Distributed Task Queue: Low-Level Design
6 min read A distributed task queue decouples work from workers: producers enqueue tasks, workers consume and execute them asynchronously. This enables horizontal […] Read article
6 min read A distributed task queue decouples work from workers: producers enqueue tasks, workers consume and execute them asynchronously. This enables horizontal […] Read article
6 min read A key-value store is the simplest form of a database: store a value associated with a key, retrieve the value Read article
6 min read A ride-sharing platform (Uber, Lyft) matches riders with nearby drivers in real time, handles surge pricing, tracks vehicle positions, and Read article
6 min read A ticketing system (like Ticketmaster for concerts, or an airline seat booking system) manages limited inventory under simultaneous high demand. Read article
6 min read A recommendation system suggests relevant items to users — products to buy, videos to watch, friends to follow. At Netflix, Read article
6 min read A payments system processes financial transactions — charge customers, transfer funds, process refunds. Unlike typical web applications, payments demand ACID Read article
6 min read A social network feed aggregates posts from accounts a user follows, ranked by relevance or recency. At Instagram or Twitter Read article
6 min read A video streaming platform (like Netflix or YouTube) must ingest raw video, encode it into multiple quality levels, distribute it Read article
6 min read A search autocomplete system provides real-time suggestions as users type, ranking completions by popularity or relevance. At Google or Amazon Read article
6 min read A file storage system (like Dropbox or Google Drive) stores user files, provides sync across devices, and handles concurrent edits. Read article
6 min read A notification system delivers messages to users through one or more channels — push notifications, email, SMS, in-app. At scale Read article
6 min read A URL shortener converts a long URL into a short alias (e.g., bit.ly/abc123) that redirects to the original. Building one Read article
5 min read A time series database (TSDB) is optimized for storing and querying time-stamped data — metrics, sensor readings, financial prices, event Read article
6 min read Real-time server-to-client communication requires the server to push data without waiting for a client request. Three primary patterns exist: long Read article
6 min read The gossip protocol (epidemic protocol) is a peer-to-peer communication method where each node periodically shares information with a small number Read article