Like any other database management language, MongoDB is based on a NoSQL database that is used for storing data in a key-value pair. Its working is based on the concept of document and collection. It is also an open-source, a document-oriented, cross-platform database system that is written using C++. In this chapter, you will learn more about MongoDB and its importance.



Mongo DB can be defined as a document-oriented database system that uses the concept of NoSQL. It also provides high availability, high performance, along with automatic scaling. This open-source product was developed by the company - 10gen in October 2007, and the company also maintains it. MongoDB exists under the General Public License (GPL) as a free database management tool as well as available under Commercial license as of the manufacturer. MongoDB was also intended to function with commodity servers. Companies of different sizes all over the world across all industries are using MongoDB as their database.

Here are some key terminologies that you must know to get into the in-depth of MongoDB:

What is a Database?

In MongoDB, a database can be defined as a physical container for collections of data. Here, on the file system, every database has its collection of files residing. Usually, a MongoDB server contains numerous databases.

What are Collections?

Collections can be defined as a cluster of MongoDB documents that exist within a single database. You can relate this to that of a table in a relational database management system. MongoDB collections do not implement the concept of schema. Documents that have collection usually contain different fields. Typically, all the documents residing within a collection are meant for a comparable or related purpose.

What is a Document?

A document can be defined as a collection of key-value pairs that contain dynamic schema. Dynamic schema is something that documents of the equal collection do not require for having the same collection of fields or construction, and a common field is capable of holding various types of data.


Here is a table showing the relation between the terminologies used in RDBMS and MongoDB:
RDBMS MongoDB
Database Database
Table Collection
Tuple or Row Document
Column Field
Table Join Embedded Documents
Primary Key Primary key / Default key
Mysqld / Oracle mongod

Popular Organizations That Use MongoDB

Here is a list of some popular and multinational companies and organizations that are using MongoDB as their official database to perform and manage different business applications.

  • Adobe
  • McAfee
  • LinkedIn
  • FourSquare
  • MetLife
  • eBay
  • SAP

Where Is MongoDB Used?

Beginners need to know the purpose and requirement of why to use MongoDB or what is the need of it in contrast to SQL and other database systems. In simple words, it can be said that every modern-day application involves the concept of big data, analyzing different forms of data, fast features improvement in handling data, deployment flexibility, which old database systems are not competent enough to handle. Hence, MongoDB is the next choice.

Why Use MongoDB?

Some basic requirements are supported by this NoSQL database, which is lacking in other database systems. These collective reasons make MongoDB popular among other database systems:

  • Document-Oriented data storage, i.e., data, is stored in a JSON style format, which increases the readability of data as well.
  • Replication and high availability of data.
  • MongoDB provides Auto-sharding.
  • Ad hoc queries are supported by MongoDB, which helps in searching by range queries, field, or using regex terms.
  • Indexing of values can be used to create and improve the overall search performance in MongoDB. MongoDB allows any field to be indexed within a document.
  • MongoDB has a rich collection of queries.
  • Updating of data can be done at a faster pace.
  • It can be integrated with other popular programming languages also to handle structured as well as unstructured data within various types of applications.

Advantages of Using MongoDB

  • It is easy to set up, i.e., install the MongoDB.
  • Since MongoDB is a schema-less database, so there is no hassle of schema migration.
  • Since it is a document-oriented language, document queries are used, which plays a vital role in supporting dynamic queries.
  • Easily scalable.
  • It is easy to have a performance tuning as compared to other relational databases.
  • It helps in providing fast accessing of data because of its nature of implementing the internal memory to store the data.
  • MongoDB is also used as a file system that can help in easy management of load balancing.
  • MongoDB also supports the searching using the concept of regex (regular expression) as well as fields.
  • Users can run MongoDB as a windows service also.
  • It does not require any VM to run on different platforms.
  • It also supports sharding of data.

Some Common Questions Related to MongoDB

Q. Does a MongoDB database have schemas?

Yes, MongoDB makes use of schemas, which are dynamic schemas. In such types of schemas, you can modify the construction of documents by merely accumulating new fields as well as delete existing ones.

Q. Does MongoDB provide SQL support?

No, MongoDB does not provide SQL support.

Q. What are the various areas where MongoDB can be used?

MongoDB can be used in supporting content management systems, online and offline gaming applications, e-commerce systems, mobile applications, data analytics section, archiving, as well as logging.


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