The Saga Pattern Explained
How the saga pattern coordinates long running business transactions across services using local commits and compensating actions instead of distributed two phase commit.
·5 min read · #backend#microservices#saga
Blog
1745 posts · page 19 of 37
Soft Deletes vs Hard Deletes: A Practical Guide
Compare soft and hard deletes across recovery, compliance, indexing, and query complexity to pick the right deletion strategy.
·3 min read · #backend#database#patterns
Django QuerySets and ORM Optimization
How Django QuerySets lazily build SQL, how to avoid N+1 queries with select_related and prefetch_related, and patterns to keep the ORM fast under real load.
·4 min read · #python#django#orm
FastAPI Dependency Injection Explained
How FastAPI's Depends system actually works, the lifecycle of dependencies, scoping with yield, and patterns for testable, layered FastAPI apps.
·5 min read · #python#fastapi#dependency-injection
Postgres Indexing Strategies
A practical tour of Postgres indexing: btree, hash, GIN, BRIN, partial and expression indexes, plus how to choose, measure, and maintain them in production.
·5 min read · #postgres#indexing#performance
AWS API Gateway vs ALB: Choosing the Right Entry Point
Compare API Gateway and Application Load Balancer for fronting AWS workloads, including features, pricing, latency, and when to use each in production.
·5 min read · #aws#api-gateway#alb
AWS CodeBuild and CodeDeploy Tutorial: Build and Ship on AWS
Learn how to wire AWS CodeBuild and CodeDeploy together to build artifacts, run tests, and deploy to EC2, ECS, or Lambda with blue/green and canary strategies.
·4 min read · #aws#codebuild#codedeploy
AWS CloudFront CDN Tutorial: Caching at the Edge
Learn how AWS CloudFront accelerates content delivery, what cache behaviors look like, and how to wire it up to an S3 origin with sensible defaults.
·4 min read · #aws#cloudfront#cdn
AWS CloudWatch Metrics and Alarms: Practical Observability
Build a meaningful CloudWatch setup with custom metrics, composite alarms, and dashboards that catch real incidents without paging on noise.
·4 min read · #aws#cloudwatch#metrics
AWS Cost Optimization Strategies That Actually Work
A pragmatic playbook for cutting AWS spend without hurting reliability: right-sizing, savings plans, storage tiering, and architectural moves.
·4 min read · #aws#cost#finops
AWS DynamoDB Data Modeling Patterns
Practical DynamoDB modeling patterns including single-table design, composite keys, GSIs, and access-pattern-first thinking that keeps queries cheap at scale.
·5 min read · #aws#dynamodb#nosql
AWS EKS vs ECS vs Fargate: Choosing the Right Container Platform
A practical comparison of EKS, ECS, and Fargate covering control planes, pricing models, and when to choose each option for production container workloads.
·4 min read · #aws#containers#eks
AWS Elastic Beanstalk Tutorial: PaaS on AWS Without the Yak Shaving
Deploy web apps fast with Elastic Beanstalk. Learn environments, platforms, deployment policies, configuration via .ebextensions, and when to graduate to ECS or EKS.
·5 min read · #aws#elastic-beanstalk#paas
AWS Glue ETL Tutorial: Serverless Spark for Data Pipelines
Build serverless ETL jobs with AWS Glue. Learn the Data Catalog, crawlers, Spark and Python shell jobs, partitioning, bookmarks, and how to avoid surprise DPU bills.
·4 min read · #aws#glue#etl
AWS IAM Policies vs Roles Cheatsheet
A quick-reference guide to the difference between IAM users, roles, policies, and trust relationships, with examples you can paste into your AWS account today.
·4 min read · #aws#iam#security
AWS Lambda Cold Starts: A Deep Dive
What actually happens during a Lambda cold start, why some functions are worse than others, and the techniques that meaningfully reduce p99 latency in production.
·5 min read · #aws#lambda#serverless
AWS PrivateLink Explained: VPC Endpoints Without the Internet
Understand AWS PrivateLink: interface endpoints, endpoint services, how it differs from VPC peering and Transit Gateway, and when to choose it for private connectivity.
·5 min read · #aws#privatelink#vpc
AWS RDS vs Aurora vs DynamoDB: Choosing Your Database
Trade-offs between RDS, Aurora, and DynamoDB across cost, scaling, latency, and operational overhead, with a concrete decision framework.
·4 min read · #aws#rds#aurora
AWS Route 53 Routing Policies Explained
Understand simple, weighted, latency, failover, geolocation, and multivalue routing policies in Amazon Route 53 with real examples.
·4 min read · #aws#route53#dns
AWS Secrets Manager Tutorial: Storing and Rotating Secrets
A practical guide to AWS Secrets Manager: creating secrets, retrieving them from apps, automatic rotation, IAM access control, and choosing it over SSM Parameter Store.
·4 min read · #aws#secrets-manager#security
AWS SQS Dead-Letter Queues: Catching Poison Messages
Learn how to configure Amazon SQS dead-letter queues (DLQs) to isolate poison messages, debug consumer failures, and protect your workers from infinite retry loops.
·4 min read · #aws#sqs#dlq
AWS SQS vs SNS vs EventBridge: Picking the Right Messaging Service
A practical comparison of SQS queues, SNS topics, and EventBridge buses. When to use each, how they combine, and patterns that scale in production.
·4 min read · #aws#sqs#sns
AWS Step Functions Tutorial: Orchestrating Serverless Workflows
Learn how AWS Step Functions coordinate Lambda, ECS, and SDK calls into reliable state machines, with patterns for retries, parallelism, and error handling.
·4 min read · #aws#step-functions#serverless
C++ CMake Tutorial: Build Your First Project
Learn modern CMake for C++ — targets, properties, and dependencies — and configure a small project that compiles cleanly across platforms.
·4 min read · #cpp#cmake#tooling
C++ Coroutines: An Introduction
Understand C++20 coroutines — co_await, co_yield, co_return — and how they enable async and generator-style code without blocking threads.
·4 min read · #cpp#coroutines#async
C++ constexpr and Compile-Time Computing
How constexpr, consteval, and constinit let you move computation from runtime to compile time, with practical patterns and the rules that govern them.
·4 min read · #cpp#constexpr#metaprogramming
C++ Design Patterns Overview
Tour the most useful design patterns in modern C++ — singleton, factory, observer, strategy, RAII — and learn when each one earns its keep.
·4 min read · #cpp#design-patterns#intermediate
C++ Exceptions vs Error Codes
Compare exceptions and error codes in C++ for handling failures — performance, ergonomics, and when each style fits real codebases.
·4 min read · #cpp#error-handling#intermediate
C++ Iterators and Ranges Tutorial
A practical walk through C++ iterator categories, the ranges library, views, and how to compose pipelines that are both safe and zero-overhead.
·4 min read · #cpp#iterators#ranges
C++ Lambda Expressions and Captures
Master C++ lambdas: syntax, capture modes by value and reference, mutable lambdas, generic lambdas, and lifetime pitfalls.
·3 min read · #cpp#lambda#closures
C++ Memory Model and Atomics
Understand the C++ memory model, memory orderings, and how std::atomic enables correct lock-free programming across threads.
·3 min read · #cpp#atomics#concurrency
C++ Move Semantics and Rvalue References
How move semantics work in modern C++: rvalue references, std::move, perfect forwarding, and the rules that decide when your objects are copied versus moved.
·5 min read · #cpp#move-semantics#rvalue
C++ Modules Introduction
Learn C++20 modules: what they replace, how to declare and import them, and how they speed up compilation and clean up the preprocessor.
·3 min read · #cpp#modules#cpp20
C++ Namespaces and Using Directives
Use C++ namespaces to organize code: nested namespaces, anonymous namespaces, using-declarations, and why using namespace std is dangerous in headers.
·3 min read · #cpp#namespaces#using
C++ RAII Resource Management Explained
RAII is the central idea behind safe C++ code. Learn how scope-bound resource ownership eliminates leaks, simplifies error handling, and scales beyond memory.
·4 min read · #cpp#raii#resources
C++ References vs Pointers Explained
A clear comparison of references and pointers in C++, when each is the right tool, and how their semantics interact with const, ownership, and APIs.
·4 min read · #cpp#references#pointers
C++ Smart Pointers: unique, shared, weak
A practical guide to unique_ptr, shared_ptr, and weak_ptr in modern C++: ownership semantics, when to use each, and the pitfalls that lead to leaks and cycles.
·5 min read · #cpp#smart-pointers#memory
C++ STL Containers Cheatsheet
A practical comparison of the C++ standard containers: vector, list, deque, map, unordered_map, set, and friends, with guidance on which to pick when.
·5 min read · #cpp#stl#containers
C++ Templates and Concepts
Templates are how C++ does generic code. Concepts (C++20) make that code readable and debuggable. Here is how both work together in practice.
·5 min read · #cpp#templates#concepts
C++ std::string_view Explained
Learn how std::string_view gives you cheap, non-owning views into strings — when to use it, how it speeds up code, and how to avoid dangling references.
·4 min read · #cpp#strings#performance
C++ Undefined Behavior Pitfalls
A guided tour of the most common undefined behavior traps in C++ and the habits, tools, and language features that help you avoid them in production code.
·4 min read · #cpp#undefined-behavior#safety
C++ Unit Testing with GoogleTest
Set up GoogleTest in a CMake project and write clear unit tests with assertions, fixtures, and parameterized tests for confident C++ code.
·4 min read · #cpp#testing#gtest
C++ Virtual Functions and VTables
Learn how C++ virtual dispatch works under the hood: vtables, vptrs, override, final, and the cost of polymorphism.
·3 min read · #cpp#virtual#vtable
The Engineer's Guide to Getting Value from 1-on-1 Meetings
Most engineers waste their 1-on-1s on status updates. Here is how to use them as a career lever: agenda, topics, feedback, and what to avoid.
·4 min read · #career#1-on-1#management
From Mid-Level to Senior Engineer: What Actually Changes
The real shift from mid-level to senior engineer is not bigger tickets. It is judgement, scope, and influence. Here is what changes and how to grow into it deliberately.
·4 min read · #career#senior-engineer#growth
Feedback and Performance Reviews: A Survival Guide for Engineers
How to ask for, receive, and act on feedback, and how to navigate performance review cycles without surprises, anxiety, or the dreaded 'meets expectations' shrug.
·4 min read · #career#feedback#performance-review
How to Write a Promotion Packet That Actually Gets You Promoted
A practical guide to building a promotion packet: framing scope, gathering evidence, telling a clear story, and avoiding the traps that sink otherwise strong candidates.
·4 min read · #career#promotion#performance
A Strategy for Side Projects That Actually Help Your Career
Most side projects die in week three. Here is how to pick, scope, and finish side projects that grow your skills, your portfolio, and your career without burning you out.
·4 min read · #career#side-projects#portfolio