Mongoose Vs MongoDB

MongoDB and Mongoose are both important components in the area of Node.js and MongoDB development, but they serve different purposes. MongoDB is a NoSQL database that stores data in a flexible, schema-less format, while Mongoose is an Object Data Modeling (ODM) library that provides a schema-based solution for modeling MongoDB data in Node.js applications.

In this article, we’ll explore the differences between MongoDB and Mongoose, highlighting their key features and use cases.

What is MongoDB

MongoDB is a type of database that stores data in the form of documents. It is an open-source and non-relational database system. The data in the MongoDB is stored in the JSON objects format which is referred to as BSON. If we are using MongoDB then, there is no need to define a fixed schema beforehand to store the data.

The architecture on which MongoDB is built provides horizontal scaling for high-performance applications. MongoDB belongs to document-oriented databases. It is designed to store, manage, and process large amounts of unstructured or semi-structured data with a lot of ease.

Example

{
name:” krishna”, 
age: 20,
 subjects: [“maths”, “science”, “english”],
}

Features of MongoDB

• Flexible Document model: MongoDB offers us to store the data in any format whatever we want. The data which we store in the database is in the JSON format.
• Dynamic Schema: In MongoDB there is no predefined structure or schema for the data which we want to store. Any field which we want to include can be added to the structure on the fly. This feature helps the developers to handle data which have varying fields.
• Scalability: Scalability means the ability to scale. It provides the feature of horizontal scaling which allows the developers to efficiently perform the database operations.
• Geospatial Indexes: In MongoDB we take the use of geospatial indexes and queries for dealing with those applications which requires location-based operations.
• Built-in Replication: MongoDB offers the feature of automatic replication of data which ensure the data availability and reliability.

What is Mongoose

Mongoose is defined as an Object Data Modeling (ODM) library which has been built for MongoDB and JavaScript. It is used to define the objects with a schema which will be further mapped to a MongoDB document. It is used to bridge the gap between the application and the MongoDB database.

It offers a schema–based solution to model and structure data, which is an organized and structured way to deal with the data stored in the MongoDB database. It also provides features like middleware which allows easy data manipulation and perform database operations efficiently.

Example

const studentSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  name: {
    type: String,
    required: true
  },
  age: {
    type: Number,
    min: 18
  },
  gender: {
    type: String
  }
});

Features of Mongoose

• Data Casting: Mongoose offers a specific feature to automatically converts data types to have a match to the schema. This feature will lead to reduce in data type error.
• Population: Mongoose offers a unique feature called population, which enables the developers to reference and retrieve documents from other collections with ease.
• Query Building: It offers a very fluent and easier way to build complex queries to operate with the database. It lets the developers work easy to fetch data from the database.
• Schema Definition: Mongoose help the developers to create a schema which will specify everything required for each field like the data structure, data type, validations etc.
• Middleware and hooks: This feature allow developers to have some custom code or logic which need to be executed to perform some specific operation.

What is the Difference Between MongoDB and Mongoose

MongoDB	Mongoose
MongoDB is a NoSQL document-oriented database.	It is an object data model library used for creating schemas which is later mapped to MongoDB documents.
MongoDB allows developers to store and query data in a flexible, schema-less way.	It offers a higher-level abstraction layer on the top of MongoDB which lets the developers to create and define data models with the help of schema-based approach.
MongoDB offer supports for basic CRUD operations.	It consists of a rich set of features for working with MongoDB like middleware functions, query builders, schema validation, etc.
MongoDB has very less restrictions on data structure which makes it more flexible but potentially making it harder to enforce data consistency.	It provide the property to developers to create the data models with data fields, data types, validations and other properties. This will help to ensure data consistency and integrity.
In MongoDB developers need to write more custom code to handle different collections and data structures.	It offers a user efficient and consistent interface to interact with MongoDB, which allows the developers to utilise the same syntax and approach for working with different collections and models.

MongoDB Use Cases

• Internet of Things (IoT): It is used in Internet of Things to accelerate the delivery process of the IoT applications. It is further utilized to simplify the operations of the IoT applications. It is employed in the support of the IoT data life cycle, from operations like ingestion, storage, querying, real-time analytics, and visualization.
• Mobile: It is used with the Mobile to to make the mobile data management simplified. It speeds up the process of mobile application with lesser line of code. It helps to design customized api for mobile applications according to your need.
• Content Management: It is a very useful tool in case of management of the content. With the help of this, we can serve, store and process any type of content. It allows developers to build any feature and use it.
• Payment: It is useful in payment applications as it can accept and process any type of payment data. It provides the flexibility of reducing the downtime and provide more encryption and access control features.
• Personalization: It is useful in sense of making an exceptional customer experience. It is done by analyzing the user behavior, interactions and preferences.

Mongoose Use Cases

• E-Commerce Platforms: It is used in E-commerce platforms to provide a structured and consistent data model for the usage. It is utilized because it guarantees the accuracy and integrity of the application. It offers simplified data retrieval and manipulation.
• Collaborative Applications: It is very useful in scenarios where multiple developers collaborate for a project. With the use of it, it brings uniformity and helps in avoiding misunderstanding between them.
• Data-Intensive Applications: It is used in cases where we need to handle a large amount of data. By using mongoose, it ensures the accuracy of data, proper structuring of data, easy retrieval. It helps to maintain the consistent state of the data.

Conclusion

Overall, In this article we have learn about what are the differences between the MongoDB and Mongoose. We get to know that MongoDB is a NoSQL document-oriented database while Mongoose is a Object Data Model library for MongoDB and NodeJS. Then it lists some features of both topic. Then it provides the differences between them. Now you have good understanding of what is MongoDB and Mongoose.