What is MEAN Stack: MongoDB, Express, AngularJS & Node.js


The MEAN stack – also known as MEAN.js – is the collection of open source, JavaScript-based technologies that has changed the way developers build web and mobile applications.

MEAN is an acronym, which stands for:

MongoDB
Express
AngularJS
Node.js
The term was first coined by MongoDB developer Valeri Karpov in this 2013 blog post, where he outlines the advantages of using a single language throughout a technology stack.

This single language programming differentiates MEAN over the then-popular LAMP stack. Short for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, LAMP required developers to know various languages like C, C++, Perl, Python, PHP and SQL.

When it comes to the MEAN stack, JavaScript is king, the most commonly used language among developers according to the 2018 StackOverflow Developer Survey, with JSON as its common dialect.

Let’s take a look at each component below.

MongoDB: The Database
MongoDB - Part of the MEAN stack

MongoDB is the NoSQL database that stores documents in a JSON-like format.

It also requires no upfront schema, so developers can then jump directly to the development process instead of the data organization process (which, of course, should still be taken care of).

If you’re looking to try, check out Studio 3T’s free 30-day trial and get access to query auto-completion, instant code generation, SQL querying in MongoDB, and more. Download it here.

In case you’re considering or already using MongoDB, try Studio 3T, the only MongoDB GUI that combines query autocompletion, visual query building, instant code generation, stage-by-stage aggregation query building – and much more – all in one tool. Download it today.


Related reading:

Getting started with MongoDB
The main NoSQL database types
The official MongoDB website
Express: The Backend Framework


ExpressJS logo



Express.js calls itself the “fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework” for Node.js. It’s lightweight yet robust, which has made it a go-to among developers and the backbone of many applications today.

But Node.js alone isn’t enough to build a website. Sure, it’s responsible for giving JavaScript backend functionality, but it is Express.js that provides Node.js the structure and extra functions for more seamless development.

Together, Express and Node extend the capabilities of JavaScript for backend development, making it possible for developers to build entire applications just with JavaScript.

Related reading:

What’s a web framework?
The official Express.js website
AngularJS: The Frontend Framework
AngularJS - Part of the MEAN stack

“AngularJS is what HTML would have been, had it been designed for applications”.

The frontend component of the MEAN stack, AngularJS lets developers use HTML but it extends HTML syntax by creating new constructs, which spare the developer all the extra coding.

AngularJS modifies the HTML code it first reads from a page through a data binding and dependency injection method. It extends HTML attributes through directives, and binds data to HTML with expressions.

A directive is a marker that tells AngularJS’s HTML compiler to modify a DOM element (e.g. CSS class). ngBind, ngModel, and ngClass are examples of directives.

An expression, on the other hand, is a JavaScript-like code snippet that binds application data to HTML. Written inside double curly braces, expressions are mainly placed in interpolation bindings and directive attributes.

Related reading:

The official AngularJS website
Introduction to AngularJS
Node.js:  The Runtime Environment
Node.js logo

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment built on Google Chrome’s JavaScript Engine (V8 Engine). To understand why Node.js is so popular, we need to first look at latency and throughput.

Latency is the delay in data transmission or processing. Throughput is the amount of data processed. The sweet spot is to keep latency low and throughput high, which Node.js achieves through its “non-blocking” approach.

Unlike PHP which only executes commands after previous commands finish, Node.js executes commands concurrently, which makes it more time- and memory-efficient.

Related reading:

The official Node.js website
Introduction to Node.js
Advantages of the MEAN stack
Speed, simplicity, and scalability
MEAN’s individual technologies were all built to address speed, flexibility, and usability. The result is a modern and effective technology stack, which has enabled developers to create fast, easy, and highly scalable applications.

The npm registry, the package manager for Node.js, perfectly illustrates these perks. With over 350,000 packages or existing solutions publicly available, developers can easily tap into this resource to make coding faster and easier.

Single language programming = Developer productivity
The MEAN stack enables developers to code in a single programming language – JavaScript – throughout the whole development process.

Teams can then better collaborate because everyone speaks the same language, from backend to frontend.

Individual developers can also more seamlessly explore or transition other facets of the development process, without the extra hassle of having to learn another language.

Cost-effectiveness

Not only is the MEAN stack free and open-source – it also offers reduced development costs made possible by single-language programming.

MEAN.js enables developers to contribute throughout the whole development cycle instead of hiring separate help, not to mention that developers are also able to share and reuse code extensively.

Disadvantages of the MEAN stack
It’s always worth investigating – and maybe even implementing – the “Next-Big-Things” and “It” technologies like the MEAN stack. But that never means it’s right for your project.

Richard Clayton illustrates the importance of reflecting on one’ chosen technology or stack in the appropriately-titled, “MEAN’s great, but then you grow up“. Needs and teams evolve over time, and developers must always keep their finger on tech’s ever-changing pulse.

The rise of alternatives to the MEAN stack like MERN, which uses React.js instead of Angular.js, and MEVN which uses VueJS, shows that development teams can tweak existing framework options to suit their needs.[Source]-https://studio3t.com/knowledge-base/articles/what-is-mean-stack/
62 Hours Mean Stack Training includes MongoDB, JavaScript, A62 angularJS Training, MongoDB, Node JS and live Project Development. Demo Mean Stack Training available.

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