About this ebook
If you are a JavaScript developer who wants to create high-performing, modern web applications with the MEAN stack, this is the book for you. Web developers familiar with some parts of the MEAN stack will find this a comprehensive guide to fleshing out the other technologies and skills they need to build all JavaScript web applications. Developers interested in transitioning from other web application stacks to an all-JavaScript environment will find a wealth of information about how to work in a MEAN stack environment.
To get the most from this book, you should have a general understanding of web servers and web applications. You are expected to have a basic understanding of running JavaScript, both in a web browser and outside it, using Node.js and the NPM package manager.
What You Will LearnBootstrap a new MEAN stack web application using Node.js and ExpressBuild a single-page application (SPA) with Angular and Angular-CLIImprove browser performance by optimizing your web application resources using WebpackModel complex JSON object relationships in MongoDB using MongooseDebug all the layers of a MEAN stack application, including working with source mapsBuild Restful APIs using Express.js and JSON Web Token (JWT) for user authenticationUse automated testing to improve the reliability and quality of your MEAN stack applicationIn DetailThe MEAN Stack is a framework for web application development using JavaScript-based technologies; MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node.js. If you want to expand your understanding of using JavaScript to produce a fully functional standalone web application, including the web server, user interface, and database, then this book can help guide you through that transition. This book begins by configuring the frontend of the MEAN stack web application using the Angular JavaScript framework. We then implement common user interface enhancements before moving on to configuring the server layer of our MEAN stack web application using Express for our backend APIs. You will learn to configure the database layer of your MEAN stack web application using MongoDB and the Mongoose framework, including modeling relationships between documents. You will explore advanced topics such as optimizing your web application using WebPack as well as the use of automated testing with the Mocha and Chai frameworks. By the end of the book, you should have acquired a level of proficiency that allows you to confidently build a full production-ready and scalable MEAN stack application.
Style and ApproachThis book is a guide of MEAN Stack specific solutions to common web application problems and includes in-depth guides for each layer of the application stack. Readers looking to upgrade their MEAN Stack web application will find recipes within to help them transition.
About the author
Nicholas McClay is a software developer and designer with over a decade of JavaScript experience in both corporate and startup technology companies. He is an avid Node.js and JavaScript enthusiast and the founder of the greater Pittsburgh region's Node.js and Angular meetups. A self-described user experience developer, he balances using both design and development disciplines to solve problems. He is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he acquired a bachelor's of science degree in Game Art and Design, a passion that springboarded him into a career of interactive experience design. His previous work experience includes Autodesk, where he worked on next-generation integrated cloud services. His current role is as the UX Lead of Wombat Security Technologies, where he helps bridge the gap between the customers' user experience and the underlying technology and product decisions that deliver it. He enjoys video games, tinkering and creating things, and lives with his loving wife, son, and daughter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
