MeteorJS, also known simply as Meteor, is a cohesive development platform and open-source JavaScript web structure created using Node.js by the Meteor Development Group. Meteor allows for quick prototyping and conveys cross-stage code, for example: web, Android, iOS. On the client side, Meteor depends on jQuery and can be utilized with any JavaScript UI gadget library.

Meteor was initially presented in December 2011 under the name Skybreak.

In October 2014, Meteor Development Group obtained Y Combinator alum FathomDB, with the objective of growing Meteor's database support.

Meteor has been based on ideas from different systems and libraries in a way that makes it simple to model applications. Basically, it makes web development simpler. It's adaptable and requires less code, which implies less bugs and normally a higher quality and more consistent end result.

Meteor has become a new favorite for many developers due to some of the features listed below:

Full-Stack Solution

Advancement Ecosystem

Isomorphic JavaScript Code

Built-in front-end solution

Database Integration

Custom Package Manager

Real-time from scratch

At present, Meteor.js is a vigorous and full-stack JavaScript framework for developing real-time web and mobile applications.

What is Meteor good for?

Why use Meteor? Indeed, the best and shortest answer will be "Meteor is Fun". This framework is useful for making web applications since it is straightforward and has the objective of allowing developers to assemble applications quickly. Besides that, Meteor concentrates more on the usefulness of your application than the essentials of matching up information and serving pages. Also, Meteor consequently performs live updates, so data changes show up instantly in your project window, and even code changes to the application itself are pushed to all browsers and devices "real-time".

The advantages of Meteor:

It is easy to learn for beginning developers

It is ahead of the tech bend

Applications are constant by default

Can create with just one language

Can spare a great deal of time with smart packages

The community is strong and supportive

It was created with designer happiness in mind

Examples and code snippets

Let's assume that you are familiar with JavaScript and have already download and configure Meteor. Henceforth, we will move forward developing our first simple chat app using Meteor.js.

At first let's create our app

meteor create chatApp

Then next, create the client folder

mkdir client

We will put our client side code in this directory.

Before moving forward, we have to create a MongoDB collection. In the event that we make a file named models.js, Meteor will get it as the database file. Inside we will make the new Mongo collection.

You may be wondering when we need to make the MongoDB database, but actually we don't! Meteor creates a database for your application automatically when you make a new Meteor application.

/** * Create new collection if not present. */ Messages = new Meteor.Collection('messages');

Inside the client, let’s make three files named client.html, client.css and client.js.

Check the code below for the client.html.

<html> <head> <title>Meteor Chat Application.</title> </head> <body> <h1>Chatapp</h1> {{> welcome }} {{> input }} {{> messages }} </body> <template name="welcome"> <p> Let's chat. </p> </template> <template name="messages"> {{#each messages}} <strong>{{name}}:</strong> {{message}}<br> {{/each}} </template> <template name="input"> <p>Message: <input type="text" id="message"></p> </template> </html>

As you can see inside the body section, we defined these:

{{> welcome }} {{> input }} {{> messages }}

These are template names, and every name will be replaced by the code in the template block, which we did in the same document, so when you run the HTML file welcome, you will get:

<p> Let's chat. </p>

Here is the client.css code:

html { padding: 10px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; } .login-buttons-dropdown-align-right { float: right; }

Here is the most important file: client.js:

/** * Templates */ if (Meteor.isClient) { Template.messages.helpers({ messages: function() { return Messages.find({}, { sort: { time: -1}}); } }); Template.input.events = { 'keydown input#message' : function (event) { if (event.which == 13) { // 13 is the enter key event if (Meteor.user()) var name = Meteor.user().profile.name; else var name = 'Anonymous'; var message = document.getElementById('message'); if (message.value != '') { Messages.insert({ name: name, message: message.value, time: Date.now(), }); document.getElementById('message').value = ''; message.value = ''; } } } } }

Go to the project folder and run following command:

meteor

Now go to localhost:3000 using two browser windows using different profiles.

Conclusion

We've now learned how to configure and create an example Meteor application. Hope this is a good stepping stone to begin learning this exciting new technology. Your specific circumstances will help you figure out whether or not a specific framework is ideal for you and your creations, however every developer should at least play around a bit with this framework for a week or so. With such a variety of exciting features, Meteor.js is fast becoming one of the best JavaScript development platforms. Additionally, it is supported and subsidized by an immense group of designers who are committed to enhancing its functionality and components for optimizing its performance. You can also find many different sites online which serve as great resources for learning Meteor. So give it a try—I'm sure you'll be glad that you did.