Backend
104 articles · all categories
I've been building web backends since ~2004 when they were just called websites. With these essays I want to share the hard lessons learned about serverless, databases, APIs, and the ops that keep them alive.
Backend articles
5 articles from 2025 · show all
August 2025
Quick tips for distributed event-based systems
Hidden lessons painfully learned over the years.
July 2025
These 3 alerts catch the most issues
Here's a few alerts I've found unreasonably effective over time
February 2025
I was wrong about databases
The best part about writing is that you get to learn new and exciting ways you were wrong. Databases are smarter than I thought!
*Why* the relational data model is so good
You've heard that array or list columns in a database are bad. But why? Yesterday it clicked for me
January 2025
Why you need a task queue
Task queues have been on my mind lately so here's a little primer on what they are, how they work, and why you need them when your project starts to grow.