Backward Compatible API Changes for Independently Deployed Services
A checklist for backward compatible API changes: safe vs breaking changes, tolerant readers, expand-and-contract, enums, Protobuf and event rules, and CI checks.
18 min read
Tag
api design
Rate Limiting a Monolith Without Redis: In-Memory vs Postgres
Compare in-memory and Postgres rate limiters for a monolith: algorithms, atomic SQL, process-count pitfalls, failure modes, and how to choose by topology.
14 min read
FastAPI Dependency Injection: Scopes, Overrides and Testing
How FastAPI dependency injection resolves a per-request graph, manages app-lifetime resources, cleans up with yield, and stays testable with dependency_overrides.
14 min read
tRPC vs gRPC vs REST for Internal TypeScript Service APIs
Compare tRPC, gRPC and REST for internal TypeScript APIs: how contracts, schema evolution and tooling differ, and how to choose based on who owns each end.
17 min read
Rate Limiting Algorithms: Token Bucket vs Sliding Window in Practice
How token bucket, leaky bucket and sliding window rate limiting algorithms work, what traffic shapes they permit, and how to implement them safely at scale.
17 min read
API Versioning Strategies: URL vs Header vs Media Type Versioning
Compare URL, header and media type API versioning on caching, routing and tooling, and learn to define breaking changes and retire old versions safely.
14 min read
Async Request-Reply Pattern: HTTP 202 Accepted, Polling and Job Status
Design long-running HTTP operations with 202 Accepted, a job status endpoint, idempotent submission, sound polling, optional callbacks and cleanup rules.
16 min read
Cursor vs Offset Pagination Performance in PostgreSQL APIs
Why OFFSET cost grows with page depth in PostgreSQL, how keyset pagination keeps it flat, and when each fits your API under real load.
13 min read
Node.js File Upload API Design: Multipart, Presigned URLs, Limits
Learn when a Node.js file upload API should stream multipart or issue S3 presigned URLs, how to enforce size limits at every layer, and how to verify uploads.
14 min read
Idempotency Keys in Microservices: Making Retries Safe End to End
Learn how to mint, propagate, and enforce idempotency keys across microservices so retries, redeliveries, and timeouts never cause duplicate side effects.
16 min read
Webhook Delivery Design: Signatures, Retries and Replay Protection
Design webhooks as signed, timestamped, idempotent at-least-once events: HMAC verification, replay windows, retries with backoff, and key rotation.
13 min read
API Gateway vs Backend for Frontend: Choosing the Edge Layer
Learn how API gateways and BFFs split edge responsibilities, when to use one or both, and how aggregation, latency, ownership and GraphQL change the design.
13 min read