systems
What a timeout actually guarantees
A timeout tells you when to stop waiting. It never tells you whether the work happened — and that distinction shapes every retry you write.
// writing
Field notes.
Notes on systems, infrastructure, and papers worth reading slowly.
Posts
5 min
systems
The write-ahead log, and why databases trust it
Durability rarely comes from writing data where it belongs. It comes from writing an append-only record of intent first, then catching up at leisure.
papers
How to read a systems paper without drowning
Three passes, each with a different question. Most papers can be dismissed in ten minutes; the rest deserve far more than one sitting.