Azure Functions Blueprint: A Step-by-Step Guide to Serverless

Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows you to run small pieces of code, called functions, without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

With Azure Functions, you can create a function in minutes and pay only for the compute time consumed.

Serverless computing is a great way to build scalable and cost-effective applications, as you only pay for the resources your functions use.

In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of creating an Azure Functions blueprint, a reusable template for building serverless applications.

HTTP routing in Azure Functions is responsible for mapping request URIs to endpoints and routing HTTP requests to those endpoints.

You can customize or remove the default “api” route prefix for HTTP triggers in Azure Functions by modifying the host.json file.

HTTP routing in Azure Functions can extract values from the URI contained in the request and use those values for request processing, making it a useful way to pass multiple parameters to an HTTP trigger.

To change the route prefix, you add a configuration setting to the host.json file, as seen in the example where the prefix is set to “foo”.

To set up your Azure Function project, you'll first need to create a function app in Azure. This is where the magic happens, and your code will be deployed.

You can create a function app using Visual Studio Code. Simply select F1 to open the command palette and enter "Azure Functions: Create Function App in Azure." This will prompt you to select your Azure subscription.

Select the subscription you want to use, or if you only have one visible, it will be selected automatically. Next, you'll need to enter a globally unique name for the function app. This name must be valid in a URL path and will be validated to ensure it's unique in Azure Functions.

You'll also need to select a runtime stack, which is simply the language version you're currently running locally. Finally, choose a location for your new resources by selecting an Azure region. For better performance, it's a good idea to select a region near you.

Here are the steps in a concise list:

After you've completed these steps, your function app and related resources will be created in your Azure subscription. The resources will be named based on the name you entered for your function app, and a notification will be displayed after your function app is created and the deployment package is applied.

Deployment is a crucial step in getting your Azure Functions project up and running. You can deploy your project to Azure using the command palette.

To deploy to an existing function app, you'll need to select Azure Functions: Deploy to Function App from the command palette. This will always overwrite the contents of that app in Azure.

Select the function app you just created, and when prompted about overwriting previous deployments, select Deploy to deploy your function code to the new function app resource.

After deployment is completed, view the creation and deployment results, including the Azure resources that you created. You can find the deployment results by selecting View Output.

To set up your environment for Azure Functions, you'll need an Azure account with an active subscription, which you can create for free. A Python version that's supported by Azure Functions is also required, so be sure to install the latest version.

You'll also need to install Visual Studio Code on one of the supported platforms, along with the Python extension and the Azure Functions extension, version 1.8.1 or later. The Azurite V3 extension local storage emulator is also necessary, as it will be used to create a local storage emulator for testing purposes.

To create the function app in Azure, follow these steps:

By following these steps, you'll be able to set up your environment and create a function app in Azure.

To get started with an Azure Functions blueprint, you'll need to meet some basic requirements.

First and foremost, you'll need to have Azure Functions Core Tools v2.x or later installed on your system. This will give you the necessary tools to create, deploy, and manage your Azure Functions.

You'll also need to have Python 3.9 or later installed, as this is the minimum version required to run Azure Functions.

Visual Studio Code with the Remote - Containers extension installed is also a must-have. This will allow you to work with your Azure Functions in a seamless and efficient manner.

If you're not running in a Devcontainer, you may need to install additional tools or dependencies. However, the above requirements will give you a solid foundation to start building your Azure Functions blueprint.

Here are the specific requirements you'll need to meet: