System Design Interview - An Insider’s Guide, Part 1

System Design Interview - An Insider’s Guide, 2021, Insight, Alex Xu, translated by Byungjun Lee

There is only one approach to engineering challenges: divide and conquer. So how do you divide? This book is all about dividing. And the purpose of dividing is clear, of course: conquest. So what do you conquer? Analyze the requirements. What is the most important requirement? Design it to work first. Are there finer requirements? Add a design that satisfies those details. What about the engineering challenges? If it’s a web system, you can’t avoid scaling problems. How many requests, users, memory, and storage are expected? Do a quick calculation, make predictions, eliminate single points of failure, and prepare for scaling. If it gets hard, draw on the brilliant algorithms that those who came before you have already built up. The hash ring is thrilling no matter how many times you look at it.

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