Chapter 12: Technology Stacks — LAMP, LEMP, MEAN, MERN
12.1 What is a "stack" and why does it matter?
Mitranno, you will see words like LAMP and MERN in almost every job posting. Let's first understand what a stack really means. A stack is a standard combination of technologies that work well together to build and run a web application: an operating system, a web server, a database and a programming language/framework. Companies advertise jobs as "MERN developer" or "LAMP administrator", so knowing these stacks end-to-end is valuable.
| Stack | Components | Language | Database type | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAMP | Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP | PHP | Relational (SQL) | WordPress, Moodle, classic web apps |
| LEMP | Linux, Nginx (Engine-x), MySQL/MariaDB, PHP | PHP | Relational (SQL) | High-traffic PHP sites, Laravel |
| MEAN | MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.js | JavaScript / TypeScript | Document (NoSQL) | Enterprise SPAs, dashboards |
| MERN | MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js | JavaScript | Document (NoSQL) | Startups, SPAs, social apps |