What is MERN?

The MERN stack is a set of frameworks and tools used for developing a software product. They are very specifically chosen to work together in creating a well-functioning software (see a MERN app code at the post bottom).

Examples that are widely used in today’s web development:

• MERN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, NodeJS)
• LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)
• MEAN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS)

Let’s focus on MERN

• MongoDB: A document-oriented, No-SQL database used to store the application data.
• NodeJS: The JavaScript runtime environment. It is used to run JavaScript on a machine rather than in a browser.
• ExpressJS: A framework layered on top of NodeJS, used to build the backend of a site using NodeJS functions and structures.
• ReactJS: A library created by Facebook. It is used to build UI components that create the user interface of the single page web application.

Film Hall Application

Tech Stacks used:

• React.js
• Node.js
• Express
• Mongoose
• Redux
• Bootstrap

Project Structure

• Frontent
  • actions//dispatch CRUD actions to reducer (global state)
  • api//fetch or axios to handle communication with server
  • reducers//handle data fetched from server
  • components//Using Functional based component
• Backend
  • controller//handle http requests from frontend
  • models//mongoose modeling
  • router//RESTful Api routing

Advantages

• Amazing Global state management using Redux.
• Really fast user experiences.
• Clear project structure.