Backend, API & System Design

A directory gathering the docs and console of hundreds of public APIs in one place. Unlike individual API sites you can try them all in a common interface.

An hour-long backend introduction working through resource naming, versioning and error-format decisions with their reasoning. Unlike book-length API design resources, it covers the core decisions in one sitting.

A list of plugins and resources for the CakePHP framework. Unlike general PHP lists, it focuses only on CakePHP plugins and its ecosystem.

A resource list for Dash, building data dashboards with Python. Unlike Streamlit it is Plotly-based, and its callback model gives more control over interactivity.

A list of resources, books and samples for domain-driven design (DDD), CQRS and event sourcing. Unlike general architecture lists it focuses on these three connected approaches.

A resource list for Deno, a security- and TypeScript-focused alternative to Node. Unlike Node lists it gathers modules specific to this secure runtime.

A resource list for Directus, the headless CMS offering a real-time API and dashboard. Unlike headless CMSes such as Strapi, it sits on top of an existing SQL database without forcing its schema into its own shape.

A list of modules and resources for Drupal, the PHP-based CMS. Unlike general CMS lists, it gathers only Drupal modules, distributions and developer tools.

A list of plugins, examples and tutorials for FastAPI, Python’s fast web framework. Unlike the official docs it gathers community libraries and production examples.

A resource list for Fiber, the Express-inspired Go web framework built on fasthttp. Unlike general Go lists, it gathers only Fiber middleware, templates and examples.

A resource list for Firebase, Google’s app-development platform. Unlike the official docs, it gathers community libraries, sample projects and write-ups from experience.

A resource list for linking different IT systems together (integration).

A list of packages and resources for Laravel, PHP’s most popular framework. Unlike searching Packagist, it picks widely used packages and learning resources by topic.

A list of platforms letting business professionals build apps with little code. Unlike a single platform’s docs it lists them side by side; it is maintained by a security company (Zenity).

A resource list for Magento 2, the open-source e-commerce platform built with PHP. Unlike general e-commerce lists, it gathers only Magento 2 modules, developer tools and learning resources.

A resource list for Node-RED, wiring hardware and services together visually. Unlike writing integrations in code, you build the flow by wiring nodes in the browser; the list gathers community nodes and sample flows.

A list organising Node.js packages and resources by topic. Unlike an npm search it is a curated, quality-checked starting point.

A list gathering PHP libraries, frameworks and tools by topic. Unlike a Packagist search it is curated and organised around modern PHP practice.

A list of add-ons and resources for Plone, the open-source Python CMS. Unlike WordPress or Drupal lists, it focuses on the ecosystem of a Python-based CMS aimed at institutional use.

A resource list for Prisma, the ORM turning a database into a type-safe client. Unlike ORMs such as TypeORM, you define the schema in a separate file (schema.prisma) and the client is generated from it.

A resource list for serverless computing and architecture. Unlike a single provider’s docs, it sets services such as AWS Lambda and Azure Functions beside open-source frameworks.

A list of resources for designing and documenting software architecture. Unlike a single book it gathers patterns, case studies and tools together, topic by topic.

A list of bundles and resources for the Symfony PHP framework. Unlike general PHP lists, it focuses on Symfony bundles and tools specific to the framework.

A resource list for Vapor, server-side development in Swift. Unlike Node or Go frameworks, you use your iOS app’s language on the server too; the list gathers packages and guides.

Shows every Django class-based view with its methods, inheritance chain and source. Unlike the docs it lets you see which method to override and where it comes from.

A backend platform folding the database, server functions and real-time subscriptions into one product. Where Firebase has you write rules, here queries are TypeScript functions with real transactional guarantees — document flexibility without giving up consistency.

ORM, migrations, admin panel and authentication out of the box. Unlike Flask it comes batteries-included: it buys you the first week, and pushes back when you want to step outside its shape.

A step-by-step tutorial that builds a blog with Django, written for workshops but followable alone. Unlike the official docs it assumes no programming background.

A small reference site that explains CORS with copy-paste configurations for dozens of servers and frameworks (Apache, nginx, Node, IIS and more). Unlike general HTTP docs it answers the narrow question of how to turn CORS on for a given server.

Node’s minimal framework, whose middleware model became the ecosystem’s shared vocabulary. Compared with newer frameworks such as Fastify it is slower and barely changes — Express 5 only shipped in 2024; that is both strength and weakness.

Derives validation and an OpenAPI schema from type hints, and a working test UI appears at /docs by itself. Unlike Flask, the schema and async support (ASGI) are built in.

A deliberately small core — routing and templating, no ORM or auth. Unlike Django you choose the pieces, which also means choosing them again on every project.

A directory of over three hundred free public APIs, each carrying a liveness status and a last-checked date. That is what separates it from the old awesome-list compilations: it actually keeps scanning whether the APIs still answer.

The client declares which fields it wants, so over- and under-fetching are solved at the schema level. The cost is that caching and rate limiting get harder than in REST.

A channel teaching system design, API design and backend architecture through case studies: a hotel booking system, caching, CDNs, load balancing. Unlike one-off topic videos it applies the same way of thinking across different systems.

An archive of architecture write-ups spanning fifteen-plus years. Unlike current tech blogs the technology in older posts may be dated, but they are still read for how scaling pressure was actually met.

A readable alternative to curl that sends HTTP requests with coloured JSON output and a simple syntax. Unlike curl it needs far fewer characters for typical API calls; desktop and web apps exist too, and some of those ask for an account.

A command-line tool that runs HTTP requests and checks their responses (status, JSONPath, XPath, headers) from plain-text files, usable as tests in CI. Unlike Postman collections the files stay readable in git.

The main video resource for the Laravel ecosystem. Unlike the official docs, it covers the architectural decisions they leave out; one site carrying an ecosystem’s training is unusual.

Queues, scheduler, broadcasting and testing tools live in the core. Against PHP’s dated reputation, the developer experience here is ahead of most modern frameworks.

Martin Fowler’s canonical collection of essays and patterns on software architecture. Unlike scattered blogs it gives the most-cited definition of concepts like microservices and event sourcing.

A distributed memory cache that speeds up sites by holding hot data in RAM. Compared with Redis it stores only key-value pairs with no persistence; in exchange it is multi-threaded and extremely simple.

Explains the runtime itself before any framework — event loop, streams, worker threads. Unlike Express tutorials it covers that foundation; learning Express without knowing Node is a common gap.

Turns a web page into an API — you point at the page and it works out the rest. Instead of writing your own scraper with selectors, it is a short route to structured data from a source with no API.

The primary function reference. The user notes below each page are sometimes more useful than the doc and sometimes decade-old bad advice — check the dates.

Collects current PHP practice — Composer, PSR standards, prepared statements. Unlike the old mysql_* examples still circulating online, it is a corrective showing today’s right way.

An ICANN-accredited domain registrar where WHOIS privacy, SSL and email forwarding are included rather than upsold. What separates it from the GoDaddy school is that renewal prices stay close to the first-year price instead of tripling.

A maintained fork of Public APIs, born while the original went untended. Unlike the original, some of its entries are fresher — search one when the other comes up empty.

A categorised list of free APIs with auth type, HTTPS and CORS support marked in the table. Unlike marketplaces such as RapidAPI, it presents free APIs in a plain table — first stop when a prototype needs data.

Presents each design pattern as a diagram, a realistic scenario and code — in six languages. Unlike the Gang of Four book, it covers the same patterns in accessible prose rather than a difficult text.

Event-driven library for bidirectional real-time communication between browser and server; adds automatic reconnection, room broadcasting, and HTTP fallback on top of raw WebSockets.

Payment infrastructure whose documentation is an industry benchmark — test cards, webhook retry logic and idempotency keys worked through with examples. Unlike local providers such as iyzico it has that documentation quality, but it is not available to companies based in Turkey.

An OpenAPI toolset to design, document and try RESTful APIs. Unlike clients such as Postman, you write the spec first and generate docs and client code from it.

Breaks down real company architectures as case studies with actual numbers and the trade-offs taken. Unlike abstract system-design write-ups, it is concrete.

Pairs scaling concepts — caching, sharding, queues, CAP — with worked architectures. Unlike short interview guides, it is thorough enough to serve as an architecture vocabulary beyond interviews.

The classic article on how one server can handle ten thousand concurrent connections (select/poll, epoll, threading models, kernel support). It explains historically why modern event-loop and async servers are designed the way they are. Unlike the docs of modern async frameworks, it explains the historical reason for the design.

Miguel Grinberg’s long, project-based Flask tutorial covering authentication, databases and deployment. Unlike the official quickstart it follows one application from hello-world to production.

A WebAssembly runtime that lets you choose between several compiler back ends (Singlepass, Cranelift, LLVM), with a package registry and paid Wasmer Edge hosting alongside. Unlike Wasmtime it is not only a runtime but a commercial platform covering packaging and deployment too.

The Bytecode Alliance’s runtime for running WebAssembly outside the browser; written in Rust, compiling with Cranelift, and among the first to implement WASI and the component model. Unlike Wasmer it sells no package registry or hosting; it focuses on tracking the standards and on being embedded.

Hands you a URL instantly and shows every request that arrives, headers included. Against running a local server behind a tunnel it needs no setup — the shortest way to see what a webhook actually sends.

The plugin and theme development reference. The hook system is the one concept that explains all of WordPress, and nothing falls into place until you have it.