CAP, BASE, SOLID, KISS, What do these acronyms mean? . . The diagram below explains the common acronyms in system designs. 🔹 CAP CAP theorem states that any distributed data store can only provide two of the following three guarantees: 1. Consistency - Every read receives the most recent write or an error. 2. Availability - Every request receives a response. 3. Partition tolerance - The system continues to operate in network faults. However, this theorem was criticized for being too narrow for distributed systems, and we shouldn’t use it to categorize the databases. Network faults are guaranteed to happen in distributed systems, and we must deal with this in any distributed systems. You can read more on this in “Please stop calling databases CP or AP” by Martin Kleppmann. 🔹 BASE The ACID (Atomicity-Consistency-Isolation-Durability) model used in relational databases is too strict for NoSQL databases. The BASE principle offers more flexibility, choosing availability over consistency. It states that the states will eventually be consistent. 🔹 SOLID SOLID principle is quite famous in OOP. There are 5 components to it. 1. SRP (Single Responsibility Principle) Each unit of code should have one responsibility. 2. OCP (Open Close Principle) Units of code should be open for extension but closed for modification. 3. LSP (Liskov Substitution Principle) A subclass should be able to be substituted by its base class. 4. ISP (Interface Segregation Principle) Expose multiple interfaces with specific responsibilities. 5. DIP (Dependency Inversion Principle) Use abstractions to decouple dependencies in the system. 🔹 KISS "Keep it simple, stupid!" is a design principle first noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. It states that most systems work best if they are kept simple. Over to you: Have you invented any acronyms in your career? -- Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get a Free System Design PDF (158 pages): https://bit.ly/bbg-social #systemdesign #coding #interviewtips .
This is a fantastic breakdown! At TechRover Solutions, we believe in the power of SOLID design and the importance of balancing CAP and BASE in distributed systems. These principles are foundational to building scalable, maintainable softwares. We also appreciate the KISS principle—simplicity is often the key to innovation. As we continue to evolve and scale, these design philosophies remain integral to our approach. We’d love to hear more from others in the community—what acronyms or principles do you follow in your development process?
Such a well-rounded post! CAP and BASE simplify the complexities of distributed systems, while SOLID and KISS bring clarity to coding practices.
Thanks to ByteByteGo for this excellent breakdown of key system design acronyms: CAP, BASE, SOLID, and KISS. This is a must-see for developers and architects looking to reinforce fundamental principles in system design.
Useful tips 👍 .. Please add GRASP (General, Responsibility, Assignment, Software, Patterns) Principles. if possible. Thank You.
Insightful , will save this one to reference later when needed! 🌟
I'll have to save this one to reference later. 👍
The last one 🌟 I wish clients also understands this 😅
Insightful
I'd add: 🔹 DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself): Encourages reusability by avoiding duplicate code, improving maintainability. 🔹 YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It): Focuses on building only what's necessary, avoiding over-engineering. Also, for CAP, while it's foundational, considering the trade-offs of PACELC (extends CAP by factoring latency during partitions) is often more practical in real-world systems. These principles collectively shape effective, scalable designs!