MongoDB
MongoDB
MongoDB is a cross-platform document-oriented NoSQL database program. Classified as a database management system, it uses JSON-like documents with optional schemas. MongoDB is developed by MongoDB Inc. and is available under a combination of the Server Side Public License (SSPL) and the Apache License.
MongoDB is built for scalability, high performance, and high availability, scaling from single-server deployments to large, complex multi-site architectures. It supports sharding, replication, and indexing, as well as aggregation and geospatial queries. The database is often used in web applications, real-time analytics, and content management systems.
Features
- Document model: Data is stored in flexible, JSON-like documents, meaning fields can vary between documents and data structure can be evolved over time.
- Ad-hoc queries: MongoDB supports field, range, and regular expression queries, as well as queries that return specific fields.
- Indexing: Any field in a document can be indexed, including secondary, compound, text, geospatial, and hashed indexes.
- Replication: MongoDB provides high availability with replica sets, which consist of two or more copies of the data.
- Sharding: Horizontal scaling is achieved by distributing data across multiple servers.
- Aggregation framework: A pipeline-based system for data processing, similar to MapReduce.
- 0 : A specification for storing and retrieving large files, such as images and videos.
History
MongoDB was first developed by the company 10gen (now MongoDB Inc.) in 2007 as a component of a planned PaaS product. The company shifted to an open-source development model in 2009, releasing MongoDB 1.0. The name is derived from the word humongous, reflecting its ability to handle large datasets.
In 2018, MongoDB changed its license from the GNU AGPL v3 to the Server Side Public License, a move that aimed to protect the project from cloud providers offering the software as a service without contributing back. The change sparked debate in the open-source community.
MongoDB's popularity grew rapidly with the rise of JSON-based web APIs and Node.js development, becoming a leading NoSQL database. As of the 2020s, it is used by thousands of organizations, including Adobe, eBay, and The New York Times.