Getting started

Before we get to our application, we should spend some time getting a better understanding of the term Function as a Service (FaaS). The term itself is a continuation of the blank as a service trend we've seen for a few years now. There is a host of such terms and offerings, but the big three are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Oftentimes, these three build on each other as seen in the following diagram:

The lowest level of the cloud computing offerings, Infrastructure as a Service providers, offers infrastructure-related assets in the cloud. Typically, this can be as simple as file storage, but usually means virtual machines. By using an Infrastructure as a Service provider, clients need not worry about buying, maintaining, or replacing hardware, as that is handled by the provider. Clients are billed, instead, only on resources used.

Moving up the stack, Platform as a Service providers offer cloud-hosted application...