System design patterns
Sharding, load balancing, CAP tradeoffs, and scaling patterns — interview and production ready.
Build a BFF (Backend for Frontend) Mock Aggregator in Python
A minimal HTTP server implementing the BFF pattern that aggregates user data and orders from two mock backends into a single JSON response.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from urllib.parse import urlparse
class MockBackendA:
def get_user(self, user_id):
return {"id": user_id, "name": "Alice", "service": "backend-a"}
class MockBackendB:
def get_orders(self, user_id):
return [
{…Facade Pattern in Python with Mock Simplification
This code demonstrates the Facade pattern by hiding complex subsystem interactions behind a simple start/stop interface, and adds a MockFacade for testing failure scenarios.
class SubsystemA:
def operation_a(self):
return "Subsystem A: ready"
class SubsystemB:
def operation_b(self):
return "Subsystem B: ready"
class SubsystemC:
def operation_c(self):
return "Subsystem C: ready"
class Facade:
def __init__(self):
self._a = SubsystemA()
…How to Aggregate Mock API Routes by Method in Python
Groups mock API routes by path and method, collecting response bodies and counts into a nested dictionary structure.
from collections import defaultdict
def aggregate_mock_routes(routes):
"""Aggregate mock API routes by method and aggregate their response bodies."""
aggregated = defaultdict(lambda: defaultdict(list))
for route in routes:
method = route["method"]
path = route["path"]
response = …How to Build an Adapter to Translate External API Responses in Python
Build an adapter class that translates a mock external API's response shape into your internal representation, keeping callers decoupled from the external contract.
import json
from typing import Dict, Any
class ExternalAPI:
"""Mock external service returning a different data shape."""
def get_user(self, user_id: int) -> Dict[str, Any]:
return {
"id": user_id,
"full_name": "Jane Doe",
"email_address": "jane@example.com",
…How to Build an Anti-Corruption Layer in Python
Wrap a legacy system with a translation layer that converts awkward legacy data into a clean, modern DTO (Data Transfer Object) for use by new code.
class LegacyOrderSystem:
"""Legacy system with awkward, unstructured data."""
def get_order(self):
return {
"order_id": "ORD-123",
"cust": "Acme Corp",
"items": [{"sku": "A1", "qty": 2, "price_each": 10.0}],
"ship_to": "123 Main St, Springfield"
}…How to Implement CQRS with Separate Read and Write Models in Python
Implements Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) by splitting data into separate write and read models with dedicated repositories, using dataclasses for structure.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import List, Dict, Optional
@dataclass
class OrderWriteModel:
order_id: int
customer: str
items: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
def add_item(self, item: str) -> None:
self.items.append(item)
@dataclass
class OrderReadModel:
…How to Implement the Flyweight Pattern in Python
Implements the Flyweight design pattern to share immutable intrinsic state (character + font) across many document objects, reducing memory usage.
class Character:
"""Flyweight - stores only intrinsic state (shared)."""
def __init__(self, char: str, font: str):
self.char = char
self.font = font
def render(self, size: int) -> str:
return f"{self.char}_{self.font}_{size}"
class CharacterFactory:
"""Flyweight factory - ma…How to Implement the Strategy Pattern in Python
This Python code demonstrates the Strategy design pattern using interchangeable sorting algorithms (bubble sort and quick sort) that can be swapped at runtime.
class SortingStrategy:
def sort(self, data):
raise NotImplementedError
class BubbleSort(SortingStrategy):
def sort(self, data):
result = data.copy()
n = len(result)
for i in range(n):
for j in range(0, n - i - 1):
if result[j] > result[j + 1]:
…How to Migrate a Legacy Facade with the Strangler Fig Pattern in Python
Use a facade to wrap a legacy API and incrementally migrate callers to a modern interface, following the strangler fig pattern.
class LegacyAPI:
"""Simulates the legacy system's raw interface."""
def get_user(self, user_id):
return {"id": user_id, "name": "Alice", "legacy": True}
class UserService:
"""Facade that wraps the legacy system with a modern interface."""
def __init__(self, legacy_api=None):
self.lega…How to Mock a Metrics Decorator in Python with unittest.mock
This code demonstrates a timing decorator that wraps a function to measure execution time and prints the duration, with a unit test using unittest.mock to patch the print function and assert it was called.
import time
from functools import wraps
from unittest.mock import patch
def add_metrics(func):
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
start = time.perf_counter()
result = func(*args, **kwargs)
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
print(f"{func.__name__} took {elapsed:.6f}s…How to mock the domain center in an onion architecture in Python
Define a repository interface and an in-memory mock to test domain services without touching infrastructure.
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Dict, List, Optional
@dataclass
class Order:
id: int
customer: str
items: List[str]
total: float
class OrderRepository(ABC):
@abstractmethod
def find_by_id(self, order_id: int) -> Optional[Order]:
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System design patterns — Python code examples
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