As a Developer, you must be keen on building applications on a fast and secure data platform that supports modern databases. Your search for the right Developer data platforms ends here. MongoDB, the open-source NoSQL database program, is the best data platform built by Developers for Developers. So you can have the flexibility to work with the languages and tools you are familiar with.
As a software professional, you will surely like to include a free platform in your skillset arsenal! So let us get started. Begin with a MongoDB Certification, and walk through the learning curve to master MongoDB and improve your developing skills on a popular platform.
What is MongoDB, and why should you learn it?
MongoDB is an open-source general-purpose database platform with an integrated suite of cloud database and data services to help Developers create, transform, and disrupt software and data. Although written in C++, it uses NoSQL databases to support working with large sets of distributed data.
MongoDB supports various data types and helps build Big Data applications and other processing tasks that do not conform to a rigid relational model. The architecture has collections and documents for handling ad-hoc queries, indexing, aggregation, load balancing, and other features.
As a tool for database management, MongoDB develops faster with JSON-like document data information that maps to objects in the application code, enabling you to evolve your data structures and make it simple for any use case.
The on-device capabilities with the fast, locally embedded database have a small footprint. It supports a rich query language and auto-synchronization with your backend for an always-available system.
A serverless platform called Stitch does away with the need for web hosting and application services. The Stitch SDK enables you to run JavaScript code, access data stored in Atlas, and authenticate end-users globally.
MongoDB allows flexibility and ease of use to build full-text search and real-time analytics while helping build a wide range of application services with simple data architecture. As you can scale workloads securely, you can run applications anywhere in the world, with the multi-cloud reach. It facilitates complete management of your backend to scale and meet any level of operations.
An overview of the MongoDB Learning Path
The MongoDB learning curve begins with its installation and running, which takes about 4 to 5 hours.
To figure out how it works, you will need to configure it on the go, and this may take weeks. The interim path may include mistakes, but this is not much different from learning any new technical skill.
Prerequisites
Although knowledge of JavaScript and its basic syntax will kick-start your learning path, JSON, or more precisely BSON, is another must-learn. These help you retrieve data whenever your MongoDB server is up and running. The syntax is different here, and some operations will require study. So a SQL database experience can give you a head-start.
These are the requirements for learning MongoDB:
- A basic understanding of various database structures and architecture, relational databases, the text editor, and the execution of programs are necessary.
- A technical background with programming experience will shorten the learning curve.
- Knowledge of NoSQL and the types of NoSQL databases, such as document stores, wide-column stores, and key-value stores, are other prerequisites.
- Familiarity with JavaScript, JSON, and Web Development will help you smooth your MongoDB journey.
How much time to learn MongoDB
Learning MongoDB does not entail a long learning curve. You can begin with a MongoDB training course or Bootcamp while honing your NoSQL skills. MongoDB is a NoSQL database framework, different from traditional Relational Databases management systems (RDBMS) like SQL Server, MySQL, or PostgreSQL.
Your learning curve will include the following:
- Build an application in MongoDB, whether a document-based application or a mobile-first app. Learn to build applications and manage the performance of indexes.
- Look at the challenges of schema design. Explore how you can map relational schema into MongoDB and optimize schema design for reads and writes. Explore the document validation feature and its capabilities.
- Learn to tune indexes in the advanced library of MongoDB indexing techniques, such as free text searching in the database and geospatial features for location-based searches.
- Explore how to create an operations pipeline that can rewrite your data. Learn to apply analytics functions and calculations to produce summary results in the aggregation framework of MongoDB.
- Learn to create a stable production environment that can endure different failure scenarios.
- Create a scalable cluster to handle any increase in production workload. As there is no need to define a structure before building the database, it allows the NoSQL database of MongoDB to scale up or down based on the application.
- Browse through production deployment tools to automate management and deployment functions.
- Decide what application you would like to build. Preferably it should involve the UI and interaction with the MongoDB, such as registration, fetching data from the MongoDB, and so on. You can begin by starting up a spring boot application with MongoDB.
- The MongoDB learning curve is quite gentle, and prior experience working with MySQL will help you learn MongoDB and learn its syntax in a day or two. It also depends on your knowledge of databases/DBMS/no SQL, cluster concepts, JSON, etc.
- If you know about JSON, you need only 2 to 5 days to learn basic commands like import/export and then move on to working on real-world problems.
The Developer experienced with databases can learn MongoDB quite quickly. Developers who have worked only with windows and not Linux may find the going slow. Ultimately, the learning curve depends on where you are coming from, how much knowledge of databases or of programming you have.
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Conclusion
As Developers and companies turn towards a database system with better features and flexibility compared to other platforms on the market, MongoDB is being increasingly adopted by large companies across industries. Some names are Google, eBay, Verizon, Adobe, and others.
With MongoDB exploding in popularity, Developers who master the platform can have an edge in the job market.