In terms of performance, what is a primary advantage of avoiding application joins in MongoDB?

Avoiding application joins in MongoDB primarily improves query response times. This is because MongoDB is designed to work with embedded documents and arrays, which allows related data to be stored within a single document rather than in separate collections. When related data is embedded, the database can retrieve all necessary information with a single query, eliminating the need for complex joins that can slow down performance, especially with large datasets.

In traditional relational databases, joins can be resource-intensive operations that require significant processing power and time, especially as the size of the dataset increases. By minimizing or eliminating these joins in a document-oriented database like MongoDB, applications can achieve faster query responses, as the retrieval process involves fewer steps and less computational overhead. This streamlined access enhances the overall efficiency of database operations, making it one of the critical advantages of using MongoDB for applications that require high performance.