Everything you Need to Know About MVC Framework

Model, View, and Controller is a three-layer development architecture used tremendously in web app development. Most developers use the MVC framework as a standard design pattern, however, it is a complete framework and can be used for various purposes. It provides three types of classes:

Model: These are used to implement the logic of data domains. Using these classes developers can retrieve, insert or update the data into the database easily.

View: View is used to prepare the interface of the application to make the users’ interactions easier and faster.

Controller: The controller helps to respond to the users’ requests. These classes work simultaneously with model classes by selecting the appropriate view which will be displayed to the user according to the user query or request.

Let’s discuss in detail about MVC, when to use it and how does it work.

When to Use MVC Pattern Architecture?

MVC gives an idea of separation of concern which makes it easy to test the application. It makes the relationships among different components of the application coherent and clearer. Using MVC, a test-drive development approach without writing codes for automated test cases can easily be implemented.

Here are certain characteristics that show when to use MVC architecture in ur application:

1. Where an application with full functionality unable to reload the full web page
2. Where an application needs as asynchronous communication on the backend
3. Client-side manipulation rather than server-side
4. In case the application has significant connections used to modify data
5. Similar data is represented on a single page repeatedly.

Advantages of MVC Architecture

• The best part of using MVC is that it divides the complexity into three parts model, view and controller
• MVC supports test-driven approach
• MVC does not make use of server-based forms due to which the application is in full control of the developers
• MVC uses a front controller pattern to handle multiple incoming user requests using a single interface controller.
• Front controller of MVC provides support in rich routing communication required to web applications

Key Features of MVC Framework

Testing of different components becomes easy as we divide the application in three different tasks: business logic, input logic, and interface logic. Testability ad flexibility is not an issue with MVC as it is compatible with any of the unit testing framework. The components of the application can easily be designed in such a way that in the future whenever required they can be modified using your own URL routing strategy, view engine, action method constraint serialization.

When we use MVC, you need not to depend on classes to create objects, instead, we use dependency injection which helps developers to inject an object into classes. Another technique to show dependency among objects is an inversion of control (IOC).

Most MVC frameworks such as backbone.js, angular.js, and ember.js provide useful in-built features such as session management, form authentication, transactional business logic, object-relational mapping, web application security.

Tools and Technologies used with MVC

There are several tools and technologies that MVC offers which can be used to develop web applications. Developers can use any tool depending on their interests. Certain tools are listed below that MVC offers:

Tools

• SQL Server is used for database management.
• MYSQL Server is a relational database management server used to maintain the database.
• Visual Studio is a complete development environment that uses the facility to create different sorts of applications.
• MYSQL Workbench is a database design tool.
• Glassfish Server is a Java EE application server
• Net Beans an IDE that provides complete environment to develop different applications.

Technologies

• EJB (Enterprise Java beans) technologies
• ASP.NET MVC used with Visual studio
• HTML, CSS, JQUERY, AJAX for designing
• JSTL (Java server pages standard tag libraries)
• JDBC (Java database connectivity)
• Servlet and Java server pages (JSP) used with Net beans
• JPA (Java persistence API)

Designing the Application

Designing the application doesn’t mean that you need to design for the sake of launching it, but to know how it can be applied to the real-world. However, you need to make sure that before designing you have all the required customer data in place, and the requirements are clear to you. Let's take a look at the points that you need to consider before start designing the application using Model View Controller architecture.

• You need to have an online representation of data stored related to products and customers
• Build a shopping cart where customers can store the items temporarily
• Customers can modify (add/remove) the quantity of the selected products anytime
• Summary of a shopping cart including the quantity of products and no. of products must be visible to the customers
• Have a plan to secure the payments and checkouts
• server-side administration should be there to view customer orders, add new products for the customers.

Start Developing your MVC Application!

Now that you know much about MVC, start developing your own app. All you can do is choose the platform or MVC framework in which you are comfortable and get started! Also, make sure that you use the in-built features, functions, and tools the maximum to give your users an outstanding experience.