The power of a MEAN stack development

A few years ago MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS and Node.js were raising eyebrows individually but now together they are turning heads. This stack has become invaluable to the software industry of 2017 and possesing these skills can make your company an enticing option for bigger sharks scanning the sea out there. So, let’s find out why you should make this switch!

1. Overall simplicity and common structure

MongoDB offers a more flexible and accommodating layer for storing data while Node.js provides a much better nexus for running your server and Express.js comes in with support in standardizing how you build your websites. AngularJS provides a clean way of adding interactive functions along with AJAX-driven rich components, for the clients. Together, they create a clean, coherent mechanism for transferring data from user to disk farm and back.

2. Built for the cloud

MongoDB is made for the cloud. The MEAN stack offers a compelling database layer in MongoDB and it comes equipped with full cluster support and automatic sharding straight out of the box. Initiate MongoDB and it will spread across your cluster of servers to offer failover support and automatic replication. Since, cloud allows the easy development and testing of apps there’s no doubt to not consider MongoDB for your next project.

3. Node.js Simplifies the Server Layer

Navigating through the multiple layers of the LAMP stack can be tough as it has one shuffling through various configuration files with differing syntax. MEAN simplifies this with Node.js. Want to change how your app routes requests? Add JavaScript and let Node.js do the rest. Want to rewrite URLs or construct an odd mapping, use JavaScript. The MEAN stack’s reliance on Node.js converts all this kind of work in one language, and all in one pile of logic. Having everything in one layer = less confusion and reduced amount of weird bugs created by strange interactions between multiple layers.

4. AngularJS is fresh

There are plenty of good PHP-based frameworks that work with MySQL but each is a big different and moving in its own direction, so, for the most part if you wish to perform any actions on the client side, you’re on your own. For instance, WordPress, Joomla and Drupal offer differing strategies, making it hard to switch between them, let alone transfer code from one to another. Appointing one client framework adds consistency and stability. AngularJS’s templating system and logic layers are significantly clearer than what we have seen before, and this makes it a perfect candidate to run your project.

5. Make your code isomorphic

The simplicity doesn’t end with using JavaScript on the server but rather continues with being able to use it on the client side too! Let’s say for example, you write code for Node and decide it would be better placed in AngularJS you can transfer it with ease and be almost certain that it would run the same way. This adaptability makes programming MEAN based apps A LOT easier. Moreover, in terms of staffing for a project you don’t need to look for a PHP expert, a front-end and back-end specialist, it’s all JavaScript across the stack.

6. Uniformity with JSON

MongoDB, Node.js, AngularJS, and Express.js all speak JSON. This helps the data flow neatly among all layers without rewriting or reformatting. PHP may already have the code to import to MySQL data and make it easy to process in PHP but that doesn’t help in the client layer. MEAN uses the same JSON format for data everywhere, making it simpler and more time sensitive in terms of reformatting  as it passes through each layer. JSON’s popularity through the MEAN stack makes it easier to work with external APIs.

Signing Off

Of course, you can always mix and match! ….if you’re really picky. Plenty of developers use MongoDB with Apache and PHP while others prefer to use MySQL with Node.js. More than that, AngularJS works really well with any server. So, don’t become a slave to the acronyms!