Pagination That Scales: Offset vs Cursor vs Keyset
Trade-offs, pitfalls, and production-ready code with SQL, Node, FastAPI, MongoDB and Elasticsearch examples.
databasesbackendpostgresql
Posts tagged “backend”
Tiny explainers grouped by topic. Spend less time Googling, more time building.
Safe File Uploads — accept untrusted files without getting owned
A battle‑tested checklist and patterns: allowlists, size limits, magic‑byte checks, streaming to object storage, virus scanning, image/PDF sanitization, signed URLs, and safe download headers.
devsecurityweb
Time, Timezones, and Timestamps — the least boring, most dangerous part of your stack
UTC vs local time, offsets vs zones, DST edge cases, ISO 8601/RFC 3339, DB column types, and sane patterns in JS/Python/SQL. How to store, compare, schedule, and display time without pain.
devtimedatetime
Idempotency — What it is and Why it Matters (especially for APIs)
A quick, practical explainer of idempotency: what it means, how HTTP methods relate, and how to implement idempotent POSTs with idempotency keys to make retries safe.
devapisreliability
Monolith vs Microservices — A Quick Comparison
The practical trade‑offs: when a monolith (or modular monolith) is the right call, when microservices pay off, and how to evolve without pain.
devarchitecturemicroservices
The Basics of Caching — strategies that actually move the needle
A fast primer on in-memory, distributed, and CDN caching—what they are, when to use each, and how they boost latency, throughput, and cost efficiency.
devperformancecaching
SQL vs NoSQL Databases — The 2‑Minute Guide
A high-level comparison of relational and non-relational databases with common use cases for each.
devdatabasessql
What is an API Gateway? — and why you might need one
A simple explainer of API gateways—how they centralize auth, rate limiting, routing, and observability—and when to adopt one versus calling services directly.
devapigateway
REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC — which one should you ship?
A quick, practical guide to choosing between REST, GraphQL, and gRPC for new and existing services.
devapibackend