Thankfully, JavaScript has evolved into two web stacks, MEAN and MERN.
These frameworks are becoming increasingly popular among the industry and our customers and stand for:
MEAN – MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.js
MERN – MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js
Both of these stacks consist of open source components that provide an end-to-end framework for developing comprehensive web applications that connect browsers to databases.
In both stacks, the common theme is JavaScript, allowing for one type of code and avoiding confusion or syntax errors.
One of the other advantages of the MEAN and MERN Stack is its flexibility.
With clear overlap among all the members of the stack, developers have the power to choose which framework does what, but must also know the strengths and weaknesses of each framework.
Understanding the difference between Express and Angular is one such example, as both can route to pages, run application code, and implement business logic.
However, the right developer also knows that Express should be preferred for back-end work since the framework is closer to the database, more secure for data and code, and more compatible with powerful servers.
As with most technology best practices, we leave the exercise of choosing the right stack to developers and the communities they associate.
