JavaScript has come of age. Building an entire web application from front to back with one language is now possible with JavaScript (even if that JavaScript is TypeScript-flavored). The MEAN stack is comprised of the best-of-breed technologies in this arena. You’ve got MongoDB for the database, Express for the server-side web-application framework, Angular for the client-side framework, and Node for the server-side platform.
This book introduces these technologies and explains how to get them working well together as a stack. Throughout the book, you’ll build a working application, focusing on one technology at a time, seeing how each technology fits into the overall application architecture. Therefore, this is a practical book designed to get you comfortable with all the technologies and using them together.
A common theme running through the book is “best practice.” This book is a springboard to building great things with the MEAN stack, so there’s a focus on creating good habits, doing things the right way, and planning.
This book doesn’t teach HTML, CSS, or basic JavaScript; previous knowledge is assumed. It does include a brief primer on the Twitter Bootstrap CSS framework and an introduction to TypeScript. Also, see appendix D for a good, long discussion on JavaScript theory, best practice, tips, and gotchas; it’s worth checking out early.
This book takes you on a journey through 12 chapters, in four parts.