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Hello guys, if you are preparing for system design interview or just want to learn System design and looking for resources then you have come to the right place.
In the past, I have shared best system design courses. cheat sheets, and websites for learning System design, and today I am going to share best System design books you can read to master this topic.
Since a lot of books can confuse you, I have only select 5 best and must-read books from the software architect's perspective, with a couple of System design and Software development books.
Since System Design is a very vast subject and highly depends upon the domain you are working, it's not possible to learn everything you need to design software from top to bottom, but these books will give you the necessary tools and techniques required to build robust, secure, and maintainable software.
They will also help you to develop the mindset required to focus on essentials rather than details, which is a crucial difference between how a developer thinks and how an architect thinks.
In general, developers focus on low-level details, like class and methods while architects focus on high-level details, like how individual components should communicate? how the persistence layer should behave? which technology stack to use? and what will be the non-functional requirements like reporting, archiving, logging, security, scalability, resiliency etc.
These books are also full of good advice in terms of object-oriented design, good coding practices, and how to avoid costly mistakes in the initial phase of software development.
By the way, If you are looking for an affordable online course to learn System Design and prepare for interviews in 2024 then I also suggest you to checkout Frank Kane's Mastering the System Design Interviewcourse on Udemy. Frank is an ex Amazon hiring manager and know what it takes to crack System design interview of those big FAANG companies in 2024.
8 Best System Design Books for Experienced Developers
Without any further ado, here is my list of some of the books every experienced developers can read to master System design and also prepare well for tech interviews.
These books will expand your knowledge and fill gaps in your understanding. They will also help you to understand the big picture instead of focusing on technical details.
1. System Design Interview Part 1 and 2 By Alex Xu
As the title suggests, this is the perfect book for everyone who is preparing for a system interview. Trust me, this book is the finest on the internet right now. This book is created by Alex Xu who has gone through the same process.
You will get access to a number of drawings and diagrams that will assist you in gaining an understanding of the real system. You will be able to understand what the recruiters are looking for in your answers to questions.
Alex also have a companion System design course on ByteByteGo, where you will not only find all the content of this book and the second part of System Design Interview Book by Alex Wu but also new content, deep dive into popular system questions like how to design YouTube and WhatsApp as well as proven System design framework to solve Software design problem.
Here are my favorite free System design tutorial from ByteByteGo:
- YouTube Design Tutorial
- How to design a Chat system like WhatsApp, Discord, or Facebook Messenger
- Scalability
- System Design Interview Framework
In short, if you read this book, you will be able to breeze through your next system design interview. This is also one of the most recommend System design books on Reddit, Quora, Hacker News, Twitter, and other online platforms and its obvious from the number of reviews this book have on Amazon.
2. Designing Data-Intensive Applications By Martin Kleppmann
In this fantastic book on system design, Martin Kleppmann will help you understand the pros and cons of all the different technologies that are used for storing and processing data.
It is a book that is written in a lucid style and presents a very broad overview of data storage systems.
You will get a very good grasp of fundamental concepts, algorithms, as well as practical applications of various technologies.
This is also one of the most popular book when it comes to learn Software design and System Design and I highly recommend this book to all kind of software developers .
The book is also good for beginners and experienced, developers and software architects and anyone who wants to be better at software design in depth.
If you want, you can also combine this book with the Mastering the System Design Interview by Frank Kane (Ex Amazon Hiring Manager) on Udemy for better preparation.
3. Hacking the System Design Interview: Real Big Tech Interview Questions and In-depth Solutions
This is another book you can read to prepare for FAANG System Design interview. This book not just cover essential System design concepts which every software architect should know but also cover many popular System design questions and coding problems.
Created by Stanley Chiang, a Google Software Engineer, this is also one of the best selling book on System design on Amazon. The best thing about this book is that it walk you through key components which are used to build any system like below:
- Web server
- API gateway
- Load balancer
- Distributed cache
- Asynchronous queue
- Object storage
- CDN
- Fan-out service
- Unique ID generator
This book also includes real interview questions based on hundreds of interviews conducted at big tech companies like Google and Meta, and their detailed solutions. I highly recommend this book to anyone preparing for technical interviews.
You can also combine this with the Algomonster or Exponent **System design course for better preparation.
4. Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach by Mark Richards and Neal Ford
"Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach 1st Edition" by Mark Richards and Neal Ford stands as an invaluable guide for developers aspiring to transition into the role of a software architect, a position consistently ranked among the top 10 best jobs in salary surveys globally.
This first-of-its-kind book offers a comprehensive overview of software architecture, covering a wide array of topics such as architectural characteristics, patterns, component determination, diagramming, evolutionary architecture, and more.
Written by hands-on practitioners with extensive experience in teaching software architecture classes, Mark Richards and Neal Ford focus on universal architecture principles applicable across various technology stacks.
The book delves into critical aspects like architecture patterns, component identification, soft skills, modern engineering practices, and treating architecture as an engineering discipline.
With a modern perspective that incorporates innovations from the past decade, this book equips both aspiring and existing architects with the necessary tools and insights to navigate the complexities of software architecture, making it an indispensable resource in the field. I highly recommend this book to any senior developer who also want to become a software architect.
5. Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time
"Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time," co-authored by Titus Winters, Hyrum Wright, and Tom Manshreck, offers an insightful exploration into the intricacies of developing and maintaining a sustainable and healthy codebase, emphasizing the distinction between programming and software engineering.
Drawing on their experiences at Google, the authors provide a detailed look at the practices employed by some of the world's leading software engineers to navigate the challenges of evolving codebases in response to changing requirements and demands.
This software design book delves into Google's unique engineering culture, processes, and tools, shedding light on how these elements contribute to the effectiveness of their engineering organization.
Throughout the book, three fundamental principles are highlighted: the impact of time on software sustainability, the influence of scale on software practices within an organization, and the trade-offs engineers must consider when making design and development decisions.
With a focus on practical insights and real-world examples, this book serves as a valuable resource for software engineers seeking to enhance their understanding of software engineering principles and practices.
While this book book is not exclusively focused on System design it has many valuable lessons on trade-offs developers must consider when making design and development decisions, which is quite important for senior developers and software architects.
6. Software Architecture in Practice
This book is a good start for those who are curious or want to understand the basic concepts and ideas behind Software Architecture but it somewhat abstract, which many programmers might not enjoy.
What I like about the books is stories and anecdotes about incidents in history. Since I firmly believe that its stories which teach you what to do and what not do and our mind is more open to remember stories then concept, I found this book worth mentioning in this list.
You can use this book as a textbook to learn about software architecture and If you want, you can also combine this book with Coursera's popular Software Architecture online course for more active learning.
7.Clean Architecture
This is one of the first books you should read on Software architect. Uncle Bob, who is also the author of Clean Code and Clean Coder, two of the must-read books for professional programmers, has presented his years of experience on how to build a clean architecture.
Something, which is robust, maintainable, and adaptable to change. In this book, you not only learn about essential concepts of architecting software but also about terminology used at that level.
You will also learn about SOLID design principles and good coding practices required for writing clean code. The book also gives practical advice on evaluating different design and architecture by comparing their pros and cons.
In short, one of the most fundamental books on software architecture, which every senior programmer or someone aspires to become a solution architect should read.
8. Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems
Another great book to learn about the design and architecture of modern, distributed software, particularly Microservices, which are powering this generation is the greatest apps, like Uber, Facebook, Netflix, etc.
If you want to move away from monolithic applications to the world of Microservices, then this is the book you should read. And if you want to learn from courses, you can also check out the Master Microservices with Spring Boot and Spring Cloud course by Ranga Karnam on Udemy. It's one of the best and up-to-date courses to learn how to build Microservices in Java using Spring Boot and other tech stacks.
That's all about some of the *best system design books software developers can read. If you are a senior Java developer of 8 to 10 years of experience and want to move the next step in your career towards an end goal of becoming a software architect, these are the books to read to expand your vision and knowledge.
Other System Design Tutorials and Resources you may like:
How to become an Outstanding Solution Architect
- Top 5 Places to learn System design and Software design
- Is DesignGuru's System Design Course worth it
- 100+ System Design Interview Questions and Problems
- Is Exponent's System Design Course worth it?
- 10 Reasons to Learn System Design in 2024
- Top 5 System Design YouTube Channels for Engineers
- 10 Best Places to Learn System Design in 2024
- How to Prepare for System Design Interview in 2024
- Is ByteByteGo really worth the hype?
- My Favorite Software Design Courses for 2024
- 3 Places to Practice System Design Mock interviews
- 20 System Design Interview Questions for Practice
- Is Designing Data intensive application book worth reading?
Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these books, then please share it with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.
P.S. - If you prefer online courses over books then you can also check out 10 best system design courses . These courses will not only teach you useful system design principles and coding best practices required for creating robust software.
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