Database Design & Internals

Deep dives into database internals, query optimization, schema decisions, and the trade-offs that shape how data systems actually work.

3 posts in Database Design & Internals

Database Design & Internals|11 min read

Database Transactions: The Isolation Level You're Probably Not Setting

Your database has four isolation levels, each with different guarantees about what concurrent transactions can see. Most developers never change the default -- and that default might not be what you think.

transactionsisolation levelsconcurrencydatabase

Feb 21, 2026Read

Database Design & Internals|7 min read

Pagination at Scale: Why OFFSET Is Killing Your Performance

OFFSET pagination seems simple until you have millions of rows. Here's why it degrades linearly, how cursor-based pagination stays constant-time, and when each approach makes sense.

databasepaginationSQLperformance

Feb 12, 2026Read

Database Design & Internals|6 min read

The N+1 Query Problem: Spotting It Before Your Database Melts

Your API returns 20 items and fires 21 database queries. Here's exactly how the N+1 problem happens, why ORMs make it worse, and the three patterns that fix it for good.

databaseN+1ORMSQL

Feb 10, 2026Read