Prototypes
Small systems built to understand a mechanism, not to ship. Each links to the log that walks through it.
Standalone repos are being extracted from the write-ups; until then, the code lives in the logs.
- toy-db/ [Python] Decoding isolation levels: I built a toy DB to force dirty reads and phantom reads
A minimal database that demonstrates dirty reads and phantom reads by letting you break its isolation on purpose.
- lfu-cache/ [Java] Implementing LFU Cache in O(1) Time: A Hands-on Breakdown
An O(1) LFU cache built up from the frequency-list paper, eviction pathology included.
- mini-bittorrent/ [Go] I Rebuilt a Minimal BitTorrent Client in Go to Understand Peer-to-Peer Choking Algorithms
A minimal BitTorrent client, written to understand why the choking algorithm is the interesting part of the protocol.
- game-of-life/ [Python] Boredom is a Signal to Find a Harder Problem: When Your CRUD API Stops Teaching You
Conway's Game of Life, then the harder problem hiding behind the toy one.