. The unique selling point of the MEAN stack is that it only uses one programming language - JavaScript. It is being used by companies like Fiverr, Accenture, Sisense, etc. 

• Isomorphic Coding

An isomorphic code is that which runs both on the client and server-side. And using MEAN stack means using one programming language, JavaScript, for the development of a web application. It not only eases the development but also makes MEAN stand out from other stacks.

• Fast MVP Development

MEAN stack allows creating scalable applications with the help of its large number of additional libraries, frameworks, and reusable modules. It also increases the development speed and saves time by making it less laborious. 

• Reusability

AngularJS, with its maintainability, testability as well as reusability, and Node.js with its non-blocking architecture, increases the development speed along with the reusability of components in applications.

• Cloud Compatibility

MEAN stack is cloud compatible. It enables developers to use libraries and public repositories in the development process of a web application. Also, MongoDB helps them in deploying cloud functionalities in the web app to reduce the space cost. 

• JSON Everywhere

Whether it is MongoDB, AngularJS, or Node.js, they all use JSON to store or use the data in the web app to eliminate the need to reformat data now and then. 

• Open Source Component

Every component of the MEAN stack is open source and updates frequently, enabling developers to customize code as per the requirements. 

The Architecture of MEAN Stack

As we know, the MEAN stack includes MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, and Node.js to allow developers to build and maintain both the front end and back end of the application. It is exceptionally simple to use and helps in developing dynamic cloud-native applications. 

In a MEAN stack architecture, when a client makes a request, it is processed by AngularJS. Then, Node.js handles the request of the client/server, and ExpressJS requests the database. Next, MongoDB retrieves data and returns the response to ExpressJS. Finally, ExpressJS shares the response with Node.js and Node.js to AngularJS so that the response can be displayed to the user.

Security of MEAN Stack

MEAN Stack is a secured and stable platform. While MongoDB isn’t vulnerable to SQL Injection as it uses JSON objects to store data and SQL strings to manipulate it, which makes the database secure. And using MongoDB Atlas with MEAN stack, you can gain a firewall, end-to-end encryption, and credentials to secure your database. On the other hand, the core contributor of the MEAN stack, Node.js, maintains numerous channels to address security issues for its projects and users. 

Takeaway

With the knowledge gained from this blog on MEAN stack, you can now decide whether you want to become a MEAN stack developer or not. And if you are someone who is looking to develop a cloud-native web application for your startup, then you can hire developers who have gained years of experience in the software industry while helping others achieve their goals.