Flipping Utilities

Founder & Lead Engineer · 2021 · 1 min read

Engineered a high-performance data ecosystem to visualize and analyze the RuneScape economy in real-time.

Overview

Following the release of the RuneScape Wiki price API, I identified a gap for institutional-grade financial tools within the gaming community. I built a multi-platform suite to transform raw market data into actionable trading intelligence.

Problem

Architecting a low-latency visualization platform capable of processing volatile market data for a massive concurrent user base.

Constraints

  • Near-real-time data synchronization
  • Scalability for thousald of concurrent sessions
  • Extensive UI/UX customizability for power users

Approach

Iterative development starting from a Lean MVP (spreadsheets) to a distributed system comprising a web platform, Discord integration, and high-frequency data ingestors.

Key Decisions

Database Migration to TimescaleDB

Reasoning:

Leveraged hyper-functions and compression to achieve a 90% reduction in storage footprint while maintaining full SQL compatibility and improving time-series query performance.

Alternatives considered:
  • Standard PostgreSQL
  • ClickHouse

Data Visualization via Apache ECharts

Reasoning:

Selected for its high-performance canvas rendering and declarative configuration, allowing for complex financial charting without sacrificing frame rates.

Tech Stack

  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Node.js
  • TimescaleDB (PostgreSQL)
  • Prometheus & Grafana
  • Docker & Linux self-hosting

Result & Impact

  • 100k+ users across the ecosystem
    Total Reach
  • 1B+ price points indexed and served
    Data Scale

Engineered a centralized API gateway that standardized rate limiting, auth, and observability, resulting in a significant increase in feature deployment velocity.

Learnings

  • Community-driven development requires a rigorous balance between feature roadmaps and technical debt management.
  • Full-stack self-hosting at scale provides deep insights into Linux networking and hardware orchestration.
  • Effective data storytelling is the primary differentiator in high-value analytical tools.
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