Azure Functions: Serverless Basics

Key insights

• Azure Functions and serverless: Azure Functions runs small units of code in response to events so you don’t manage servers or infrastructure.
  Azure handles hosting, scaling, and runtime so you can focus on the logic.
• Trigger and binding: A trigger (HTTP, timer, queue, blob, Service Bus, Cosmos DB) starts a function, and bindings connect your function to other services with minimal code.
  Triggers define when code runs; bindings simplify input and output handling.
• Function App and project files: A Function App hosts one or more functions and groups configuration and keys.
  Common files like host.json and local.settings.json control runtime behavior and local settings.
• Hosting plans and pricing: The Consumption Plan charges per execution and scales automatically, while Premium, Flex Consumption, and Dedicated (App Service) plans offer different performance and scaling guarantees.
  Choose plans based on latency needs, concurrency, and cost trade-offs.
• Cold start and stateless model: Functions can incur a cold start delay when an instance spins up, and they run as stateless units that should store state in external services.
  Design to minimize cold starts for latency-sensitive scenarios.
• Local development and use cases: Develop and test functions locally with Visual Studio or VS Code, then deploy to an Azure Function App.
  Common use cases include web APIs, message queue processing, database-change handlers, IoT streams, and scheduled automation.

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