welcome

Every modern software system is a concurrent, distributed system. Whether you are building a web app, mobile app, or cloud service, understanding the fundamental principles and practices of distributed systems is essential for any software engineer.

Unfortunately, instead of true understanding, we often have a fuzzy notion, a vague idea. For me, this is a source of great frustration. I do not want a fuzzy notion of a system; I want an accurate and concise mental model to reason with certainty and confidence.

In this book, we will develop these mental models to help you build distributed systems that are reliable, scalable, and correct, even under the most adverse and challenging conditions. You will learn to think about the structure and behavior of distributed systems, enabling you to solve complex problems with clarity.

To get the most from this book, you should have a foundational understanding of software engineering. With this base, we will start our journey by exploring the core fundamentals of distributed systems, advancing to cover the most challenging concepts that underpin modern distributed architectures.

Please be sure to post any questions, comments, or suggestions you have about the book in the liveBook discussion forum. Engaging with your thoughts and insights will help shape the final content.