MongoDB is a database, but it’s different than the most popular SQL-based systems. For one thing, it is object-oriented. It is also simple, dynamic, and scalable. MongoDB is founded on the NoSQL model of storing documents.
While relational databases are the most popular, MongoDB has other unique features that make it useful in specific situations.
What does it mean that it’s not relational? Relational databases store data in cells of interconnected tables, whereas MongoDB stores data objects in a collection, all as separate documents.
It was built in order to allow MongoDB developers to implement highly available, fast and reliable performance, automatically-scalable databases.
MongoDB can be a great database for analytics software, content management and blogging software, configuration management software, storing geographical data, cross-platform social sites, or product catalogues for e-commerce stores.
It’s very useful when project requirements, along with the software design, are susceptible to dynamic change over time.
The MongoDB database allows developers to reduce risk for critical project deployments, speed up the development process, lower overhead costs, and maximize competitive advantage thanks to being able to focus on data and technology.
It enables MongoDB developers to create applications that would not have been possible with an SQL-based, relational database.
One of the key features of MongoDB is a flexible data model, dynamic schema, idiomatic drivers and powerful command line, as well as GUI tools for fast application development and modification. This is what makes it so powerful in case of projects where business and technology requirements can change very quickly.
The data in MongoDB is stores in flexible documents similar to JSON documents. This translates to developers being able to spend much more time actually making good use of their data, and much less time preparing, modifying and troubleshooting the database.
It was created with distributed data in mind, so it is relatively easy to run MongoDB across multiple data centers distributed all around the world. This enables a whole new level of data availability, and application scalability.
Most relational database systems require additional, complicated and costly technologies built on top of them in order to provide the features that MongoDB has built in from the start.
Among them are analytics, data visualization, event-driven data streaming, graph processing, text and geospatial search, and much more.