If you’re involved in any development field, you might have considered using MongoDB. After all, it’s one of the most popular cloud database services in the community, according to statistics from Stack Overflow. It’s being used by over 17,000 websites, cementing it’s high position amongst thousands of database providers across the world. But what makes it so great? In this article, we’re delving into MongoDB basics, it’s best features, and whether or not we think it’s worth using.
What is MongoDB about
The rise of cloud computing giants gave way to the infrastructure used by most cloud-data startups we know today. In the last quarter, Google alone racked up $6.9 billion in revenue, with competitors AWS and Microsoft Azure following closely. MongoDB was founded by the Google-owned company Double Click in 2007, with the goal of solving the two main issues that the company faced – the lack of scalability and agility. They then built MongoDB: a cross-platform, open-source, NoSQL database.
How does MongoDB work
Developers love MongoDB because it gives them the freedom to choose between Javascript, C++, Ruby, Python, and many other languages. The database stores data via JSON-like documents containing dynamic schemas that evolve over time. Because this allows huge amounts of data to be distributed across systems and servers, it solves the initial scalability and agility problems that the company initially faced. Soon after, the market reacted and availed of the MongoDB Management Service for itself.
How to use MongoDB
MongoDB is extremely versatile and can be used for a variety of development projects. Of course, there are different kinds of data platforms, so developers must match their platform to the project specs. For instance, consumer data platforms are tailor-made to manage information like personal data and business transactions. Analytics data platforms, on the other hand, are aimed toward research and collecting data at pre-conditioned periods. All of these types and more can be developed in MongoDB.
Advantages of MongoDB
Co-founder Eliot Horowitz says MongoDB’s strength lies in how it is ‘fundamentally better’ for developers. MongoDB Atlas, their PaaS offering that accounts for 42% of the company’s revenue, is a great option even for those who aren’t familiar with databases in general. It allows you to run powerful apps that can span multiple regions and clouds at once, deploy a server-less database, enjoy end-to-end encryption, and enable continuous backups. MongoDB basics are overall very easy to pick up and are extremely cost-efficient as well.
Important considerations before using MongoDB
It’s important to know that as with all PaaS providers, there will always be a list of aspects to improve on. Because MongoDB is NoSQL, it doesn’t support joining stored documents, and developers would have to manually code it. And much like standard cloud services like Google, MongoDB demands high memory usage. Utilising their free tiers and subscription upgrades is one workaround that can also help you control costs. Lastly, MongoDB limits document size to 16MB and nesting levels to no more than 100.
Other services offered by MongoDB
Aside from Atlas, we also recommend looking into MongoDB’s other services. MongoDB Realm is a similar NoSQL database that focuses on programming with JavaScript. It’s great for developing mobile applications that require high latency and reliable connectivity. There are also MongoDB Tools that include Shell, Compass, and Command Line Interface (CLI), which can all help you explore and manipulate databases, as well as test, script, and execute actions from one provider. These services used in conjunction allow for a seamless UX.
MongoDB: Final Thoughts
In conclusion, is MongoDB worth investing in? We definitely consider it an asset to all developers as it’s applications are essentially limitless and it makes data management more scalable, cost-efficient, and secure. Moreover, organisations around the world have been looking to move to the cloud for reasons such as safety, modernisation, and reducing operational costs. As a developer, it will be much easier and a much more competitive move to learn the ropes around cloud databases and to know their different uses.
Thanks to databases such as MongoDB, enterprises can take a more confident step toward the future.
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