System DesignHard
System Design: Google Calendar Let's design a system similar to Google Calendar. Consider the following requirements: Functionality: Users should be able to create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) events. Events should have a title, description, start time, end time, location, and attendees. Recurring Events: Support recurring events (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) with options for specifying exceptions (e.g., skip a specific instance). Invitations and Notifications: Users should be able to invite other users to events. Invited users should receive notifications about new events, updates, and cancellations. Implement a notification system, detailing frequency and method (e.g., email, push notification). Reminders: Users should be able to set reminders for events (e.g., 10 minutes before, 1 hour before). Time Zones: The system must correctly handle events across different time zones. Availability: Users should be able to view the availability of other users when scheduling events (free/busy). Scalability: The system should be able to handle a large number of users and events, ensuring responsiveness and reliability. How would you scale the system to accommodate millions of users and concurrent events? Consistency: Ensure data consistency across different users' views of the same event. Conflict Resolution: Address how to handle conflicting events and notify users accordingly. Specifically address these points in your design: Data model: How would you represent events, users, and their relationships in a database? API design: What API endpoints would you provide for creating, reading, updating, and deleting events? Concurrency and locking: How would you handle concurrent access to events to prevent data corruption? Notification system: How would you implement the notification system for event invitations, updates, and reminders? Scalability strategies: What strategies would you use to scale the system to handle a large number of users and events? Conflict Detection: How will the system determine event conflicts, and what notification mechanisms will be in place?