In theory, writing simple code should be straightforward—but in practice, it's one of the most challenging tasks developers face. The pursuit of simplicity in software development often reveals hidden complexities that, if not addressed, can lead to catastrophic failures. This lecture is designed to address these challenges, as many startups falter not due to a lack of innovation but to the inability to manage the intricacies of building robust, resilient software.
This lecture delves into the often-overlooked challenges of backend development, where seemingly simple tasks require a deep understanding of best practices to ensure system reliability, correctness, and scalability. We'll explore essential topics such as state management, error handling, logging, access rights checks and how these practices contribute to building maintainable, scalable, and resilient software.
We'll also tackle advanced concepts like idempotency, concurrency control using e-tags, and the critical role of queues in ensuring resilience and continuity. The lecture will address the complexities of handling massive data in API queries, including pagination, sorting, and handling data changes between requests.
You'll learn how to implement retry mechanism strategies through real-world examples, monitor dead-letter queues, and ensure that your code behaves predictably under stress. We'll also discuss the importance of end-to-end integration testing, stress testing, and the concepts of chaos engineering, ensuring the system tolerates random failures.
By the end of this session, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of the hidden complexities in backend development and practical insights into how to write code that is not only simple but also robust, resilient, and scalable. These insights will equip you with the knowledge and skills to tackle backend development challenges effectively.