Model View Controller (MVC): Definition, Workflow & Benefits

What is MVC?

MVC is a concept that plays a crucial role in the software development process. However, do you understand what is MVC and its concept entirely?

MVC stands for Model View Controller, a software architectural design used to separate the main components within an application. As the name suggests, this model accordingly facilitates system development, maintenance, and management.

In general, this concept consists of three main components that play a significant role in web development systems, including:

1. Model: This component is responsible for managing the data within the application. It defines the structure of the data and includes functions related to data processing. The Model interacts with the data source to retrieve necessary information and then delivers it to the user.
2. View: The View refers to the part of the system that deals with displaying and presenting data to the user. It can generate graphical or visual user interfaces that users interact with. In practice, the View obtains the required data from the Model. Subsequently, this data is displayed by arranging the layout, user interface elements (UI), and other aspects. 
3. Controller: It manages interactions between the Model and the View. The Controller receives input from the user via the UI, processes it, and then sends appropriate commands to the Model or View. Additionally, the Controller is responsible for orchestrating the application's workflow, which involves interactions between the other two components.

MVC Workflow

The Model-View-Controller is a fundamental concept in software development. As previously mentioned, this concept divides an application into three main components: Model, View, and Controller.

It's especially important to remember that each component has its own role and responsibilities. In a general overview, the workflow operates as follows:

1. User Interaction with View: Users initiate interactions with the application through the user interface. In this context, the View is responsible for displaying information to users in an appealing and easily understandable format. 
2. Controller Handles User Actions: Every action performed by users is managed by the Controller. This component acts as a traffic manager within the application. When users take an action, the Controller receives the action and takes appropriate steps. 
3. Controller Communicates with Model: After receiving user actions, the Controller communicates with the Model. The Controller requests the Model to retrieve data from the database, update data, or perform necessary calculations.
4. Model Processes and Provides Data: The Model processes requests from the Controller and provides the required data. Additionally, this component needs to validate data. 
5. Controller Guides the View: Once the Controller receives data from the Model, the next step is to guide the View in presenting that data to the user. In this case, the Controller ensures that the View displays the data appropriately.
6. View Presents Data to Users: In the final process, the View takes the data provided by the Controller and presents it to the users. The resulting display should be easily comprehensible and aligned with the users' needs (e.g. displaying buttons, forms, and other elements).

MVC Benefits

Now that you have understood what is MVC, let’s get to know what MVC benefits significantly assist the developmental procedure. 

Here's a further explanation of the benefits that can be obtained by implementing Model-View-Controller:

1. Managing Large Applications

Since it is a concept that divides code into three components: Model, View, and Controller, the practice is especially beneficial to locating specific sections of code quickly and allows for easier addition of new functionalities.

2. Supporting Asynchronous Method Invocation (AMI)

You must now understand that this software architectural design works well with JavaScript and its frameworks. 

Therefore, it's not surprising that this design also supports the use of Asynchronous Method Invocation (AMI). 

Model-View-Controller enables DevOps Engineer to build applications with faster loading times and allows processes like working with PDF files, browsers, and desktop widgets.

3. Ease of Modification

One of the most evident MVC benefits is the ease of the modification process. This happens due to the separation of the code into the three components as explained earlier. 

If a change is made to one component, it won't immediately affect the other components. As a result, the flexibility and scalability of the application are increased.

4. Faster Development Process

The separation of Model-View-Controller greatly aids developers and brainware in working in parallel on different components. 

This facilitates the implementation of business logic and speeds up the development process by up to four times compared to other models.

5. Easy Planning and Maintenance

With this model, developers can plan and organize code efficiently. This makes maintenance and bug fixing easier since the identification and location of issues can be done swiftly.

6. Data Reconciliation

The Model is the component responsible for managing business logic and raw data. In its implementation, the Model fetches data in raw format. This data is then transformed into a suitable format for presentation in the View. This makes adapting data display easy.

7. Supports Test-Driven Development

A major advantage of this concept is simplifying the testing process. Developers can test the Model, View, and Controller separately. 

This accordingly allows testing to be done before code development through the Test-Driven Development (TDD) approach.

8. Diverse Presentation

Within this Model-View-Controller concept, an application can have different presentations without disrupting the business logic. This allows the application to easily adapt to various platforms like websites, desktops, or mobile devices. 

9. SEO-Friendly Platform

By configuring the View component to support search engine optimization (SEO), relevant content and information can be presented more efficiently. This enhances the application's visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

MVC Examples within the IT Industry

The MVC concept has become a crucial approach in the IT industry, especially for software development and web-based applications.

Its implementation in the IT industry spans various domains, from business application development to interactive website creation.

For instance, consider a company using this concept to build an inventory management system.

In this scenario, the Model component plays a role in structuring the inventory data, including products, stock quantities, and pricing information.

Furthermore, the View component arranges the user interface, enabling users to view the list of products and their stock quantities.

On the other hand, the Controller component is responsible for business logic, such as calculating the total price or processing orders.

Dividing tasks among these components makes it easier for developers to work in parallel, which accordingly facilitates the maintenance, development, and adaptation of the software.