MEAN Stack Interview Questions and Answers Part 2

MEAN Stack Interview Questions and Answers Part 2The MEAN stack—short for MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js—is a popular technology stack for building full-stack web applications using JavaScript. If you’re new to MEAN stack development and preparing for your first technical interview, it’s important to get familiar with the key concepts in each layer.
This guide includes commonly asked MEAN stack interview questions to help you understand the roles of each technology and how they work together. From database design with MongoDB to building APIs with Express and Node, and creating responsive UIs with Angular, you’ll find practical Q&A examples to strengthen your preparation.
Whether you’ve just finished a coding bootcamp or are shifting from front-end to full-stack roles, this list will help you feel confident going into interviews.

Answer:

  • REST: Representational State Transfer is an architectural style that uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to perform CRUD operations on resources. Each URL represents a specific resource, and the server’s response is in the form of JSON or XML. REST APIs often suffer from over-fetching or under-fetching data.
  • GraphQL: GraphQL is a query language for APIs that allows clients to request the exact data they need and nothing more. Clients can specify the structure of the response, enabling a more efficient data retrieval process. GraphQL APIs have a single endpoint and return JSON data, making them more flexible and reducing the need for multiple requests.

Answer:

To deploy a MEAN Stack application, you can follow these steps:

  • Prepare your front-end (Angular) application for production using Angular CLI commands, which will bundle and optimize the code.
  • Set up a Node.js server to host the Express.js application and serve the Angular build files.
  • Deploy your MongoDB database on a cloud service or hosting platform.
  • Use a cloud service provider like AWS, Google Cloud Platform, or Heroku to host your MEAN Stack application.
  • Configure necessary environment variables, security settings, and server configurations for a production environment.

Answer:

CORS stands for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing, and it is a security feature implemented by web browsers to prevent unauthorized access to resources on a different domain. In Express.js, you can handle CORS by using the ‘cors’ middleware, which sets the appropriate headers to allow or restrict cross-origin requests based on your configuration.

Answer:

Promises in Node.js are used to handle asynchronous operations. They represent a value that may not be available yet but will be resolved or rejected in the future. Promises provide a cleaner way to write asynchronous code than using traditional callbacks. They help avoid callback hell and enable better error handling using the ‘then’ and ‘catch’ methods.

Answer:

  • Optimize MongoDB queries and create appropriate indexes to improve database performance.
  • Implement caching mechanisms to reduce the load on the server and speed up response times.
  • Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for static assets like CSS, JS, and images to improve loading times for users from different locations.
  • Minify and bundle JavaScript and CSS files to reduce the size of resources sent to the client.
  • Use lazy loading in Angular to load components only when they are required, reducing initial loading times.

Answer:

Angular Universal is a technology that allows you to render Angular applications on the server-side. Unlike traditional single-page applications (SPA), which are initially blank until JavaScript loads, Angular Universal provides server-side rendering (SSR) for better SEO, faster initial page loads, and improved user experience.

Answer:

Middleware functions in Express.js are functions that have access to the request and response objects. They can modify the request and response, execute code, and call the next middleware function in the stack. Middleware is used to add functionalities like authentication, logging, error handling, etc., to the application.

Answer:

Here are some popular commonly used IDEs:

  • Atom
  • Brackets
  • WebStorm
  • IntelliJ IDEA
  • Sublime Text
  • Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
  • Eclipse with Nodeclipse

Answer:

In JavaScript, scope refers to the context in which variables, functions, and objects are accessible during runtime. It determines the visibility and lifetime of these entities within the code. Understanding scope is crucial for writing maintainable and bug-free code, as it governs how variables are accessed, updated, and garbage collected.

Answer:

In JavaScript, there are two main types of scope:

  • Global Scope: Variables declared outside any function or block have global scope. These variables can be accessed from any part of the code, including within functions or nested blocks.
  • Local Scope: Variables declared within a function or block have local scope. These variables can only be accessed within the function or block where they are declared. They are not accessible outside of their defining context.

Answer:

Containerization refers to the practice of using containers to deploy and manage applications. It is a method of packaging an application along with its dependencies, libraries, and configurations into a single container image.

Answer:

Following are the benefits of Containerization in the MERN stack:

  • Consistency: Containers ensure that the application runs consistently across different environments, reducing the chances of “it works on my machine” issues.
  • Isolation: Each container runs in its isolated environment, preventing conflicts between dependencies and allowing for better security and stability.
  • Scalability: Container orchestration tools make it easy to scale your application horizontally by running multiple instances of containers to handle increased traffic.
  • Portability: Container images can be easily moved between different environments, making it simpler to deploy the application in development, staging, and production environments.
  • Efficiency: Containers are lightweight and share the host OS kernel, leading to faster startup times and efficient resource utilization.

Containerization provides a way to package, deploy, and manage applications consistently and efficiently, enabling developers to focus on building and improving their applications rather than managing infrastructure intricacies.

Answer:

In TypeScript, both classes and interfaces are used to define the structure of objects and to enforce type checking. However, they serve different purposes and have some key differences. Here’s an overview of their main distinctions:

  1. Definition:
    • Class: A class is a blueprint for creating objects with properties and methods.
    • Interface: An interface is a virtual structure that defines the shape of an object.
  2. Implementation:
    • Class: You can provide implementation code within a class to define how the methods work and how the class behaves.
    • Interface: Interfaces don’t include implementation code. They only describe the structure of an object, leaving the implementation details to the classes that implement them.
  3. Inheritance:
    • Class: Classes support inheritance through the extends keyword. A class can inherit properties and methods from a base (parent) class, and it can also override or extend those properties and methods if needed.
    • Interface: Interfaces can also support inheritance through the extends keyword, but unlike classes, interfaces don’t contain any implementation logic. When an interface extends another interface, it inherits the structure of the parent interface.
  4. Multiple Inheritance:
    • Class: In TypeScript, a class can extend only one other class.
    • Interface: An interface can extend multiple interfaces by using the extends keyword followed by a comma-separated list of interfaces.
  5. Instance Creation:
    • Class: You can create instances (objects) of a class using the new keyword.
    • Interface: Interfaces are purely for type-checking during development and are not used to create objects directly.
  6. Usage:
    • Class: Classes are used when you need to create objects with specific behaviors and properties and encapsulate data.
    • Interface: Interfaces are used to define the structure that objects should adhere to. They are also used to enforce type checking and provide contract-like agreements between different parts of the code.

Answer:

In Node.js, a callback is a function that is passed as an argument to another function and is executed at a later point in time or after the completion of an asynchronous operation. Callbacks are a fundamental concept in Node.js, especially when dealing with asynchronous code.

Answer:

Cross-site Scripting (XSS) is a type of security vulnerability commonly found in web applications. It occurs when a malicious attacker injects malicious scripts or code into web pages viewed by other users. The injected scripts execute within the context of the victim’s browser, allowing the attacker to steal sensitive information, hijack user sessions, redirect users to malicious websites, or perform other malicious actions.

Answer:

There are three main types of XSS attacks:

  1. Stored XSS (Persistent XSS): In this type of attack, the malicious script is permanently stored on the target web application, such as in a database or message board. When other users access the compromised page, the script is served from the application and executed in their browsers.
  2. Reflected XSS (Non-persistent XSS): In a reflected XSS attack, the injected script is reflected off a web server to the victim’s browser as part of a URL or HTTP request. The victim is typically tricked into clicking a malicious link, and the script executes when the server processes the request.
  3. DOM-based XSS: This type of XSS occurs when the client-side script modifies the Document Object Model of a web page, resulting in the execution of malicious code. Unlike stored and reflected XSS, the payload is not sent to the server but executed directly in the victim’s browser.

Answer:

AOT compilation offers several benefits, such as

  1. Faster Startup Time: AOT-compiled code does not require the overhead of on-the-fly compilation during runtime, resulting in faster startup times for applications.
  2. Predictable Performance: Since the code is already translated to machine code before execution, the AOT-compiled application’s performance tends to be more predictable and consistent.
  3. Reduced Memory Usage: AOT compilation can potentially lead to reduced memory usage because the compiled code is already in machine code format and doesn’t require storing intermediate representations.
  4. Platform Independence: AOT-compiled code is generated specifically for the target platform and architecture, making it more platform-independent. This is useful for applications that need to run on different platforms without the need for a separate compilation step for each platform.
  5. Improved Security: AOT compilation can enhance security since the compiled code is not easily accessible or modifiable. This reduces the risk of certain types of attacks, such as code injection or reverse engineering.
  6. Lower Overhead: JIT compilers may introduce some overhead during runtime, as they need to compile code while the application is running. AOT compilation eliminates this overhead, leading to potentially improved overall performance.
  7. Better Optimization Opportunities: AOT compilers can perform more extensive and aggressive optimizations during the compilation process compared to JIT compilers, which may be limited by the need to compile quickly.

Answer:

The “Grid System” in CSS refers to a layout mechanism that allows web developers to create complex and flexible two-dimensional grid-based layouts for their web pages. It enables you to arrange elements in rows and columns, providing a more organized and responsive structure to the content on the webpage.

Answer:

The key concepts and components of the CSS Grid System include:

  • Grid Items
  • Grid Lines
  • Grid Tracks
  • Grid Gap
  • Grid Container
  • Grid Template
  • Grid Rows and Columns

Answer:

npm stands for “Node Package Manager.” It is a popular package manager for JavaScript, primarily used with Node.js. npm allows developers to easily install, manage, and share open-source JavaScript packages and libraries. Using NPM, developers can install packages globally on their systems or locally within their projects. It simplifies the process of incorporating external libraries and modules into Node.js applications, saving time and effort in managing dependencies.