W3h: What, Why, When and How (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798342696777)

The book aims to guide software engineers on many concepts required to architect a distributed system. The book is a refresher for software engineers who plan system design interviews as a full-stack software engineer using web technologies. The book relies on short bursts of information focusing on the "what" is the piece of information, "why" it is used, and "when" to use it. The last part of each topic is "how" to materialize the idea in reality but still at a high-level. The short burst of information aims to give enough information to discuss a topic in a job interview or when talking about early system design at work. A detailed description follows each burst of w3h for more in-depth information.
The book focuses on web development architecture that will touch everything from the browser to the backend. The book's scope is vast and has enough information for a software engineer to provide opinions during system design exchanges when performing exploration at work. It also covers all topics needed in a software engineering interview context.
The book does not provide a blueprint for implementing every concept and every scope. The reason is the challenge of illustrating every possibility in a short format, so it focuses on a flexible design that scales in most situations as long as you are not as large as Facebook or Google. The book aims to give you enough understanding to hold a conversation, know the trade-off, and be aware of many options.
The book is organized in particular subjects:

• Chapter 1: Core System Design Concepts
• Chapter 2: Data Structures
• Chapter 3: Distributed System Basic Concepts
• Chapter 4: Distributed System Patterns
• Chapter 5: Distributed System Advanced Concepts
• Chapter 6: Technology Exploration
• Chapter 7: Designing Complete Distributed Systems

The concepts of the first chapter are the foundation of all the other subjects of the book. Subsequent chapters refer to these concepts and notions throughout the book.
The second chapter is brief and explains rapidly many of the data structures that are the foundation of many solutions. The distributed system's basic concepts are broad and touch API, data persistence, how to move information, and how to avoid pitfalls. The subject is agnostic of technical detail, which is the topic of the third chapter.
The third chapter dives into basic distributed system concepts, which are high-level and are part of most distributed system design discussions.
The fourth chapter covers the industry's known distributed system patterns for distributing information among many technologies. These patterns are high-level and highly abstracted, but they are very handy since many issues have already been resolved using one of them.
The fifth chapter defines many advanced distributed systems concepts, which might be superficial at a high-level but become handy as we go deeper into some areas of the design. Some engineers dedicate their lives to a particular element of a distributed system discussed in this chapter. The book focuses on a full-stack engineer with a general idea of a distributed system; thus, it covers enough to understand without mastering each of these advanced concepts in fine detail.
The sixth chapter explores different technologies that concretely apply patterns previously discussed. The book describes popular technologies, explains why and when they are appropriate, and briefly explains how they work. The seventh chapter relies heavily on technology as system design examples get concrete.
The seventh chapter explores different popular solutions for building popular system designs. Knowing existing tools and systems for applying the desired design and patterns is key to bolstering understanding and feasibility.

Author: Patrick Desjardins
ISBN-13: 9798342696777
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 10/28/2024
Pages: 816
Format: Paperback
Weight: 3.03lbs
Size: 9.25h x 7.50w x 1.62d