Chapter 1. Introducing full-stack development
This chapter covers
- Evaluating full-stack development
- Getting to know the MEAN stack components
- Examining what makes the MEAN stack so compelling
- Previewing the application you’ll build throughout this book
If you’re like us, you’re probably impatient to dive into some code and get on with building something. But let’s take a moment first to clarify what we mean by full-stack development and look at the component parts of the stack to make sure that you understand each one.
When we talk about full-stack development, we’re really talking about developing all parts of a website or application. The full stack starts with the database and web server in the back end, contains application logic and control in the middle, and goes all the way through to the user interface at the front end.
The MEAN stack is a pure JavaScript stack comprised of four main technologies, with a cast of supporting technologies:
- MongoDB—the database
- Express—the web framework
- Angular—the front-end framework
- Node.js—the web server
MongoDB has been around since 2007 and is actively maintained by MongoDB, Inc., previously known as 10gen.
Express was first released in 2009 by T. J. Holowaychuk and has become the most popular framework for Node.js. It’s open source, with more than 100 contributors, and is actively developed and supported.