Python Backend Assignment
Prompt
Write a server that acts as a bit.ly-like URL shortener. The primary interface should
e a JSON API that allows the following:
Create a random short link for a
itrary URLs, e.g., bit.ly/2Fh�hXh
Once a random short link has been generated, further requests should
generate the same random short link
Allow creating custom short links to a
itrary URLs, e.g., bit.ly/my-custom-link
Multiple custom short links may map to the same URL
Provide a route for returning stats on a given short link, including:
When the short link was created
How many times the short link has been visited total
A count of the number of visits to the short link per day (the exact data
structure + formatting of this is up to you)
The server should also handle redirecting short links it creates to the original
URLs
Everything else is up to you: the routes for the API, what its parameters and return
values are, how it handles e
ors. We would be happy to answer questions on any of
these things, but you are empowered to make whatever design decisions you like
(and ideally explain them!).
Submission
The goal should be to have a functioning server that can be run locally on a
computer. Code should be submitted as a Git repo, with an initial commit when you
start working. We don’t expect you to spend more than four hours on this problem,
though we won’t strictly time you. At the end it should be as close to deployable as
possible.
If you come onsite, you should be prepared to demo what you built and review it
together.
Expectations
Readme. Your solution should include a top-level readme which (1) describes how to
un your app and (2) explains the design decisions you made while architecting and
coding the app.
Code. The final code should be clean and easy to read, extensible, and na
owly
scoped to the use-case. We don’t expect any fancy abstractions, or for you to predict
what features we’d want to add, but the code shouldn’t be painfully difficult to
extend if we needed to either.
Architecture + scaling. You should be able to talk through your architecture +
explain the issues you would expect to face as you scale your solution.
Comments. We expect your code should mostly speak for itself, but encourage
commenting anything that might be confusing or nonobvious, as would be needed
in a collaborative, deadline-driven environment.
Tests. Key requirements should be tested in a reasonable way. That said we don’t
expect a full suite of unit, integration and acceptance tests, nor do you need to
practice test-driven-development.
Language + technology. You can write the server in any language and using any
technologies you choose, including your choice of database. There are no limitations
on using open-source li
aries, though please explain your choices in the readme.
Help. Feel free to use the internet or whatever resources you need. The code itself
should, of course, be your own.
Extra credit
If you have extra time, implement any of the following features for extra credit. You
don’t need to do any of these to pass, but implementing any will make it more likely.
Deploy the server to an accessible URL
Number of “unique” visitors to a given short link (you can define how we track
visitors)
A “global stats” endpoint, that aggregates some interesting stats across you
URL-shortening platform (e.g., number of links/visits per domain, total visits
across the site per day, etc.)