The MERN Stack Explained

Do you work with a specific tech stack? Do you have a favorite one? We'll focus on a popular JavaScript-based technology: the MERN Stack. Below, we'll explain what it is, its different technologies, and what makes it a great choice for building dynamic web applications. Let's go! 

What is the MERN Stack?

The MERN Stack technology, or mernstack, is a collection of cloud-based technologies for building applications from scratch. Created by Facebook in 2013, MERN is an acronym for its four main technologies: MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node. As a whole, this collection aims to make web developers' lives easier.

What are the MERN Stack Elements?

M- MongoDB on MERN

MongoDB is a NoSQL Database Management Software (DBMS). It's necessary for any data that needs storage in the app (such as content, user profiles, and uploads). It works exceptionally well with the other technologies in this stack. The document-oriented database supports scalability and agility and has speedy query performance. If you want a case study involving MongoDB Atlas, look here! You can also read our article about Mongo and its uses within DBMS.

E- Express on MERN

Express.js is a server-side Node application framework known for being minimalistic and unopinionated. Further, it's asynchronous, single-threaded, efficient, fast, and scalable. ExpressJS provides server-side logic for apps. It applies to single-page, multipage, and hybrid web app building.

R- React on MERN

Although many refer to React as a framework, it is a Front-End JavaScript library! The popular front-end library is a top-rated tool for development companies of all sizes, mainly used for building User Interfaces (UIs). Its main features include being declarative, simple, and supporting server-side rendering. It's also fast, easy to use, and component-based. You can learn more about React here!

N- Node on MERN

Node—or Node.js—is an open-source JavaScript runtime environment to build scalable network apps. Node is asynchronous and event-driven. It is also open-source, cross-platform, single-threaded, fast, and scalable. Node’s benefits include improved developer productivity, application performance, customer satisfaction, and reduced development costs. Moreover, it has an easy learning curve and a large community. If you want to see an example of Node in action, you can look at our work with Marathon Kids. Further, this article can tell you more about how Node.js works with Flutter!

MERN Stack Summary

● The MERN Stack comprises MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js. 
● MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database management software for storing data. 
● Express is a lightweight web application framework that provides logic for building web apps. 
● React is a declarative, simple, fast JavaScript library for building User Interfaces. 
● Node.js is a JavaScript environment for building scalable network apps. It's asynchronous, event-driven, and has an easy learning curve.

How the MERN Stack Works?

MERN uses a 3-tier architecture comprising the front end, the back end, and the database. React handles the front end, Express and Node are in charge of the back end, and MongoDB is the document database layer for this development environment. These components JavaScript code and JSON as query language to create web applications.

React makes up the top tier and is in charge of building the interface for your web application. Then Express.js, which runs inside a Node.js server, works on the back end. Express functions can connect to the React Front-End via XML HTTP Requests, GETs, or POSTs. MongoDB’s role is to store any data for your dynamic web interface. You can send JSON documents created in the React front end to the Express server for processing and storage in the MongoDB database tier. Look at this showcase for a Full-Stack MERN application example!

React Native MERN Stack

Are you wondering if you can create a mobile application with MERN? The answer is yes! In this case, you must add React Native to the mix to make a MERN app. For context, React Native is an open-source framework built over ReactJS. This framework specializes in native mobile apps. Moreover, it’s cross-platform, meaning you can use it for iOS and Android. Its benefits include a faster application development process, native interface creation, and easy testing. 

TypeScript MERN Stack

The MERN Stack is not only flexible on its front-end framework, but you can also use a different language! A great example of MERN's versatility is its use with TypeScript. If you're interested in learning about TS, check out our article.

MERN vs. MEAN Stacks

There is a wide range of Full-Stack Development stacks, two of which are MERN and MEAN. But what makes the two stacks differ? The main difference is that MEAN uses Angular instead of React for the Front End. While it's less popular than React, Angular is still a robust framework! These changes in the development frameworks have different purposes for these two popular web stacks.

The MEAN Stack focuses more on file management and abstraction in coding, while the MERN Stack helps you code faster. Moreover, MEAN is more productive with large-scale apps, yet MERN is best for small apps with less development time. Do you want to learn more about the differences between React and Angular? Check out our article on this topic (which also includes Vue.JS)!

Why is the MERN Stack Popular?

What makes MERN Stack projects so great for fulfilling your project requirements? Let's cover the pros of combining these four techs! MERN is a popular choice for building modern web applications due to its open-source and constantly-improved technology. One of the main advantages of this stack is its ease of use, which allows for the creation of high-performance applications quite quickly. Additionally, it's full-stack, meaning that you can develop all edges of your final product with its elements.

Another benefit of MERN is that all its techs are prevalent and have an excellent community of Web Developers to look for support. Further, with JavaScript for both the front and back end, there's no need for context switching, making code maintenance and bug fixing easy and making MERN a cost-effective stack. Overall, MERN is a powerful and efficient technology that can help developers easily build high-quality and scalable web applications.

Conclusion

As a MERN Stack Development Company, we know that MERN has many advantages in developing full-stack applications. Given that all four tools work with JavaScript, the learning process is more accessible. The sky seems to be the limit for creating scalable full-stack web applications with this amazing tech blend!