I recommend the long-term support version. Wondering where to begin? Here is a brief tutorial to get you started.įirst, you’ll need to install Node.js. This makes it easy to interact with your data from your Node.js application.įor more information, check out how to connect to a MongoDB database, or take their free online class, MongoDB for JavaScript developers. The driver also supports JavaScript promise/async features.

The driver makes connecting to your database, authentication, CRUD operations, and even logging/monitoring as simple as running a command. Installing it in your Node.js project is as simple as running the following command: npm install mongodb -save In this case, the official MongoDB Node Driver comes directly from MongoDB and is easy to use. (For an example of a non-officially supported database driver, check out the Node.js Driver for SQL Server.) Official support leads to better documentation, more robust functionality, and the option for direct support from the maker. The total time from signup to having a created database was less than five minutes for me.Īs with any integration between two technologies, life is made easier when there is an officially-supported driver for the interface. They also made it easy to get started, with a free M0 tier. It is platform-agnostic, allowing you to create database clusters on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, and scaling is as simple as clicking a button. As an application developer, I prefer to avoid as much manual work as possible, so I tend to shy away from manual installation.įor cloud offerings, there is MongoDB Atlas, the database-as-a-service offering from MongoDB. That said, a manual installation comes with ongoing maintenance and upkeep costs. For example, you can spin up an installation on localhost manually of MongoDB by downloading and installing MongoDB. When creating a database, you can choose to set it up locally or in the cloud. How to Create a MongoDB Database Using Node.js For the purposes of this article, I’ll use MongoDB as an example of a NoSQL database. In fact, the combination of MongoDB for the database, the Express framework for the back end, React for the front end, and Node.js as the web server is so popular that it is known as the MERN stack for web apps. Perhaps the most commonly used NoSQL database is MongoDB, an open-source document database. And, because the data is not relationally linked, a NoSQL database can be significantly faster and easier to design, update, and scale. NoSQL databases store data in flexible formats-such as graphs, key/values, and documents-which can easily store a wide variety of data. In contrast, NoSQL databases are great for situations where you need high performance, the ability to scale horizontally, and are dealing with large amounts of unstructured data.

As such, while it is easy to scale a SQL database vertically (e.g., put it on a bigger server), scaling it horizontally (multiple servers) is quite difficult and complex even today. SQL databases were not originally designed to scale, but instead to have ACID properties. Once created and populated with data, the model of a SQL database can be difficult to revise due to data dependency issues, so upfront design time is often required. Creating and designing this model can be a multi-week process that involves meeting with stakeholders, a design process, and numerous revisions. In order to create a database in MySQL, a data model or schema is required. Relational databases are the right choice for many applications depending on the use case, but there are a few issues you may want to consider. Traditionally, this would be handled by a relational database such as MySQL, Postgres, SQLite/SQLite3, MSSQL Server, and so on. SQL (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) Versus NoSQLįor most applications, some kind of persistent data storage is required. Let’s take a quick look at some things you should consider when selecting a database. Node.js usage is widespread and ongoing, and I highly recommend it for new development. This allows for more cross-functional and agile development. React, Vue.js, even jQuery) developers to use the same programming language, JavaScript, as your backend developers. Using Node.js allows your front-end (i.e. Node.js is an open-source JavaScript runtime environment that allows back-end developers to use JavaScript to create server-side applications and APIs.

Create database in mongodb compass