Why Use MongoDB and When to Use It?

MongoDB Atlas is a fully-managed database as a service that runs on all public clouds. It scales from a free tier (no credit card required) to global clusters.

Both MongoDB Enterprise Server and MongoDB Community Server can be locally installed and used in a self-managed manner.

You can run either of these editions on your own hardware or in the cloud.

All of the functionality of MongoDB is available through the CLI, which uses the mongo shell to enter commands and receive output.

To use the mongo shell, you must have a user set up on a MongoDB cluster. Then you install the mongo shell on your computer and connect to the user account on the cluster.

At this point, you are off and running and can enter commands to configure the cluster, create databases, or get information about how the cluster is running.

MongoDB Compass offers a GUI for those who prefer a visual interface. MongoDB Compass provides a way to visualize your data, create indexes, and assemble complex aggregation pipelines that streamline how you work with data.

MongoDB falls into the document database category, which is part of the more prominent NoSQL databases family. It stores information as structured or unstructured objects called documents. These documents are grouped in collections.

Using MongoDB can provide many benefits to a software development team. Its flexible schema makes it easy to evolve and store data in a way that is easy for programmers to work with. MongoDB is also built to scale up quickly and supports all the main features of modern databases such as transactions. Additionally, MongoDB has a large community of users that can provide help, and enterprise-level support is available. See When To Use NoSQL Databases to find out more about the benefits of NoSQL databases.

Thousands of companies like Forbes, Toyota, and Thermo Fisher run their businesses on MongoDB Atlas and use it to handle their most demanding apps in areas like telecommunications, gaming, finances, healthcare, and retail.