MVC Architecture

Software development is probably one of the most talked-about topics in the IT industry today, and why shouldn’t it be? The world today is run by software, including web applications.

If you are into software development or web development, one particular word that you might have heard is MVC. But what exactly does MVC stands for and what is its significance. Well, in simple words MVC or Model-View-Controller is a software design pattern that facilitates the development of user interfaces for desktop GUIs and web applications.

Now, that is just a typical definition of MVC. However, if you want to develop a better understanding of the MVC architectural pattern, you simply need to continue reading till the end. So, whenever you are ready, just scroll down to get started.

What is MVC Architecture?

As mentioned above, MVC stands for Model-View-Controller, and it is one of the most popular architectures for developing UIs for web apps and desktop apps. However, it rose to prominence with the increasing popularity of web applications.

The MVC architecture lays down certain rules to develop high-performance user interfaces with ease. Basically, the MVC pattern brings together three different parts, namely Model, View, and Controller. As per this architectural pattern, the user interface of a web application (MVC is mostly used for developing UIs for web apps) can be divided into three parts – model, view, and controller.

We will discuss each component in the next section to help you understand their significance in the MVC architecture. Nonetheless, the key point to note about MVC architectural pattern is that it aims to separate the user interface layer from the business logic.

Components of MVC Architecture

MVC has the following three components:

Model

This component deals with the data that the view component can display. It deals with the database that stores the data and facilitates data manipulation. In other words, the Model component handles all the business logic. 

View

The view component is what decides the presentation of the data. In general, a user interface contains various visual elements, such as text, charts, tables, images, buttons, forms, etc. The view component contains code that is responsible for displaying all the elements in a planned and well-structured way. The HTMLAMP and CSS code for the web application comes under the View component.

Controller

The agenda of the controller component in the MVC architecture is simple – to control the interaction between the Model component and the View component. It is capable of accepting the user inputs and passing them to the Model component. In simple terms, the function of the Controller is to monitor user interactions and display the relevant data in the UI as per the defined business logic.

Advantages of MVC Architecture

Following are some of the key benefits of the MVC architecture:

• MVC architecture makes it possible for developers to work on the different components. For instance, while a developer writes the code for the View component, the other developer can write code for the Controller component. Thus, developers can work parallelly on different sections of a web application, which results in faster development.
• As an application’s development process can be easily divided across three different sections, namely model, view, and controller, it becomes quite easy to develop large applications. The division into sections makes it really easy to manage the codebase easily.
• MVC supports asynchronous programming, which allows applications to perform faster. The asynchronous nature makes it possible to initiate and complete multiple processes simultaneously without waiting for the completion of other processes.
• With MVC, it becomes easy for developers to plan the requirements of an application. Also, they can outline the overall work required to turn ideas into reality.
• It returns data without any particular formatting. This allows developers to use the same components across different interfaces.
• MVC supports the development of SEO-friendly web apps or web pages. It allows developers to create URLs that adhere to the best SEO standards. 

Disadvantages of MVC Architecture

There are some notable downsides of MVC that you should know:

• It is a complex architectural pattern that is difficult to learn and implement.
• Developing simple applications using MVC is not a good idea as it can adversely affect the performance of such apps.

Conclusion

MVC architectural pattern is a go-to choice for developing large and complex web applications. Also, there are several popular web frameworks that leverage MVC architecture, including Django (Python), Ruby on Rails (Ruby), AngularJS (JavaScript), Spring MVC (Java), and Stripes (Java).

MVC consists of three core components, namely Model, View, and Controller. This architectural pattern splits a web application into these three components, thus making it possible to develop web pages and web apps quickly and efficiently.

If there’s anything that you want to share about the MVC architecture, feel free to do that in the comments below.