Crash Course on Performance & Scaling

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to performance and scaling concepts, including caching, system design, and message queues.

Caching

A technique to store frequently accessed data in a faster storage (like RAM) for quick access.

TTL

Stands for Time to Live; the expiration date for cached data to prevent it from staying forever.

CDN

Content Delivery Network; servers located geographically to store images/videos closer to users and reduce lag.

CAP Theorem

A principle in distributed systems stating you can only choose two of the following: Consistency, Availability, or Partition Tolerance.

Consistency (C)

A property wherein all users see the exact same data at the same time.

Availability (A)

A property ensuring the system always responds to requests, even with slightly outdated data.

Partition Tolerance (P)

A requirement for a system to continue operating despite network failures.

Message Queues

A method of offloading slow tasks to background workers so that users do not experience delays.

RabbitMQ/Kafka

Examples of message queue systems that help manage background processing of tasks.

Queue

A data structure where tasks wait to be processed by background workers.