Everything for Backend Developers
Backend developers spend their day designing APIs, reviewing database migrations, and writing documentation other engineers rely on. This hub pulls together every vocabulary set, grammar drill, interview-prep page, and blog article on Coders Lingo that is directly relevant to that work.
Vocabulary sets
Grammar & writing
Interview prep
Blog articles (9)
- API Deprecation English: Communicating Breaking Changes to Developers
Learn the English vocabulary and phrases for deprecating APIs — sunset dates, migration guides, breaking changes, and developer communication explained.
- Architecture Review English: Leading and Participating in Design Reviews
Master the vocabulary and phrases for architecture reviews — opening a review, raising concerns diplomatically, asking questions, and documenting decisions.
- Workflow Engine English: Inngest and Temporal Vocabulary
Learn the English vocabulary of durable workflow engines — Inngest and Temporal — including retry policy, idempotency, fan-out, and compensating transactions.
- API Mocking English: MSW v2 and Testing Vocabulary
Learn the English vocabulary of API mocking with MSW v2 — request handlers, interceptors, stubs, fixtures, and network boundary — for clearer testing discussions.
- FastAPI English: Dependency Injection and API Vocabulary
Learn the English vocabulary used by Python FastAPI developers — dependency injection, path operations, response models, and more explained in context.
- Cloud Migration Strategy Vocabulary: The 6Rs, CAF, and Migration Waves Explained
Master the vocabulary of cloud migration for IT professionals. The 6Rs framework, Cloud Adoption Framework, landing zones, migration waves, TCO analysis, and the language of migration planning discussions.
- Distributed Systems Consensus Vocabulary: Raft, Paxos, CAP, and Linearizability Explained
Master the vocabulary of distributed consensus for senior engineers: Raft leader election, quorum, linearizability vs serializability, CAP and PACELC theorems, split-brain, vector clocks, 2PC, and saga.
- Security Architecture Vocabulary: Threat Modeling, STRIDE, Zero Trust, and Defense-in-Depth
Essential security architecture vocabulary for engineers and architects: threat modeling, STRIDE, PASTA, attack trees, trust boundaries, attack surface analysis, zero-trust design, and security design review language.
- How to Write an Architecture Decision Record (ADR) in English
A practical guide to writing clear, professional Architecture Decision Records in English: structure, vocabulary, example templates, and the phrases that experienced architects use.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 'Dead Letter Queue' (DLQ) and why would I use one?
A Dead Letter Queue is a queue that holds messages which couldn't be processed after multiple attempts. It's crucial for handling transient errors in asynchronous systems, preventing permanently lost data, and allowing you to investigate problematic messages without impacting the main processing flow. Typically configured with retry limits and eventually archived.
Explain the difference between relational and NoSQL databases in the context of backend development.
Relational databases (like PostgreSQL or MySQL) enforce strict schemas based on tables and relationships, offering strong data integrity and ACID properties. NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Cassandra) provide flexible schemas and scale horizontally more easily, often prioritizing performance over strict consistency – a good choice for rapidly changing data structures.
What is 'gRPC' and how does it differ from REST APIs?
gRPC utilizes Protocol Buffers (protobuf) for data serialization, resulting in smaller message sizes compared to JSON. It's a binary format making it faster than text-based formats like JSON used by REST APIs.
What is 'CQRS' and how does it relate to backend architecture?
CQRS decouples data access patterns by having distinct models for reading and writing. This allows you to tailor the database schema and queries specifically to their respective needs, improving performance and flexibility.
Describe 'API Gateway' functionality in a backend system.
The API Gateway sits in front of your backend services acting as the single interface for clients. This simplifies routing, provides a centralized point for security (authentication/authorization) and enables features like traffic shaping.
What is 'Event Sourcing' and why might I choose it?
Instead of storing the current state of data, Event Sourcing records all changes as discrete events. This creates an immutable log that allows you to reconstruct any previous state by replaying these events.
What is 'Microservices' and what are its key benefits for backend development?
Microservices break down a large application into smaller, independently deployable services. This allows teams to work in parallel, improves resilience through isolated failures, and provides flexibility.
What is 'Docker' and how does it benefit backend developers?
Docker allows you to package your application with all its necessary libraries and configurations into a container. This guarantees the application runs consistently regardless of the underlying infrastructure.
Explain 'JWT' (JSON Web Tokens) in authentication scenarios.
JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are digitally signed tokens that contain claims about a user or application. They're ideal for secure API authentication because they don't require servers to maintain sessions.
What is 'Rate Limiting' and how do I implement it in my backend?
Rate Limiting controls the frequency of incoming requests to prevent overload and misuse. This is often configured with algorithms like token bucket or leaky bucket to manage request rates.