Top System Design books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite System Design books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of System Design

Understanding the concepts of System Design starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Interview Questions and Solutions

Now in the 5th edition, Cracking the Coding Interview gives you the interview preparation you need to get the top software developer jobs. This is a deeply technical book and focuses on the software engineering skills to ace your interview. The book is over 500 pages and includes 150 programming interview questions and answers, as well as other advice.

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Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

Capturing a wealth of experience about the design of object-oriented software, four top-notch designers present a catalog of simple and succinct solutions to commonly occurring design problems. Previously undocumented, these 23 patterns allow designers to create more flexible, elegant, and ultimately reusable designs without having to rediscover the design solutions themselves. The authors beg…

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Systems analysis and design Alan Dennis

Systems Analysis and Design, 8th Edition offers students a hands-on introduction to the core concepts of systems analysis and systems design. Following a project-based approach written to mimic real-world workflow, the text includes a multitude of cases and examples, in-depth explanations, and special features that highlight crucial concepts and emphasize the application of fundamental theory …

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Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time

Today, software engineers need to know not only how to program effectively but also how to develop proper engineering practices to make their codebase sustainable and healthy. This book emphasizes this difference between programming and software engineering. How can software engineers manage a living codebase that evolves and responds to changing requirements and demands over the length of its…

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System Design Interview - An Insider's Guide: Volume 2

System Design Interview - An Insider's Guide (Volume 2) This book can be seen as a sequel to the book: System Design Interview - An Insider’s Guide. It covers a different set of system design interview questions and solutions. Although reading Volume 1 is helpful, it is not required. This book should be accessible to readers who have a basic understanding of distributed systems. This volume pr…

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Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems

Distributed systems have become more fine-grained in the past 10 years, shifting from code-heavy monolithic applications to smaller, self-contained microservices. But developing these systems brings its own set of headaches. With lots of examples and practical advice, this book takes a holistic view of the topics that system architects and administrators must consider when building, managing, …

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Additional System Design Reading

These books are not required for you to learn System Design, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software

Eric Evans has written a fantastic book on how you can make the design of your software match your mental model of the problem domain you are addressing. "His book is very compatible with XP. It is not about drawing pictures of a domain; it is about how you think of it, the language you use to talk about it, and how you organize your software to reflect your improving understanding of it. Eric…

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System Analysis, Design, and Development: Concepts, Principles, and Practices

Written in a practical, easy to understand style, this text provides a step-by-step guide to System Analysis and Engineering by introducing concepts, principles, and practices via a progression of topical, lesson oriented chapters. Each chapter focuses on specific aspects of system analysis, design, and development, and includes definitions of key terms, examples, author's notes, key principle…

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Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures

Salary surveys worldwide regularly place software architect in the top 10 best jobs, yet no real guide exists to help developers become architects. Until now. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of software architecture’s many aspects. Aspiring and existing architects alike will examine architectural characteristics, architectural patterns, component determination, diagramming …

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Software Architecture in Practice

The award-winning and highly influential Software Architecture in Practice, Third Edition, has been substantially revised to reflect the latest developments in the field. In a real-world setting, the book once again introduces the concepts and best practices of software architecture―how a software system is structured and how that system’s elements are meant to interact. Distinct from the deta…

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Head First Design Patterns

Using the latest research in cognitive science and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory learning experience, Head First Design Patterns uses a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

Salary surveys worldwide regularly place software architect in the top 10 best jobs, yet no real guide exists to help developers become architects. Until now. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of software architecture’s many aspects. Aspiring and existing architects alike will examine architectural characteristics, architectural patterns, component determination, diagramming …

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