Implementing Azure Functions

So far, we’ve covered some of the in-depth topics around Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Another popular service model that we haven’t discussed yet is Function as a Service (FaaS). Azure Functions is Microsoft’s FaaS solution, which takes the benefits of PaaS further by completely abstracting the underlying infrastructure, with pay-per-execution billing and automatic scaling available.

During this chapter, we will introduce and explore the Azure Functions service and use cases. We will introduce some of the fundamental concepts of Azure Functions and run through a development workflow for a function app, including development, testing, and deployment. After creating several functions, we will expand on this further by introducing stateful durable functions.

By the end of this chapter, you will understand the benefits and use cases, and have some familiarity with the development workflow of...