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Grokking the Product Architecture Interview*
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1.
Introduction to the Course
The Restaurant Analogy
From Cafe to Code: The Client
From Cafe to Code: The API
From Cafe to Code: The Server
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What an API Gateway Does
APIs Have Users Too
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Functional vs Non-Functional
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Why Architecture Matters
How APIs Make Money
What Is an SLI?
What Is an SLO?
What Is an SLA?
2.
Network Intricacies
The Internet is a Layer Cake
The Narrow Waist (IP)
Why HTTP Took Over
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Anatomy of a Delay
1. Transmission Delay
2. Propagation Delay
3. Queuing Delay
4. Processing Delay
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Latency Check
What is a Socket?
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Network Recap
3.
Different Ways of Client-Server Communication
The Global Web
Journey of a Click
Step 1: You Click
Step 2: Ask DNS
Step 3: Talk to Server
What Is HTTP?
Inside an HTTP Request
Choose the Action
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HTTP Gets Faster
HTTP/1.0: One-Off Trips
HTTP/1.1: Keep-Alive
HTTP/2.0: Parallel Streams
What Is RPC?
How RPC Really Works
Marshalling the Call
Sending It Over
Unpack, Run, Reply
Why Real-Time Is Hard
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WebSocket Handshake
Web Architecture Recap
4.
Common Data Formats for Web APIs
How APIs Talk
The Format Trade-Off
Journey of Data
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Check Your Knowledge
Need for Speed: Binary Formats
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Summary
5.
Comparison of API Architectural Styles
Blueprints for Communication
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Meet the Big Three
REST in Plain English
REST’s Stateless Superpower
Request 1: Who are you?
Request 2: Total Amnesia
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CRUD vs HTTP Verbs
REST’s Data Problem
GraphQL in One Idea
Write the Perfect Query
Get Exactly That Data
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Binary Beats Text
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Best Fit for Mobile Data
API Styles: Big Picture
6.
API Design Security
Why API Security Matters
The CIA Triad
How TLS Protects Traffic
TLS Handshake: Hello Step
TLS: Server Verification
TLS: Sharing a Secret
TLS: Secure Session Ready
Why Input Validation Matters
Client vs Server Validation
Same-Origin Policy Basics
How CORS Grants Access
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Inside a JWT
OAuth 2.0 in Plain Terms
OAuth: Starting the Flow
OAuth: User Grants Access
OAuth: Code to Token
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Zero Trust Mindset
7.
Important Concepts in Product Architecture - I
The API Update Trap
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3 Ways to Version
Strategy 1: URL Path
Strategy 2: HTTP Headers
Strategy 3: Hostname
Evolving Without Breaking
Bulk Actions & Filters
Rate Limiting Basics
How APIs Say “Slow Down”
HTTP 429: Too Many Calls
Reading Rate-Limit Headers
Rate Limit Check
Why One Size Wastes
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What Is Polling?
Long Polling Explained
WebSockets in a Nutshell
Pick the Pattern
Chapter Recap
8.
Important Concepts in Product Architecture - II
The "Are We There Yet?" Problem
Visualizing the Event Flow
The Webhook Solution
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Why HTTP Has Amnesia
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The Auth Handshake
Setting the ID
Recognizing the User
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The Idempotency Key
Rendering: Server vs. Client
Client-Side Rendering (CSR)
Scenario: The SEO Challenge
The Invisible Blockers
Optimizing the Web
9.
Important Concepts in Product Architecture - III
The Need for Speed
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Cutting the Line
Debouncing: The Traffic Cop
Circuit Breakers
State 1: Closed (Normal)
State 2: Open (Tripped)
State 3: Half-Open (Testing)
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The Problem with Retries
Smart Retries: Backoff + Jitter
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Caching: The Memory Shortcut
Layer 1: The Browser
Layer 2: The Middleware (CDN)
Layer 3: The Server
Stale Data Check
Eyes on the System
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Optimization Recap
10.
Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations for Latency
The Speed of Data
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Journey of a Request
Step 1: The Lookup
Step 2: The Handshake
Step 3: Transfer Start
Inside Server Processing
Serial vs Parallel Work
Serial Processing Basics
Parallel Processing Basics
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Understanding Cold Starts
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Equation Quiz
Faster API Responses
Speed with CDNs
Compress and Cache Wins
Response Time Recap
11.
What Are the Foundational API Designs?
The API Design Maze
Decoding REDCAMEL
RE: Requirements
DC: Design Choices
AM: API Model
EL: Evaluate & Latency
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Interface vs. Implementation
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The 4 Foundation Blocks
1. The Search Service
2. The File Service
3. The Comment Service
4. The Pub-Sub Service
Knowledge Check
REDCAMEL Overview
12.
Design a Search Service
Why Design a Search API?
Functional vs Non-Functional Needs
Search Engine Inner Flow
Indexer: Preparing the Data
Index Table: Fast Lookups
Searcher: Answering Queries
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Search System Overview
Choosing REST & HTTP/1.1
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Reading the JSON Response
Filter at Source, Not Edge
Keeping Search Fast
Search API Essentials Recap
13.
Design a File Service
The Cloud Storage Boom
Core Functionality
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The Data Format Mix
Building the Workflow
Step 1: The Gateway
Step 2: Metadata Separation
Step 3: Blob Storage
Speeding Up Downloads
Handling Large Files
File API Recap
14.
Design a Comment Service
The Hidden Complexity of Comments
The Journey of a Comment
Step 1: The Request
Step 2: The Gatekeeper
Step 3: Storage
Core Comment Features
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Why APIs Love JSON
Match REST Verbs to Actions
Building a POST Body
Request Headers Matter
Designing the JSON Body
Async to Beat Slowdowns
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Comment API Recap
15.
Design a Pub-Sub Service
The Microservice Bottleneck
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Visualizing Pub-Sub Flow
Step 1: The Trigger
Step 2: Broadcasting
Step 3: Consumption
The 4 Core Actions
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High-Level Architecture
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Anatomy of a Subscription
Handling API Failures
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Delivery Semantics
At-Most-Once
At-Least-Once
Exactly once
Pub-Sub Recap
16.
YouTube Streaming API Design
The YouTube Challenge
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How Streaming Really Works
From Raw File to Stream
Encoding: Shrinking the Video
Transcoding: Many Qualities
Segmentation: Tiny Chunks
Adaptive Bitrate in Action
Segmentation & ABR Check
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Why HTTP/2 Matters
Manifest: The Video Menu
Client–Server Streaming Flow
Step 1: Request Video
Step 2: Get the Manifest
Step 3: Fetch Segments
CDNs: Speeding Up Streams
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YouTube Architecture Recap
17.
Facebook Messenger API Design
The Messenger Challenge
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Splitting Text And Media
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Journey of a Message
Step 1: The Send
Step 2: The Queue
Step 3: Delivery
WebSocket Handshake
Delivering To Offline Users
Avoiding Media Duplicates
Architecture Quiz
Messenger Recap
18.
Google Maps API Design
More Than Just a Map
The Four Pillars of Mapping
The Map Service
The Route Finder
Live Navigation
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The Big Picture Architecture
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How Maps Load: The Tile System
The Request
The CDN Lookup
Stitching it Together
Match the Endpoint
Upgrading to Real-Time
Optimizing for Speed
Prefetching
Route Caching
Google Maps Design Recap
19.
Zoom API Design
Beyond the "Join" Button
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Signaling vs. Streaming
Scaling Multi‑User Video
Approach 1: The Mesh
Approach 2: The MCU
Approach 3: The SFU
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Pick the Right Protocol
Upgrading to WebSockets
Join Flow Overview
1) Validate Meeting
2) Setup Media Session
3) Connect and Stream
Beating Latency with Geo
Key Architecture Recap
20.
Leetcode API Design
Building LeetCode: The Challenge
Core Functional Requirements
Browsing Problems
Submitting Code
Contests & Leaderboards
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Microservices Overview
GraphQL vs. REST
Containerized Execution
API Endpoint Design
Submit Request Payload
Handling Traffic Spikes
Queues for Spiky Load
System Design Recap
21.
Payment Gateway API Design—Stripe
The Hidden Complexity of "Pay Now"
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Visualizing the Payment Journey
The Middleman
The Banks
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Design Decision: The API Split
Security by Format
Preventing Double Charges
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Talking to the Card Network
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The Safety Net: Reconciliation
Stripe API Journey Recap
22.
Twitter API Design
The Twitter Challenge
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The Journey of a Tweet
Step 1: The Gateway
Step 2: Storage & Trigger
Step 3: Notify Timeline
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Protocol Choices
The Media Two-Step
Recall: Media Flow
Designing for Reliability
The Latency Budget
System Recap
23.
Uber API Design
The Uber Orchestration
External Dependencies
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Workflow: Booking a Ride
Step 1: The Request
Step 2: Finding a Driver
Step 3: The Match
Defining the Endpoint
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Optimization: Keep-Alive
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Key Takeaways
24.
CamelCamelCamel API Design
Tracking Price Drops
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The Middleman Architecture
Step 1: The Request
Step 2: Amazon Handshake
Step 3: The Response
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Bypassing Rate Limits
Designing Endpoints
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Asynchronous Updates
The Cost of Latency
Availability Strategy
Recap: C3 Architecture
25.
Gaming API Design
More Than Just a Database
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Who is the Boss?
The Client Request
The Server Validation
The Global Update
Hiding the Lag
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Why Not HTTP?
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The Connection Upgrade
Matchmaking (HTTP)
The Upgrade Handshake
Open Pipe (WebSocket)
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Gaming API Recap
26.
API Failures and Mitigations
When APIs Break
The 5 Pillars of Failure
Infrastructure Issues
Security Vulnerabilities
Development Bugs
Design & Dependencies
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Anatomy of the Crash
The Dead Code
The Repurposed Flag
The Missed Server
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The Typo That Broke the Internet
The Domino Effect
Input Error
Subsystems Crash
The Long Reboot
Why So Slow?
Excessive Data Exposure
Case Study: The 'View As' Hack
Broken Object Level Authorization
Fail-Proofing Strategies
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