Photo by Fotis Fotopoulos on Unsplash
Navigating Challenges: My Backend Journey + HNG Internship Goals
Hey there, fellow techies! Ryan Malawa here, a backend dev from Nairobi, Kenya. As a software engineer, I've encountered my fair share of challenges. Today, I want to share a recent challenge I overcame and my excitement for the next chapter in my career: the HNG Internship.
The Situation:
Not so long ago, I had developed a REST API that had a performance problem for an event management application. It was taking a long time before responding to commands by the user. This slow performance corresponded to one endpoint for querying and rendering a list of the upcoming events, therefore impacting the user experience.
Problem Solving Approach:
Step 1: Identifying the Bottleneck
The first step was to identify the root cause of the slow performance. I started by logging the execution time of various parts of the code. It quickly became apparent that the issue was with the database query used to fetch the events.
Step 2: Analyzing the Query
With the bottleneck identified, it was time to look into the query. Using database query analysis tools, I went through the execution plan and found out that the query was doing the a full table scan. That was because there were no proper indexes on the events table itself, with a large number of records.
Step 3: Creating Indexes
This was resolved by creating indexes on columns that are frequently used in the WHERE clause of the query.
Step 4: Query Optimization
Though indexes had improved the performance, there was still scope for better optimization of the query. I rewrote it to reduce the number of joins and implemented sub-queries to show data clearly. This improved performance and made the query clear and more readable.
Step 5: Caching
To enhance performance more, I implemented caching for the results of this query. By using a caching mechanism (Redis), I stored the results of frequent queries and serve them quickly without querying the database every time.
Step 6: Testing
After making these changes, I thoroughly tested the endpoint to ensure the performance improvements were consistent.
Looking Ahead: The HNG Internship
I'm thrilled and excited about my upcoming journey with the HNG Internship. This program offers an incredible opportunity to grow my skills and collaborate with a community of like-minded developers from all over the world. Having participated in HNG Internship X, I'm eager to dive deeper and push my limits further.
Moreover, the internship provides a platform to network with potential employers, which is a fantastic opportunity to showcase my skills and secure future career prospects.
I'm particularly excited to enhance my abilities in:
System Design: Creating scalable and efficient solutions by understanding performance demands and goals.
API Development and Management: Crafting robust and user-friendly APIs.
Data Storage Solutions: Especially for complex scenarios like payment processing.
Code Optimization: Writing, testing, and maintaining high-quality code.
I invite you to follow my journey through the HNG Internship. Whether you're a fellow developer or someone curious about the world of backend engineering, there's always something new to discover. You can learn more about hiring HNG interns here.