MongoDB - will it fit a small hobby web application?

Question

I'm working on a small web application using the Python Flask framework. For a few happy weeks SQLAlchemy was a perfect fit for my needs. In the meantime I found out more about MongoDB, played with it locally and started thinking of using it instead of MySql along with SQLAlchemy.

Is this a good idea in terms of:

1. Suitability. The project probably wont become 2nd Facebook, so I dont really need any scalability at all...
2. Deployment. Is it more complicated to deploy a MongoDB enabled app, than a MySQL app?
3. Anything else I need to know about Mongo and NoSql??

Answer 1

To put it this way, it's better to do a small project and not know whether MongoDB is suitable or not, than doing a large project and not knowing whether MongoDB works for your application.

I would suggest you go the MongoDB route. You won't need to worry about SQL, rows, tables etc. Seeing it's a small web app, you should be able to easily switch to MySQL later if need be.

Answer 2

I've got a few rails apps running on mongodb - I use mongohq.com for my database hosting and it's ridiculously easy to get it up and running (at least it is if you are using rails and heroku).

Anyway, I was asked by a friend if our small website needed mongodb and I said that it wouldn't do it any harm. MongoHQ is also cloud-based, which means it's got potential to be fast - I guess it all depends on how they manage their system though. I use a rails wrapper that lets you do relational associations through mongodb and perhaps python has the same thing - if your app does take off, you have the setup to handle it

Answer 3

Hobby web application == Best way to learn MongoDB.

I'll work the questions in order.

1. Yes, MongoDB is suitable for projects that don't need to scale. In fact, MongoDB is a very good way to get small projects off the ground quickly. You do very little "DB configuration" work, especially when using PHP and Rails (though C# NoRM looks pretty simple too).
2. Basically every web host will give you "free MySQL" databases as part of the package. Providers that offer MongoDB are harder to find, so it depends on your setup. If you have a Virtual Private Server, then setting up MongoDB should be easy. If you're on $20/month shared hosting, then you'll probably have to look at someone else to host the DB. The MongoDB site has a list of hosting providers as well as instructions for configuration on many popular cloud computing providers. You will pay a small premium for using MongoDB.
3. Be prepared to "think different". If you've used SQL for a long time, you're probably used to thinking of all data as "relational" and accessible as "sets" (which is SQL's strength). You have to think of MongoDB as a hash table, good for single or small lookups. Be prepared to write some "client-side" for loops in your code. You'll need those to process data in arrays within an object.