Cheat Sheets #
This directory has too many overlapping notes. The goal now is:
- keep a very small primary working set
- treat the rest as lookup references, drills, or examples
- stop treating every note as equally important
Start from:
Primary Working Set #
Use these first:
- infra-archetype-taxonomy-reference.md
- hot-path-cold-path-design-note.md
- process-trace-comparison-sheet.md
- storage-trace-comparison-sheet.md
These are the only notes that should feel “primary.”
Secondary References #
Open only when the core stack has already simplified the problem:
- distribution-view-cheat-sheet.md
- communication-substrate-hierarchy-and-slot-cleaving-reference.md
- infra-archetype-nfr-practice-worksheet.md
- infra-primitive-families-for-path-generation.md
- security-and-privacy-lens-after-deployment-topology.md
- design_space_v2.md
- transaction-and-replication-overlay-for-db-like-archetypes.md
- canonical-open-protocols-to-study-by-archetype.md
Drills And Examples #
- invariant-failure-repair-drill-sheet.md
- borg-process-and-storage-traces.md
- dynamo-process-and-storage-traces.md
- bigtable-process-and-storage-traces.md
These are useful, but they are not starting points.
Effective Archive Candidates #
Treat these as dormant unless you are doing explicit cleanup/merge work:
- older overlays
- phrase sheets
- duplicate HLD/interview-flow notes
- superseded mechanism notes
design_space.md
See:
Practical Rule #
When solving a prompt:
- use the
Primary Working Set - open one secondary note only if the prompt truly demands it
- do not browse the directory as if every note is peer-level
Pruning Rule #
Do not add a new sheet if it is only:
- another parallel version of an existing core note
- another phrase list that could be a drill appendix
- another overlay that depends on three other notes to be useful
Prefer:
- extending one of the primary notes
- or writing a clearly-labeled drill/example/reference note