Want to know what inspired me to write the book Lean MEAN Web App Machine? In a nutshell, to help others get out there and have a go at realising their dreams.
Around November 2016 I was working on a new venture idea that included a web application interface. At the time, I was working closely with the MEAN stack. The MEAN stack is a collection of four main software application components (MongoDB, Express, AngularJS and NodeJS).
I was creating copious notes as I went, something I often do when creating something from scratch. One of the technologies I had written about in my notes was the MeanJS solution, a starter-pack (a.k.a. boilerplate) that helps people get a MEAN web application up and running fast.
It occurred to me that the MeanJS solution was an amazing resource which could help pretty much anyone to spin up a web application and try out their ideas. Well, almost anyone. There is a bit of assumed knowledge whenever you use starter-packs/boilerplates like MeanJS. It is unlikely that someone with little to no technical knowledge about software development would have much luck with it.
While thinking about this I recalled that many of our customers at Smart Business Guardian often come to us looking for advice related to their ideas for new products or services they are thinking of starting. There is often a web application / software-as-a-service (SAAS) component to their idea. The challenge they face: many of them don’t know where to start when it comes to creating a web application.
That’s when it hit me! There was something I had already produced (my copious notes) that I could use to help our customers who were dreaming of creating new products or services that included the creation of a web application. This information was also just as valuable to anyone else in the world in the same situation. At that moment – I decided I would build on my notes and turn them into a book to share with the world!
Fast-forward six months and I had finished the first draft of Lean MEAN Web App Machine. This was the first fully-fledged book I had ever created and thus I was just a little bit excited. I decided to publish it both in print format as well as PDF and get it out into the world.
For anyone out their dreaming of creating their own web application but not really knowing where to start – this book is for you. I hope you get as much value out of reading it as I got from writing it for you!