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MERN Stack - A Full Guide with Introduction & Examples

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05th Sep, 2023
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    MERN Stack - A Full Guide with Introduction & Examples

    Modern Web applications have greater demands than ever before. The expectations from today's applications have become increasingly more complex, from being available 24/7 around the world to complex scenarios with an efficient mix of rich user experiences built on the client using JavaScript and communicating efficiently through seamless web APIs.

    This is where a stack of technologies comes into the picture.

    “A Stack of technologies is a set of frameworks and tools used to develop a software product.” 

    This set of frameworks, tools, and libraries are chosen specifically to work concurrently in creating well-functioning complex software. To understand how they work simultaneously check out full stack certification here. 

    Examples of some widely used web development technology stacks in use today: 

    • MERN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, NodeJS) 
    • LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) 
    • MEAN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS) 

    MERN Stack - An Overview  

    Although there are many different stacks out there to consider, some have become more common than others due to their popularity and ease of use. One of these popular stacks is the MERN stack. Let us check out MERN stack full form which consists of the following technologies: 

    1. M stands for MongoDB ( Database ) which is a Popular NoSQL (Non-Structured Query Language) Database System. 
    2. E stands for Express, A powerful middleware that sits on top of the server side Node.js web APIs. 
    3. R stands for React, a client-side JavaScript Library renowned for developing rich user experiences. 
    4. N stands for Node js, A premier JavaScript web server development environment that is fast and efficient. 

    MERN Full Stack is a JavaScript Stack utilized for more straightforward and quicker organization of full-stack web applications. Get a web development certificate course to understand all there is to developing applications end to end. 

    It makes the advancement interaction smoother and simpler between the backend and the frontend as both use JavaScript as the primary technology. 

    MERN Stack - A Full Guide with Introduction & Examples

    Every one of the four technologies gives a start-to-finish design for the developers to work, as every one of these technologies has a major impact on the improvement of applications. 

    To mention some of the Impacts of the MERN stack on the overall web app are as follows: 

    1. Cost-effective: All the four technologies mentioned above are Open source, and the frontend and the backend are built on JavaScript making MERN stack cost-effective. With lesser investment users get better results. 
    2. SEO friendly: Websites created using MERN technologies are always SEO friendly. Here, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly means that search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc., can search each page on the website efficiently and effortlessly. 
    3. Better performance: Due to the fast exchange of response between backend, front-end, and database, which ultimately improves the website speed yielding better performance, thus providing a smooth user experience. 
    4. Improves Security: Here security refers to web application security of various technologies, processes and methods used for protecting web servers and various web applications and APIs (Application user interface).
    5. Provide the fastest delivery: Web and mobile applications built using MERN Stack are made much faster, which means they can be delivered faster to our clients. 
    6. Provides faster Modifications: These technologies support quick modifications to clients' requests and are agile. 
    7. Open Source: The four technologies involved in MERN Full Stack are open-source. This solid feature allows for the better community and development support that developers get, which makes development faster and more efficient. 
    8. Easy to switch between client and server: MERN is remarkably simple and prompt because it's written in only one language. Therefore, it is easier to switch between client and server. 

    MERN Stack Components  

    Now you know that there are four components to the MERN Stack, so let's dive in to understand how each one fits in. 

    MERN adheres to a 3-tier architecture system consisting of 3 layers

    These layers are as follows: 

    1. Front-end tier for Web 
    2. The middle tier is Server 
    3. Backend tier as Database 

    Let's understand these tiers before we jump into the components, so to make it easier to understand every technology's role in the stack. To understand the tires better you can check out KnowledgeHut’s full stack certification. 

    MERN Stack - A Full Guide with Introduction & Examples

    1. Web or front-end tier – Basically, the top tier of the MERN stack handled by React.js, which is prominently used open-source front-end JavaScript library for building Web applications. It is renowned for creating dynamic client-side applications and is often used to construct complex interfaces. One of its best features is that it allows the reusability of code which has many benefits and is a time saver.

    2. Server or middle-tier - The next level from top layer is handled by two components of the stack, i.e., Express.js and Node.js. They handle it simultaneously where Express.js maintains the server-side framework and middleware, running inside the Node.js server. This empowers developers to spin up dynamic APIs and web servers at the same time adding helpful functionalities to Node.js. Whereas on the other hand, Node.js, being a cross-platform runtime environment for executing JavaScript code outside a browser, holds a very important role in itself.

    3. Database as backend tier - Being one of the most important levels of the MERN Stack, it is handled by MongoDB. The main role of a database is to store all your application-related data. It maintains a proper record and generates multiple replica files of the data whenever the system fails. It can retrieve the exact information or data that the user wants. It is the most popular NoSQL database.

    Let's dive in to understand one by one the four Major components that play a major role in forming MERN Stack: 

    MONGODB  

    1. Mongo DB is a popular NoSQL and open-source document-oriented database. 
    2. 'NoSQL' is a non-relational database and does not require a fixed schema, therefore it stores the data in a different format unlike the relational tables. 
    3. The format in which the data is stored is known as BSON (Binary JavaScript Object Notation) 
    4. Its structure encodes the length and type of information and therefore allows it to be parsed much more quickly, also allowing a highly scalable and flexible document structure. 
    5. It is faster than RDBMS as it has efficient storage and better indexing techniques. 
    6. MongoDB uses JavaScript as a coding language which in itself is a big advantage for this stack. 
    7. As it is Schemaless, data stored is stored in a separate document. 
    8. It supports a flexible document model, which is remarkably fast for any developer to create. 
    9. MongoDB can easily scale by adding more and more servers, and at the same time it increases productivity with its flexible document model. 

    EXPRESS  

    1. Express a JavaScript-based server-side framework runs within Node js. 
    2. Being among the best backend development frameworks, it empowers the developer with a platform to create and maintain robust servers. 
    3. It is mostly used for building and designing web as well as mobile applications easily and efficiently. 
    4. It allows developers to spin up robust APIs and web servers with much ease and simplicity. 
    5. Express adds robust and efficient functionalities to the system with routing and middleware that make it easy to connect with Databases like MongoDB and handle errors using error handling middleware. 
    6. Express with its gigantic suite of third-party add-ons provides better functionality, helps to increase the security level, and improves the speed of the software. 
    7. Also, With its built-in router, it promotes code reusability. 

    REACT  

    1. React is a very popular open-source JavaScript library used for building Web applications, specifically used to build user interfaces for a single-page web application. 
    2. Another thing to note is that it is not a JavaScript framework but a JavaScript library developed by Facebook. 
    3. It allows us to create reusable UI ( User Interface ) components that are very fast, simple, and scalable. 
    4. React can also be used with a combination of other JavaScript libraries or frameworks. 
    5. It has very fast performance due to the immutability of data. 

    NODEJS  

    1. Node js is also an open-source environment for the server side, it is a cross-platform runtime environment that helps execute JavaScript code outside the browser. 
    2. To keep it clear it is not a programming language or a framework. 
    3. It is used time and again for building and developing numerous backend services on the web and mobile. 
    4. It is incredibly consistent and provides extremely robust and quick service services. 
    5. It plays a key role in building real-time web apps because of its faster synchronization.
    6. It has a Non-blocking/Asynchronous nature due to the event loop and therefore acts like a fast suite where all the operations are performed quickly. 
    7. It also provides caching properties where a single module can be easily cached so you do not need to re-execute the same lines of code and thus quickening the response time.

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    Use Cases of MERN Stack  

    Being a popular web stack, it lets you develop whatever you want. A few examples and uses case for MERN is as follows: 

    Calendars and To-do Apps  

    A calendar or a to-do app is a fundamental project that every developer should work on when learning or picking up a new stack, as it can tell you a lot about the mechanics of the preferred stack. For such apps, you can design the frontend using ReactJS. whereas the data to be stored, accessed, and modified can be done using MongoDB. 

    Interactive Forums  

    Another practical use case for MERN is an interactive forum, just like a social media platform or a website allowing its users to share messages and communicate with each other. 

    Conclusion  

    Modern web developers who have enough experience with JavaScript prefer developing rich, intuitive, and complex applications using the MERN stack.

    I hope you have also picked the necessary details to be a part of this full-stack community. MERN being a popular web stack is a must for developers looking out to have an edge when creating the finest of web apps. 

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    1. What do you mean by MERN Stack?

    MERN Stack, which stands for MongoDB, Express, React, Node, after the four key technologies that make up this technology stack, is a JavaScript Stack utilized for more straightforward and quicker organization of full-stack web applications.

    2. Difference between MEAN Stack and MERN Stack?

    The major difference between the MEAN & MERN stack is the use of frontend frameworks, MEAN stack uses AngularJs, whereas MERN uses React Js. It is quite confusing to choose between both frameworks as they provide abstraction at the UI level. 

    3. Is MERN Stack in high demand?

    The Demand for the MERN stack increases daily, making it an ideal choice for any business to adopt and the best choice for a student to learn.

    4. Is MERN stack back-end or front-end?

    MERN Stack is for Full stack development, it uses React Js for frontend and Node Js for backend development. 

    Profile

    Nikhilesh Pandey

    Author

    "Experienced Lead Developer oriented towards problem-solving and analyzing impacts, both technically and functionally, Enjoy's working with web technologies with a strong focus on quality code and robust system architecture."

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