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Getting MEAN with Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node
Summary Getting MEAN with Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node teaches readers how to develop web applications end-to-end using the MEAN stack. You'll systematically discover each technology in the MEAN stack as you build up an application one layer at a time, just as you'd do in a real project.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology Traditional web dev stacks use a different programming language in every layer, resulting in a complex mashup of code and frameworks. Together, the MongoDB database, the Express and AngularJS frameworks, and Node.js constitute the MEAN stack—a powerful platform that uses only one language, top to JavaScript. Developers and businesses love it because it's scalable and cost-effective. End users love it because the apps created with it are fast and responsive. It's a win-win-win! About the Book Getting MEAN with Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node teaches you how to develop web applications using the MEAN stack. First, you'll create the skeleton of a static site in Express and Node, and then push it up to a live web server. Next, you'll add a MongoDB database and build an API before using Angular to handle data manipulation and application logic in the browser. Finally you'll add an authentication system to the application, using the whole stack. When you finish, you'll have all the skills you need to build a dynamic data-driven web application. What's Inside About the Reader Readers should have some web development experience. This book is based on MongoDB 2, Express 4, Angular 1, and Node.js 4. About the Author Simon Holmes has been a full-stack developer since the late 1990s and runs Full Stack Training Ltd. Table of Contents
416 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2015
38 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 13, 2016
This is my favorite programming book I've read so far. It is very useful in showing you how product development works (from the brainstorming phase to prototyping to production), improving your product with refactoring and features added throughout, and goes through the deployment phase as well. In addition to all that, the detail about the various parts of the MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node) was in depth, practical, and easy to follow. If you're interested in web development and single page applications, this is a book that can help you tremendously.
November 21, 2016
An excellent read, providing a great understanding of the full stack, while giving a nice in-depth section on Angular. I was particularly happy that there was a good introduction to Jade, which I have no experience of, as I am otherwise already well versed with this stack. The author writes in a clear language and covers a vast array of material in sizeable chunks that will allow any developer to switch to a full JavaScript stack.
February 3, 2018
Great whirlwind tour of building Express web apps with MongoDB and Angular. I love how this book starts from scratch and explains everything but without ever feeling patronizing. Maybe if I already knew Node or Express I might feel like the book was too basic, or if I didn’t already know JavaScript the book might feel too advanced, but as it is the book met me right where I was and held my hand as we wandered off into the new magical land of MEAN stack development. Now I’m excited to start building some web apps.
April 24, 2018
Though overall good in its pedagogy, author mistakes and, more importantly, seemingly endless API changes over the past few years since its release made following along with Getting MEAN a painful, unpleasant experience. I will say that I had a real sense of achievement when I finally made it to the end.
July 27, 2017
Really good introductory book that takes you all the way through the MEAN Stack step by step to build a website. I learned a lot from the book and hope re-reading this as I build my own side project helps solidify the lessons taught in this book.
February 7, 2021
It's hard to follow. I'm sure once I have proper training from a better program than the one I finished this week, my opinion may change. it seemed too advanced for the classes I was in. doesn't do a good job for a beginner to grasp all the concepts.
March 15, 2022
The version I have of this book is probably a little outdated now. It took me a while to crack into it. But it is very, very well done. Clear, concise instructions. Perfect verbiage for this sort of learning tool.
March 31, 2018
Helpful in understanding the node concepts. All chapters and concepts are supported with practical examples.
July 25, 2019
Very good book, the project is cool!
October 31, 2016
In recent years, a variety of JavaScript frameworks supporting browser-based user interfaces have been developed. At the same time, JavaScript itself has escaped the confines of the web browser to be used in a variety of application components such as web servers and databases. The MEAN stack is one configuration of JavaScript-based components, specifically MongoDB, Express, Angular.js and Node.js, which together provide the necessary building blocks and tools to enable the development of complete web applications using JavaScript end-to-end.
This book provides an in-depth introduction to MEAN for readers with some knowledge of JavaScript and web applications. The book is presented in four sections.
An introductory section outlines the theory and practice of each of the principal components of the MEAN stack. The content includes a useful overview of document databases, of which MongoDB is an example, as well as discussing the use of the Mongoose.js object modelling library to help work with MongoDB.
In subsequent sections, the author takes a hands-on approach, developing a simple but illustrative example throughout the book to motivate discussion of general aspects of modern web application design, and the corresponding implementation techniques using the MEAN stack.
The second section guides the reader through using Node.js, Express and the Jade templating engine to develop a static web application which is then enhanced by using Mongoose and MongoDB to provide dynamic data. The application is further developed to expose database interactions as a REST API. As well technical topics, this chapter describes approaches to structuring project code when working with the MEAN stack.
The third section focuses on developing the user interface using Angular.js. First the application is built as a traditional web application, with pages being fetched from the server in response to client requests. Then the application is transformed into a Single Page Application (SPA) in which the entire application is delivered to and run by the browser. The author describes how routing within the SPA can be handled using Angular.js and the HTML5 history API.
The final section explores user authentication both within the user interface, and then at the level of API endpoints. The author considers topics such as password storage, the implementation of user registration and login pages using Angular and the use of the Passport library to facilitate authentication.
There are three appendices in the print edition which together cover topics such as the installation of the MEAN stack components, configuring and using tools to deploy applications to the Heroku cloud application platform, and further consideration of UI implementation techniques using Angular.js. A freely downloadable appendix provides a useful introduction to JavaScript. In addition, the code for each chapter is available from the author’s github site.
I think this is an excellent book. It contains a wealth of detailed material written in an easy-to-read style, making this an enjoyable end-to-end read. The reader will learn not just how to use the discrete MEAN components, but also how to structure MEAN projects and use free tools to expedite the development process. However, I think the real value of the book comes from working through each chapter, ideally keying in and experimenting with the code yourself. Recommended.
Review by Patrick Hill CEng MBCS CITP
Originally posted: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/...
This book provides an in-depth introduction to MEAN for readers with some knowledge of JavaScript and web applications. The book is presented in four sections.
An introductory section outlines the theory and practice of each of the principal components of the MEAN stack. The content includes a useful overview of document databases, of which MongoDB is an example, as well as discussing the use of the Mongoose.js object modelling library to help work with MongoDB.
In subsequent sections, the author takes a hands-on approach, developing a simple but illustrative example throughout the book to motivate discussion of general aspects of modern web application design, and the corresponding implementation techniques using the MEAN stack.
The second section guides the reader through using Node.js, Express and the Jade templating engine to develop a static web application which is then enhanced by using Mongoose and MongoDB to provide dynamic data. The application is further developed to expose database interactions as a REST API. As well technical topics, this chapter describes approaches to structuring project code when working with the MEAN stack.
The third section focuses on developing the user interface using Angular.js. First the application is built as a traditional web application, with pages being fetched from the server in response to client requests. Then the application is transformed into a Single Page Application (SPA) in which the entire application is delivered to and run by the browser. The author describes how routing within the SPA can be handled using Angular.js and the HTML5 history API.
The final section explores user authentication both within the user interface, and then at the level of API endpoints. The author considers topics such as password storage, the implementation of user registration and login pages using Angular and the use of the Passport library to facilitate authentication.
There are three appendices in the print edition which together cover topics such as the installation of the MEAN stack components, configuring and using tools to deploy applications to the Heroku cloud application platform, and further consideration of UI implementation techniques using Angular.js. A freely downloadable appendix provides a useful introduction to JavaScript. In addition, the code for each chapter is available from the author’s github site.
I think this is an excellent book. It contains a wealth of detailed material written in an easy-to-read style, making this an enjoyable end-to-end read. The reader will learn not just how to use the discrete MEAN components, but also how to structure MEAN projects and use free tools to expedite the development process. However, I think the real value of the book comes from working through each chapter, ideally keying in and experimenting with the code yourself. Recommended.
Review by Patrick Hill CEng MBCS CITP
Originally posted: http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/...
January 2, 2016
Instead of taking the normal MEAN approach of developing a SPA, Mr. Holmes creates a more traditional server-application using Node, Express, and Mongo and then adds Angular at the end. This makes the book unique from others I've seen discussing the MEAN stack. The first seven chapters are applicable regardless of the client-side MVC framework you use—Angular, Ember, etc. Aside from being introduced in the first chapter, Angular isn't covered until chapters 8–10.
Chapter 2 provides a great discussion about architecture. It highlights that the MEAN stack is useful both for a REST API backend—provided by Node, Express, and MongoDB—with an AngularJS SPA on the front-end. It also discusses using the MEAN stack for a more tradition architecture with content generated on the server-side using Express templates. However, the architecture developed in chapters 3–8, is a mix between the two. Using both together results in what Mr. Holmes refers to as a hybrid MEAN architecture. It uses Express and Node to generate server-side content, but instead of directly interfacing with MongoDB, it uses the same REST API that will be utilized for the SPA created in chapters 9 & 10. In chapter 8, Angular is used to add "rich data interactivity to an otherwise static page." Having a single REST API provide the interface to the MongoDB data makes it easier to support both client-side SPA and server-side generated content.
Chapter 2 also discusses five stages Mr. Holmes uses developing a rapid prototype:
1. Build a static site
2. Design the data model and create the database
3. Build our data API
4. Hook the database into the application
5. Augment the application
Chapter 11 is all about authentication and securing your web application. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book in my opinion. It discusses how to use JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) on both the back-end and client-side for the Angular SPA.
I've found myself referring back to this book even though I'm not using the MEAN stack. (I'm using Go with The Gorilla toolkit instead of Node and Express.) Mr. Holmes does a good job of developing the architecture for an actual web application and discussing topics that any multi-user web application will encounter, such as user registration and authentication.
Appendix D provides an excellent review of some JavaScript aspects that could be troublesome if not understood. I'll need to reread Appendix D until I fully grok that material.
Chapter 2 provides a great discussion about architecture. It highlights that the MEAN stack is useful both for a REST API backend—provided by Node, Express, and MongoDB—with an AngularJS SPA on the front-end. It also discusses using the MEAN stack for a more tradition architecture with content generated on the server-side using Express templates. However, the architecture developed in chapters 3–8, is a mix between the two. Using both together results in what Mr. Holmes refers to as a hybrid MEAN architecture. It uses Express and Node to generate server-side content, but instead of directly interfacing with MongoDB, it uses the same REST API that will be utilized for the SPA created in chapters 9 & 10. In chapter 8, Angular is used to add "rich data interactivity to an otherwise static page." Having a single REST API provide the interface to the MongoDB data makes it easier to support both client-side SPA and server-side generated content.
Chapter 2 also discusses five stages Mr. Holmes uses developing a rapid prototype:
1. Build a static site
2. Design the data model and create the database
3. Build our data API
4. Hook the database into the application
5. Augment the application
Chapter 11 is all about authentication and securing your web application. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book in my opinion. It discusses how to use JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) on both the back-end and client-side for the Angular SPA.
I've found myself referring back to this book even though I'm not using the MEAN stack. (I'm using Go with The Gorilla toolkit instead of Node and Express.) Mr. Holmes does a good job of developing the architecture for an actual web application and discussing topics that any multi-user web application will encounter, such as user registration and authentication.
Appendix D provides an excellent review of some JavaScript aspects that could be troublesome if not understood. I'll need to reread Appendix D until I fully grok that material.
March 15, 2017
Good book although Javascript changes so fast.
May 2, 2016
MEAN ties the latest web development technologies together, the way LAMP tied the early open source stack, years ago. This book should be a decent intro to the key players.
It starts by building a server-side template application using Express. This was familiar territory for me. The server fetches data from the database, uses it to populate an HTML template, and returns this HTML to the browser. It then proceeds to build some of the functionality as a REST API. This last part felt a little forced, when you consider it by itself, but it makes sense if you are going to move to a single page application model later on, which the book does using AngularJS.
The book covers just enough of each technology to get through the sample application. It's not quite enough for me to start doing my thing with them, but it is a solid starting point. There is still a lot of ancillary material to look at. For instance, the Mongo schema shows how to embed subdocuments, but not how to connect together different top-level documents, either one-to-one or one-to-many or many-to-many.
I like that the book is doing its best to promote the coding style of its user community (as far as I can tell). This is particularly evident in the AngularJS code, where the official documentation recommends a coding style that is quite different from what is widespread in the community. I find this style much easier to follow and work with. I got quite stuck after reading AngularJS in Action with an app that had an infinite loop and I was only able to fix it after I refactored the code to make it closer to what is in this book.
I also really appreciated the parts where they show you how to host your application for free on Heroku and mLab (formerly MongoLab).
It starts by building a server-side template application using Express. This was familiar territory for me. The server fetches data from the database, uses it to populate an HTML template, and returns this HTML to the browser. It then proceeds to build some of the functionality as a REST API. This last part felt a little forced, when you consider it by itself, but it makes sense if you are going to move to a single page application model later on, which the book does using AngularJS.
The book covers just enough of each technology to get through the sample application. It's not quite enough for me to start doing my thing with them, but it is a solid starting point. There is still a lot of ancillary material to look at. For instance, the Mongo schema shows how to embed subdocuments, but not how to connect together different top-level documents, either one-to-one or one-to-many or many-to-many.
I like that the book is doing its best to promote the coding style of its user community (as far as I can tell). This is particularly evident in the AngularJS code, where the official documentation recommends a coding style that is quite different from what is widespread in the community. I find this style much easier to follow and work with. I got quite stuck after reading AngularJS in Action with an app that had an infinite loop and I was only able to fix it after I refactored the code to make it closer to what is in this book.
I also really appreciated the parts where they show you how to host your application for free on Heroku and mLab (formerly MongoLab).
June 18, 2016
This is a hands-on kind of book and I'm more of an academic approach fan, but I think it is not acceptable even in this approach not to address concurrency concerns when writing about Mongo. Chapter on communicating with database drags on for 30 pages (mostly reiterating already established points) never addressing anything but the most basic of use-cases.
Not to mention the detrimental effect of the book nominally being about "full stack development". There is nothing "full-stack" when transactional database is not in the picture.
But, then again, I'm not a fan of hands-on books and this book does contain a substantial amount of information for someone new to the framework. Having in mind that it reads in one day - it is a useful and rewarding experience to sift through.
Not to mention the detrimental effect of the book nominally being about "full stack development". There is nothing "full-stack" when transactional database is not in the picture.
But, then again, I'm not a fan of hands-on books and this book does contain a substantial amount of information for someone new to the framework. Having in mind that it reads in one day - it is a useful and rewarding experience to sift through.
December 16, 2024
The MEAN stack enables me to build a website using only JavaScript. This book is good for learning not just the MEAN stack but also web development. It is not difficult to understand because Simon explains every line of code. I would recommend reading this book before its contents become obsolete. The second edition was published in 2019, and technology is evolving quickly.
September 6, 2019
Good overall modeling, depricated API used though. Google maps now charges so unless you get your credit card out you'll have a blank icon. Main repo uses depricated assets and updating causes a crash, but the fix is easy.
March 22, 2016
Brilliant book, very didagtic and yet full of interesting information
Highly recommended to fully do the project coming with it as it brings forward most of the aspects of MEAN in an interesting way
Highly recommended to fully do the project coming with it as it brings forward most of the aspects of MEAN in an interesting way
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March 17, 2016safari tech books
October 10, 2016
nice book, help me know something about MEAN, and build a demo site.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews