System Design Articles

Practical explainers and interview prep articles on distributed systems and system design.

• The CAP Theorem Explained Simply — A beginner-friendly breakdown of the CAP theorem (Consistency, Availability, Partition Tolerance) — with worked failure scenarios, PACELC, real database examples, and how to talk about it in a system design interview.
• How to Answer Any System Design Question — A step-by-step framework for tackling any system design interview question — requirements, estimation, high-level design, and deep dives — with a full worked example (Design a URL shortener) and the phrases interviewers listen for.
• Top 10 System Design Interview Questions — The most frequently asked system design interview questions — URL shortener, rate limiter, key-value store, news feed, chat, and more — with the approach, key trade-offs, and follow-up questions interviewers actually ask for each one.