Data Modelling
🔴 P0 — the first design decision that cascades into everything else: scaling, consistency, query performance
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831 words·
4 mins
Core Concepts
Technology-agnostic fundamentals that underpin every system design. These are the building blocks: how networks behave, how to model data, how to design APIs. Patterns build on these; without them, pattern-level answers lack grounding (see Patterns Taxonomy).
| Concept | Focus |
|---|---|
| Networking Essentials | OSI layers, protocols, connections, load balancing |
| API Design | REST conventions, pagination, auth, protocol choice |
| Data Modelling | Schema design, normalisation, indexing, sharding |
API Design
🔴 P0 — the craft of designing APIs; shows engineering judgement, not just pattern knowledge
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847 words·
4 mins
Networking Essentials
🔴 P0 — foundation for reasoning about inter-service communication, latency, and failure modes
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1199 words·
6 mins