MEAN Stack vs Full Stack: Learn the Difference

Generally, web development is divided into two major components. One is the front end and the other is back end development.   

Front-end what user looks thus front-end development meant for clients to handle and manage their website. Front must handle activities like adding proper content, buttons, texts, media, forms and the overall behavior of the web page components which appear for the user. 

From developers, one can say that front end web development related to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and all their libraries and frameworks.   

While we look into back-end development which involves everything that happens from the server-side.  

From logical processes to manipulations of data from the client-side, storage along with retrieval of these data to-and-from the database.  

For this process developers seen to be using modern methods to build scalable apps.  

With the growing technologies and emergence of new methodologies, the development idea also changes and what we use today is a whole different strategy.   

Now-a-day developers are making use of the stack to build the front end as well as the back end of the software. Full-Stack development and MEAN Stack development are the two most popular development Stack which is used mostly for both for and back end. 

First, let’s have a see what does the term stack apparently means before briefing into what these different kinds of the stack. 

What is meant by stack?   

Well, we can say any combination of programming languages and technologies or a combination of software products that are used for developing both front-end back-end of the web application.   

Technically we can say there are two types of development stacks:    

Technology stack & an application stack.   

The technology stack is meant for the software development process where application stack is a set of application programs that help in performing a certain task.   

The stack helps in developing real-time software while ignoring the meshes faced when developers use standalone technologies.   

Let start with getting to know what is Full-stack and MEAN-Stack development and how they benefit you when you have then in your kitty. 

Full Stack Development   

Software is comprised of different elements as a developer you need to develop each element to building software as a full-fledged working one. 

From front end development to the back end, mobile application to the database, software development is a combination of separate modules, each with its specific requirements in solving the real-time problem.   

In past decades you need to find and hire individual experts for each of the segments. 

It is like having a separate problem solver, front-end developer, a back-end coder, maintenance person an application developer, etc.  

With high competition and rising needs, a single developer is needed to solve all the problems and manage the software development process to deliver an effective product that can compete in the market. 

A developer who can capable of handling processes like creating an entire application, both the front end and the back end, along with database management.  

Here where the full-stack development comes to existence in the world. 

Besides there are many beneficial considering from the viewpoint of organizations they need to hire less and get more work done.  

With a single developer working on a project from scratch, building the application with high quality, companies cut down on the cost of hiring meanwhile improving the quality of development.   

Benefits of going with Full Stack Development for your application development 

• A developer can quickly switch between the front-end application and the back-end framework based on the requirements of the project. It can prevent time slip between raising an issue and solving it when it occurs on either side. 
• Any can easily View the application module as a single unit of work phase when needed.   
• Cut off the cost of choosing separate developers of front end and back end development instead you can hire a single full stack developer. 
• An individual owns the design and code implementation which can simplify the deployment process and stress. 
• The overall project development can be enhanced in every aspect with the help of embed tools and technologies which are handled by single full-stack developers. 
• If a developer knows Cross-domain compatibility then this will make the project work more flexible.   
• In full-stack development, it is easy to works on the root of the problem rather than concentrating simply on finding a solution   

A full-stack developer is who’s comfortable with the front-end or a back-end developer who can hold their own on the client-side. 

Here’s what you can expect to see in a full-stack developer’s skillset: 

Front-End Technologies 

•  Great Knowledge in Web fundamentals like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS 
• And an expert in JavaScript frameworks like AngularJS, React, or Ember, etc.,  
• Or even some JS-based build tools like Grunt, Gulp, and Bower 
• Must have prior knowledge of Libraries like jQuery or Backbone.js 
• Need to know about Front-end (CSS) frameworks like Foundation or Bootstrap 
• AJAX 
• Great knowledge in Server-side languages like PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, JavaScript, and .NET pays an advantage in development 

Back-End 

• Understand and an expert of API design and development 
• Some database basic like CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) 
• Must have specialized in working with RESTful Services 
• Familiar with Database technologies like MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. 
• Know to work with Web server technologies like Node.js, J2EE, Apache, Nginx, ISS, etc. 
• Must know of the Frameworks related to their server-side language of choice like Express.js, Ruby on Rails, CakePHP, etc. to handle the back-end process. 

Mean Stack Development  

The mean stack is a modified version of the full stack.  

In mean stack development, developers can make use of Java-based technologies and frameworks for the development of web or mobile-based apps. 

 The four important technologies which are used by a mean stack developer to get a software developed done is comprises of   

• Express JS   
• Node JS   
• Angular JS   
• MongoDB   

Using MEAN stack, you can develop a basic website or a complex, user-specific dynamic website.  

Mean stack technology is used in developing most of the responsive web pages 

Even Mean stack support open-source web development and also considered as the fastest-growing framework. It helps the developers with new and innovative tools and technologies that enable better and quicker software development and diminish the system administration maintenance time. Here are technologies used in MEAM Stack development and consider as a MEAN technological Stack  

• MongoDB or to be specific the Document database is used by developers to create the back-end application which further store data in the form of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) documents   
• Express (Express.js): This allows running of the Back-end web application framework over the Node.js layer   
• Angular (Angular.js till version 2): This is the framework that supports Front-end web app development. It runs JavaScript code in the user’s browser, which makes the UI of the application to be dynamic   
• Node.JS: Runtime environment of JavaScript. The main purpose of Node JS is to implement the back end of the application in JavaScript code.   

Benefits using MEAN Stack  

Here are some benefits of using the mean stack as the development tool for your next web application.   

• In Mean stack development you can use single JavaScript language both for the front end and back end development. That is if you know JavaScript, you can become an excellent mean stack developer easily. And another advantage easy switch between the front-end infrastructure and the back-end design if code in single technologies.   
• With Mean stack, it is easy to transfer one code which is written in a particular framework to another framework. It provides the function of isomorphic coding. By using this anyone can simply leverage their development phase.   
• Another benefit is it allows an effortless and quick cloud integration for any web application. You can test the application on the cloud as soon as the application is developed by the developers. 
• JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) will fit with NodeJS and AngularJS. And, MongoDB is one of the relational databases and it is based on the component which enables users auto to preserve their documents in the form of JSON.  
• If you have Mean stack expert developers then they can take care of the entire process of development which minimizes the hire of individual developers, which results in the less is the cost to the company.   
• As you know Node.js is both fast and also ascendable owing to the architecture of non-blocking add an advantage in the development of real-time application. Moreover, Angular is open-source which enables testability, maintenance, and reusability in a simple step.   

MEAN Stack Developers Skillsets 

Here are some of the skillsets to look for when you hire MEAN stack developers. 

1. Proficiency in both Front end and backend processes. 
2. Strong Knowledge of HTML and CSS. 
3. Involved in Web development, integration and cloud technologies. 
4. Prior knowledge of the Database & Design architecture. 
5. Knowledge in SDLC and Agile environment 

MEAN Stack vs Full Stack   

As you know Full Stack is not an acronym of any web technology or development language. In the meantime, MEAN stack is a combination of 4 core technologies – MongoDB, Express.js, Angular.js, and Node.js.   

With the inception of Node.js, MEAN Stack allowed developers to perform JavaScript code on the server which supports asynchronous programming. Therefore, it easier for any developers to code both server-side and client-side code in JavaScript.  

Let us know encounter what are differences between these two popular technological stacks. 

First, look at how this two different in technological adaptation for the different process: 

1) Client-Side Technologies   

Commonly web designers will use responsive web design for developing websites that support multiple devices like desktop, tablets and mobile devices with a single code base.  

So, for developing responsive web designs, any designers have to build an interface using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.  

In both MEAN and Full-stack allow developers will use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build an interface for application. 

Further in MEAN stack developers are widely facilitated to use Angular a frontend development framework.   

2) Server-Side Technologies   

In MEAN, node.js has enabled developers to write server-side code in JavaScript. That is in MEAN Stack developers can code server as well as client-side code in JavaScript. 

Even though JavaScript still lacks some of the robust features which are provided by other server-side programming languages.   

Full-stack enables developers to take benefit of any one of the robust server-side programming languages like Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, and C#.   

3) Databases   

As stated above in MEAN Stack, there is only a single database – Mongo DB. As you know Mongo DB is one of the non-rational databases which does not store records in tables instead it creates documents for each record.  

Due to its scalability and security, it provides over rational databases web developers nowadays prefer MongoDB. 

In the Full-stack web development, developers are allowed to work with an array of relational and non-relational databases like MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and SQLite.   

4) Web Frameworks   

MEAN stack consists of both frontend and backend web frameworks. Anyone can easily learn client-side web development by leveraging Angular.js and server-side development by leveraging Node.js and Express.js.  

On the contrary, the full-stack development approach enables developers to work with varied frontend and backend web frameworks. You can choose from a wide range of full-stack web frameworks according to their choice of programming language and precise project needs.   

Conclusion   

In full-stack web development enterprises can get the frontend and backend of the website developed with the same developers. MEAN stack stimulates full-stack development by writing both client-side and server-side code in JavaScript. 

In the meantime, MEAN stack does not use robust server-side programming language and where full-stack web development framework uses robust server-side programming language. 

Infinijith offers both Full-stack and MEAN stack development to build an effective web application. You can hire full-stack developers who are experts in developing a responsive web application. 

Click here to read more: https://www.infinijith.com/blog/mean-stack/meanstack-vs-fullstack