The term "serverless" has been gaining a lot of traction lately, but what does it actually mean?
In a traditional web application, the application code is deployed on a server, and the server is responsible for handling requests from clients. In a serverless application, however, the application code is deployed "in the cloud" and is executed in response to events.
There are many benefits to using a serverless architecture, including:
Reduced operational overhead: since there is no need to manage servers, serverless applications are much easier to maintain.
Scalability: since the application code is executed in response to events, it can automatically scale to meet demand.
Cost-effective: since there is no need to provision and maintain servers, serverless applications can be very cost-effective.
In this post, we'll take a look at what a serverless architecture is and how to get started with developing serverless applications.
In a traditional web application, the application code is deployed on a server, and the server is responsible for handling requests from clients. In a serverless application, however, the application code is deployed "in the cloud" and is executed in response to events.
There are many benefits to using a serverless architecture, including:
Reduced operational overhead: since there is no need to manage servers, serverless applications are much easier to maintain.
Scalability: since the application code is executed in response to events, it can automatically scale to meet demand.
Cost-effective: since there is no need to provision and maintain servers, serverless applications can be very cost-effective.
There are many different platforms that allow you to develop serverless applications, but in this post we'll focus on AWS Lambda.
AWS Lambda is a platform that allows you to run code in the cloud without having to provision or manage servers. Lambda functions are executed in response to events, such as an HTTP request or a file upload.
To get started with developing Lambda functions, you first need to create an AWS account. Once you've done this, you can create a Lambda function using the AWS console.
When creating a Lambda function, you'll need to specify a name and description, as well as the code that will be executed by the function. Lambda functions can be written in any of the supported languages, including Node.js, Python, and Java.
Once you've created your Lambda function, you can test it by invoking it with an event. For example, if you're using Node.js, you can invoke your function with the following event:
{
"key1": "value1",
"key2": "value2",
"key3": "value3"
}
If your function is written in Python, you can invoke it with the following event:
{
"key1": "value1",
"key2": "value2",
"key3": "value3"
}
Once you've tested your Lambda function, you can deploy it by creating an AWS Lambda function.
In this post, we've taken a look at what a serverless architecture is and how to get started with developing serverless applications. Serverless applications can be a great way to reduce operational overhead and costs, and can automatically scale to meet demand.
If you're interested in learning more about serverless architectures, check out the following resources: