Hard Design: Search Autocomplete (Google)

Why is SQL LIKE 'app%' insufficient for autocomplete at Google scale?

— Tests your understanding of this concept.

Answer Options

A SQL doesn't support LIKE queries

B LIKE requires full table scan of billions of queries, making it too slow for 100ms SLA

C SQL has a 100-character limit

D LIKE doesn't support prefix matching

Want to see the correct answer?

Get the answer with a detailed explanation, plus practice 22+ more Design: Search Autocomplete (Google) questions with adaptive quizzes and timed interviews.

See the Answer on Guru Sishya →

This question is from the Design: Search Autocomplete (Google) topic (System Design Cases).

Learn Design: Search Autocomplete (Google) → Browse All Questions

More Design: Search Autocomplete (Google) Questions

What data structure is primarily used for efficient prefix-based autocomplete?

What is the 'top-K cache at each node' optimization in a trie?

How do you update the trie when query frequencies change, without causing serving errors?

Why should autocomplete requests be debounced on the client side?

How do you detect and boost trending queries in autocomplete?