Why is designing a URL shortener important for interviews? In today's digital age, URL shorteners like TinyURL are ubiquitous tools that simplify and declutter our online sharing experience. Understanding how to design such a system showcases your ability to handle real-world problems, involving concepts like scalability, data consistency, and efficient storage. It's a common system design question that tests not just your technical skills, but also your ability to think holistically about software architecture.
Prerequisites
Before diving into the design of a URL shortener, you should be familiar with:
- Basic understanding of HTTP and URLs
- Knowledge of databases and data structures
- Basics of hashing and encoding
- Understanding of distributed systems
System Requirements
When designing a URL shortener, you need to gather both functional and non-functional requirements.