Chapter 1 - Reliable, Scalable and Maintainable Applications In [[Reading DDIA - Part 1]] , I read about Reliability. The next section is Scalability . First let me talk about the assumptions I made about the term Scalability, what I understand from it prior to reading Martin Kleppman’s thoughts on the topic - What is a scalable system? My thoughts prior to reading the section - Scale refers to how does a system grow. Growth can be needed for multiple reasons - ...
(Here’s the preface in case you missed it - [[Reading DDIA - Preface]]) Chapter 1 - Reliable, Scalable and Maintainable Applications This chapter’s goal is to effectively give us a high level overview of what this book is fundamentally about - Thinking about data systems along the axes of : Reliability Scalability Maintainability What is a reliable system? My thoughts before reading the section : A system that is available to return results/outputs that are expected of it when it is employed. If I’m accessing an API, if the API is available 99 out of 100 times, then its reliability is 99% If a server is available for 23 hrs 45 minutes per day then its availability is 23.75/24 = 98.9% But is availability == reliability? Let’s see. A reliable human is someone who does something that he says he will do or is expected to do every time. Similarly a reliable system is one that returns the expected results every time that they are used. An ATM is reliable if I can withdraw money from it in the denominations that I want, when I want it. For example, the ATM in Puttenahalli , JP Nagar is perpetually unavailable. Everytime I go there, the system is under maintenance. It is 0% reliable. Let’s read the chapter. ...
Over the next few weeks, I want to read a book that has been long-pending - “Designing Data Intensive Applications” by Martin Kleppman. I’ve been building data applications for a while now but most, if not all the learnings, have been through trial and error after error after error. I’ve learnt a decent bit from observing more senior engineers, architects, design documents and building architectures little by little on my own, but not yet I think, in a structured, deliberate manner. I’m hoping to learn that in this book along with the other books I will likely have to refer along the way. ...
Author : Fredrik Backman Yes, there are spoilers. A Man called Ove wouldn’t cry. Or atleast he wouldn’t cry as much as I did in more than a few parts in the book. I thought a Man called Ove didn’t deserve the hype it got, till I finally was handed a copy of the book myself and I gave in. And now it deserves all the accolades it’s received and more. And when you’re done with the book as well, you will remember Ove for all the times he was more human as a fictitious character than the humans we are in today’s world - When he places his hand on the tombstone…and talks longingly to a wife who was only a memory and a stone now. When he shows his dad what stuff he’s made of when he decides to turn in the wallet at the station. When he’s had enough gives Tom what he’s been asking for for a long time. When he stands up the “Suits” and builds his house all by himself. When he runs into a burning house opposite his and makes that choice over saving his own skin. When he loves a girl who can take care of him and loves her more when she can’t. When he takes a neighbor and her children to the hospital when her husband falls off a ladder, albeit begrudgingly and punches a clown at the place. When he teaches her driving. When he helps a boy fix his bicycle for a girl who might one day become his girlfriend. When he helps a woman retain the care of a husband (who’s also the closest thing he had to a best friend) whose health is deteriorating and fights off more “Suits” in the process. When he earns the love of a 3 year old and a 7 year old. When he takes in a son who’s kicked out of his house by his father for being a “bender” and later helps them reconcile. When he takes care of an entire locality and sticks to his guns every time…because principles. ...
I’ve tried to start this book thrice before and everytime I’ve stopped short of moving past the first chapterfor reasons I cannot remember anymore because this time, I crossed the first 20% within minutes of picking the book up. The rest of it built up in excitement and intensity with each….milestone and the crescendo culminated in a loud bang at one point (in my mind ;) ). A childhood poem “Ten Little Indians” is used as the template around which the plot is woven, but just when it seems like things could be predictable, the story takes a turn. Now, generally, towards the 80% mark, one is able to atleast guess what the ending might be like. But this book gave away nothing till the very end and That was the most satisfying part of all, to me. There are ten characters that are of importance in this story and while none of them is memorable, all of them were extremely interesting in their presence whenever they appear. I’ve been told that this is “the Best Christie”. The description leaves a sour taste in my mouth because it makes me wonder if it’s all downhill from here, given that I’ve only read 4 other Christie novels.We’ll see! :) ...
I think the best thing about Backman is the way he introduces people to you. You would think introductions are possible only once. But he introduces the same people multiple times and you see them in a different light each time. And when you finally see them wholly, the way he intends for you to see them, you cannot recognize the person you first saw and you realize you are happy to be proven so wrong. This book is probably about a lot of things - a bridge, money, relationships, circumstances, death. But most crucially, maybe this story is really about idiots. And that’s why I loved it so damn much.
Author : Ernest Cline This book, the second work that Ernest Cline produced in 2015, “Armada” is at best an average read, if read with regular remembrance that “Ready Player One” was a good book. The story traces the life, well, a few days in the life, of teenager Zack “ZackAttack” Lightman, who likes to play video games and beat up bullies. His father died shortly after he was born, but he left behind his legacy of video games and the same passion for games and everything “pop culture”, in Zack. Everything changes for Zack when one day, he’s picked up by a giant military flight manned by his third best friend on Earth and owner of local videogame store, Ray and tells him that he’s been recruited by an international agency called the “EDA” to save the world from war aliens from the moon Europa. I would go on, but at this point, I feel like spending more time describing the “plot” of the book would be just as much time wasted as it was reading it. But here are a few things wrong with this book and they are primarily and probably due to the expectations stemming from Cline’s first work - “Ready Player One” - a) Too much name dropping. The number of pop-culture references are sickening and probably sufficient to cover three chapters worth of content on their own. b) Unnecessarily detailed and drawn-out explanations of certain events c) “Plots” drawn here and there from the likes of Deception Point and Ender’s Game. d) Even things that seem like they’ve been written to evoke surprise fail to impress. ...
Today I learnt that there’s this term called Bildungsroman . I tripped upon it while I was pondering the commonalities between Harry Potter and Naruto , about how both of them were underdogs, cursed at birth - one with a horcrux, and the other with a curse-mark, grew up effectively with no one to love them till they were of a certain age but are both intended for great things and grow into their respective savior roles. The genre itself doesn’t require the main character to be a “hero”, but the stories do intend to show the psychological and moral growth of said character. ...
♥ Now I have to read this
Author : Agatha Christie It was okay, you know? I’ve read 3 Agatha Christies so far and this was my 4th. I’ve gotten used to the way Poirot starts getting involved in a case by now and I’ve begun to welcome it. Unfortunately, I’ve also begun to welcome a plot in which I cannot pinpoint the ending with much confidence. I have become comfortable in the role of Captain Hastings accompanying Poirot as he muses, reasons and solves a crime. So when I found myself at the 60% mark hitting upon a revelation that I found to be the very way things unfolded, I was disappointed. Yet, I did complete it and it was a good tale overall. Nevertheless, it is the charm of the crime genre and more so of an author/authoress who has multiple such books to their name that you can safely continue to look forward with confidence to finding yourself enthralled in a lovely mystery once again. And so do I. ...