What is the MERN Stack? Full Form, Examples and Advantages

The MERN stack consists of four programming languages that are similar to each other and that can be used together in the same project to create web applications and services. They are MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js, which is how it got its name (MERN).

MongoDB is a document-oriented database, Express.js is a web application framework, React.js is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, and Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment.

It is a popular stack for building web applications and some popular MERN stack website examples include Airbnb, Uber, and Netflix. MERN developers are in high demand due to the popularity of the stack, and they can command high salaries. Read more about full stack developer salary in india.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to becoming a MERN developer and learning MERN stack web development, look no further. This article will help you learn more about the MERN stack and why it has become so popular among web developers over the past few years.

In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to the MERN programming benefits and provide examples of how developers can use it to create amazing web applications. Plus, we’ll discuss the career opportunities available for a MERN developer, how to become one through a Full stack development course, and the skills you’ll need to learn to be successful in this field. 

What is the MERN Stack?

MERN stack development is a combination of four popular open-source technologies used to build web applications. MERN stack is a popular web development technology stack that enables developers to build dynamic and high-performance web applications. MERN stack full form stands for MongoDB, ExpressJS, NodeJS and ReactJS. Let’s see the MERN stack meaning and why MERN stack developers are in demand.

MERN stack development follows a model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, where MongoDB acts as the data model, ExpressJS acts as the controller, and ReactJS acts as the view. NodeJS serves as the backend runtime environment. Together, these technologies work seamlessly to deliver a full-stack web development experience.

The components of MERN stack

Let’s look at some of the major components of MERN stack in details.

• MongoDB

MongoDB is popular NoSQL database used by the MERN stack developers. MongoDB is a NoSQL database that stores data in the form of documents, with key-value pairs similar to JSON objects. With MongoDB, you can create databases, schemas, tables, and more.

Why use MongoDB?

MongoDB is an excellent choice for MERN stack developers looking for flexible and scalable database solution. It is easy to use, highly available, and can handle large volumes of data. 

• ExpressJS

ExpressJS is a lightweight and flexible backend web framework in MERN stack development used to build web applications.  ExpressJS is a NodeJS framework that enables and makes it easier for writing the code for the backend. It eliminates the need to create multiple node modules. To keep your code concise, ExpressJS provides a lot of middleware.

Why use ExpressJS?

It is easy to learn, highly customizable, and supports a wide range of middleware that can be used to add functionality to web applications.

• ReactJS

ReactJS is part of MERN stack, a popular frontend library used to build user interfaces. It is a component-based library that allows MERN stack developers to build reusable UI components to be used across different web applications. ReactJS enables the creation of user interfaces for mobile apps and SPAs. It enables you to create UI components and code in JavaScript. The JS library performs every action using virtual DOM.

Why use ReactJS?

ReactJS is an excellent choice for in the MERN application for a powerful and flexible frontend library. It is easy to learn, highly customizable, and can be used to build complex and dynamic user interfaces making it easy to build SEO-friendly web applications.

• NodeJS

NodeJS is a popular backend JavaScript runtime used to build server-side applications. It is built on top of the V8 JavaScript engine and provides a set of tools and features that simplify the development process. NodeJS is a an open-source JavaScript runtime environment and users can run code on the server using it. The node package manager, often known as npm, is included, allowing users to choose from a large number of node modules or packages. Node’s use of the Chrome JavaScript Engine makes it possible for speedier code execution.

Why use NodeJS?

NodeJS is an excellent choice for developers looking for a fast and scalable backend JavaScript runtime. It is easy to learn, highly customizable.

Working of MERN Stack

MERN stack follows a simple and intuitive workflow. MERN stack developers use MongoDB to store data, ExpressJS to build web applications, ReactJS to build user interfaces, and NodeJS to provide a runtime environment for the entire stack, these technologies work seamlessly to deliver a fast and scalable web development experience.

Why you should learn the MERN stack web development

MERN stack offers a wide range of benefits to MERN stack developers. It is fast, scalable, flexible, and easy to use. If you’re ready to start your journey down an exciting career path, you should consider learning about MERN. After all, according to Upwork’s Skills Index, demand for MERN developers is on track to increase by nearly 85% from 2017-2021.

• This software stack can be used for web development of everything from blogs and e-commerce sites to news portals and business applications. 
• The core principles behind MERN are modularity, scalability, and high availability. The idea is that each individual part of the project can be updated independently while other modules remain unaffected.For example, if there’s a bug in one module that needs to be fixed, it doesn’t affect any other modules until it’s been patched up or replaced with an entirely new module with that bug fixed.
• The first step towards becoming a certified MERN developer and working on MERN stack web development projects is to understand the basics of JavaScript and HTML before moving onto frameworks such as EspressJS, Bootstrap, or Backbone. Learning these languages will prepare you for intermediate coursework where things like object-oriented programming might come into play.

As always, practice makes perfect so try making some small projects using these technologies so that when interview time comes around, you’ll have something impressive to show off.

A comprehensive MERN stack development course will help you get started with the basics and set you up for building a successful career in the field.

Advantages of MERN Stack

MERN Stack is an open-source, allowing for the creation of reliable online applications. MERN developers love it because it makes building websites easier than ever before. In fact, this development stack is one of the most popular ones in use today. Let’s look at the major advantages of MERN stack in detail.

• Powerful Web Applications: First and foremost, it allows you to build powerful, dynamic web applications that are also easy for users to use. Why spend all of your time figuring out complicated JavaScript frameworks when you can just work with technologies that do everything for you?
• Open Source: It is completely open source. That means you have access to all of its code, so you can tweak and customize it as needed. If you work in an organization that relies on proprietary software, then being able to modify it will help reduce your costs and make future updates easier.
• Scalability: Another great feature of the MERN stack is scalability. Because MERN stack is built on NodeJS and MongoDB, both of which use JavaScript, switching between different components—or even expanding your business—becomes much easier thanks to their shared language. This also makes development processes much faster overall since developers don’t need specific knowledge for each part of the system.
• Built-in-functionality: The built-in functionality of these technologies allows you focus on creating new features or improving what’s already there – not reinventing wheels every step of the way.
• Flexibility: MERN stack is known for its flexibility and has been used in everything from simple landing pages to complex enterprise applications and is considered one of the fastest-growing technologies today. You can build anything you want with it, and it allows you to switch out modules as needed based on your needs.
• Functionality: If you are looking for something highly technical, like encrypted authentication or Active Directory support, then you can add that functionality easily while reducing development time overall. And if your application needs only basic functionality, then you won’t pay for extraneous code.
• Accessibility: A key reason why MERN developers choose this stack over other alternatives is its focus on accessibility over everything else. It aims to be inclusive of people who may not have a strong background in programming, making it easy for anyone to get started with the basics. 
• Libraries: It has libraries like Handlebars for templating and jQuery for DOM manipulation, meaning you don’t need any prior experience with those languages to get started.

MERN Stack use cases

Worldwide, MERN stack developers use it. The goal of MERN stack is to create apps that solely use JavaScript. This is due to the fact that all four of technologies that comprise the technology stack are JS-based. 

• Single-Page Applications (SPAs): MERN stack is well-suited for building SPAs where all the necessary code is retrieved with a single page load. React, along with Express.js and Node.js, enables efficient rendering of dynamic content, providing a smooth user experience.
• Real-time Applications: The MERN stack, with the help of technologies like WebSocket or Socket.io, can be used to develop real-time applications such as chat applications, collaboration tools, or live tracking systems where instant updates are crucial.
• Content Management Systems (CMS): MERN stack is suitable for developing CMS platforms, allowing users to create, manage, and publish content. React provides a flexible front-end for building intuitive interfaces, while Express.js and Node.js handle backend functionality and database interactions.
• E-commerce Websites: The MERN stack can power e-commerce platforms, providing a seamless shopping experience. React enables the creation of interactive product catalogs and shopping carts, while Express.js and Node.js handle order processing, payment integrations, and inventory management.

These are just a few examples of the use cases where the MERN stack can be applied. The versatility and flexibility of the stack make it a popular choice for building a wide range of web applications.

Skills You Need to Know for MERN Stack Development

When looking to learn to build applications with the MERN stack, either on your own or through a MERN stack course, you should ensure that these skills and tools are covered:

• HTML – Hypertext Markup Language that allows developers to create and format web pages
• CSS – Cascading Style Sheets allow users styling of html elements
• SQL – Object-relational database management system (ORDBMS) that lets developers manipulate data stored in a database. In order to fully understand how MongoDB works, you should first learn SQL.
• Java – Object-oriented programming language that’s widely used for enterprise systems, apps development and Android app development
• Python – Programming language designed for code readability for more complex tasks; widely used in machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics, operations research and modeling.

Most companies (including Google, Amazon and Microsoft) require hiring developers who have extensive experience in JavaScript, HTML/CSS as well as Node.js. This is especially true for full-stack developers who should also know how to use Java or Python for backend programming along with HTML/CSS and JS for frontend development. This is where a comprehensive MERN stack course will come in handy.

The technologies of the MERN stack are especially popular with companies that need websites that can scale and remain performant as traffic and activity on their sites increase. Other businesses love it because they have all of their site’s functionality available in JavaScript – which makes adding new features so much easier.

And hiring developers with a MERN stack certification who are familiar with these technologies means that these companies don’t have to waste time and money training them on how to use various frameworks – allowing them to add features and push updates faster than ever before.

The Advanced Certificate Program in Full Stack Development with MERN and Cloud Computing offered by Hero Vired, in partnership with edX and from Harvard University is a great program to get started with. 

This MERN stack course helps you learn how to build applications end-to-end. Over a period of 7 months, you get access to 50+ live sessions with the industry-experienced faculty, 15+ case studies, and a capstone project. 

Moreover, this MERN stack certification program will help you find a job in the field of software and web development as a MERN Developer or related roles through its Placement Assurance services.

Conclusion

In this guide we have covered all about MERN Stack. MERN stack is the best place to start if you want to get into web development or become a MERN stack developer. It is cutting-edge, in-demand, and all the individual technologies that make it up—MongoDB, Express, React, and Node—have fantastic communities.