Requirements

Functional Requirements:

List the key functional requirements for the system (Ask the AI for hints if stuck)...

• Receive long original URI as input
• Generate shortened version of that long URI
• Store long URI value under shortened URI key in server database
• Redirect user to original long URI upon receiving short URI requests

Non-Functional Requirements:

List the key non-functional requirements (performance, scalability, reliability, etc.)...

• Low latency for redirects from shortened URI to long URI
• High availability and reliability of redirection service is crucial; URI shortening is relatively less prioritized

Capacity Estimation

Estimate the scale of the system. Consider daily active users, read/write ratio, storage requirements, bandwidth, and any relevant QPS calculations...

API Design

Define the APIs expected from the system. This is your chance to analyze and define the read and write paths so that you can come up with the high-level design...

POST /shorten

Accepts URI string as body or query string parameter

Returns shortened URI string

GET /{shortened_uri}

Accepts shortened URI as path

Returns redirect to the original URI stored under received shortened URI key

DELETE /forget

Accepts shortened URI previously created on this server

Returns status code denoting whether the operation was successful

High-Level Design

Describe the overall system architecture. Identify the main components needed to solve the problem end-to-end. Use the diagramming tool to create a block diagram.

Basically simple SRP module server with basic CRUD is enough. Client -> Server - Database. API gate that stores reference tables of existing information about given shortened URIs at API gateway level is responsible for redirecting requests according to where the information about received URI is stored (for redirects): either to distributed cache layer or to a shard directly. Table is updated upon receiving responses from shards responsible for any give modifying operation (CREATE, DELETE). Cache eviction policy is first of all also dependent on DELETE operation as well as time based: TTL shall be reset to e.g. 1 day each time the link is hit. Misses result in routing to the shard responsible for that link and caching upon successful response if necessary. Caching might be considered priority for potential premium users while not concerning freemium ones.

CREATE:

Client sends POST request to server with original URI to receive its shortened version

Server accepts original URI

Server derives short URI key from original URI

Server stores original URI value under shortened derived URI key

READ:

Client sends GET request represented by shortened URI previously returned from the server

Server accepts shortened URI and returns redirect to the original URI stored under shortened URI key in database

DELETE:

Client sends DELETE request w shortened URI

Server removes both shortened URI and its corresponding original URI from its registry

Database Design

Define the data model. Identify the main entities, their attributes, and relationships. Consider the choice of database type (SQL vs NoSQL) and justify your decision based on access patterns...

Detailed Component Design

Deep dive into 2-3 key components. Explain how they work, how they scale, discuss tradeoffs, capacity, and any relevant algorithms or data structures.

• Hashing module using hash functions like MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and Base62 encoding to generate unique, compact codes for long URLs that turns original links into shortened versions reliably and w low hash clash rate
• Manager service which operates that hashing algorithm and talks to database for CRUD operations
• API controller receiving HTTP requests and orchestrating that service by providing inputs and returning its outputs