System DesignHard
Let's design a Twitter-like service. Consider the following: Core Functionality: How would you implement the ability for users to post tweets, follow other users, and view a timeline of tweets from the users they follow? Data Model: What database schema would you use to store tweets, user information, and follower relationships? Consider scalability and efficiency for reads and writes. Scalability: How would you handle a large number of users and tweets? Discuss strategies for sharding, caching, and load balancing. Real-time Updates: How would you ensure that users see new tweets in their timeline in near real-time? Consider using technologies like WebSockets or Server-Sent Events. Search: How would you implement a search feature that allows users to find tweets containing specific keywords or hashtags? Think about indexing strategies and search algorithms. Rate Limiting: How would you prevent abuse and ensure fair usage of the service? Describe your approach to rate limiting API requests. Example Scenario: Imagine a user, Alice, follows 1,000 other users, including Bob. Bob posts a tweet. Explain how that tweet would propagate to Alice's timeline, considering potential performance bottlenecks. Technology Stack: What technologies (programming languages, frameworks, databases, etc.) would you choose and why?