What is Azure Functions and How It Works

Azure Functions is a serverless computing service that allows you to run small pieces of code, or "functions", in response to events or on a schedule. It's a simple way to build scalable applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

Azure Functions supports a variety of programming languages, including C#, F#, and JavaScript, which makes it a versatile tool for developers. This flexibility allows you to choose the language you're most comfortable with and work with it seamlessly.

One of the key benefits of Azure Functions is its ability to scale automatically, which means you only pay for the resources you use. This makes it an attractive option for developers who need to handle unpredictable workloads.

Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows you to run small pieces of code, called functions, in response to events or on a schedule.

It's designed to help developers build scalable and event-driven applications. Azure Functions is part of the Azure cloud platform.

A real-world example of Azure Functions is order processing, where a function can be triggered by a new order and perform tasks like sending an email or updating a database.

Azure Functions can be better managed and monitored using Turbo360, which provides a centralized view of all functions and their performance.

Azure Functions has characteristics that make it suitable for serverless computing, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

With Azure Functions, you can write your function code in your preferred language, such as C#, Java, JavaScript, PowerShell, or Python, and then deploy it to the Azure cloud.

Functions integrates seamlessly with popular development tools like Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Maven, and others, making debugging and deployments a breeze.

You can also use languages like Rust and Go with Functions, giving you even more flexibility in your development process.

Functions provides native support for developing in multiple languages, making it a versatile tool for developers.

You can write your function code in any language you prefer, including C#, Java, JavaScript, PowerShell, Python, Rust, and Go.

Functions integrates directly with popular development tools like Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Maven, and others to enable seamless debugging and deployments.

With Functions, you can use your favorite development tools without worrying about compatibility issues.

Functions also integrates with Azure Monitor and Azure Application Insights to provide comprehensive runtime telemetry and analysis of your functions in the cloud.

This means you can easily track performance, errors, and other important metrics to optimize your functions.

To create a Function App, you need to have a function app to host the execution of your functions. A function app lets you group functions as a logical unit for easier management, deployment, scaling, and sharing of resources.

You can create a function app in the Azure portal or using Visual Studio. In the Azure portal, select Compute > Function App, and then choose the Consumption plan, which is a serverless hosting option where you pay only for the time your functions run.

To create a function app, you'll need to provide the necessary details, such as your subscription, resource group, function app name, runtime stack, version, region, and operating system.

Here's a table summarizing the required settings:

Once you've provided these details, you can review and create your function app. After creating the function app, you can create a function within it.

To create an HTTP trigger function, navigate to your function app and select the + Create button under Functions.

From there, select the HTTP trigger template from the available options.

You can create your functions locally if you don't see the + Create button.

In the Template details section, use HttpExample for the New Function name.

Select Anonymous from the Authorization level drop-down list to allow anonymous access.

Azure creates the HTTP trigger function once you select Create.

Now, you can run the new function by sending an HTTP request.

Here's a step-by-step guide to creating an HTTP trigger function:

Now that you've created your first function, you can start thinking about how to make it more useful.

You can add an output binding to the function that writes a message to a Storage queue. This is exactly what we did in the example "Add messages to an Azure Storage queue using Functions".

After adding an output binding, you'll be able to send messages to a queue, which can then be processed by other services.

You can also use this feature to integrate your function with other Azure services, such as Azure Logic Apps or Azure Automation.

By adding output bindings to your function, you can make it more powerful and flexible.

Remember, the possibilities are endless, and it's exciting to think about all the things you can create with Azure Functions.

Functions offers a variety of hosting options to suit different business needs and application workloads. You can choose from fully serverless hosting, where you only pay for execution time, or always warm instances for fastest response times.

With Functions, you can also host your functions in an existing App Service plan, which is a good choice when you need predictable scaling behaviors and costs.

Functions allows you to deploy your functions in custom containers, giving you complete control over the runtime environment and dependencies.

Functions offers a range of hosting options to suit your business needs and application workload.

You can choose from fully serverless hosting, where you only pay for execution time, or always warm instances that are kept ready for fastest response times.

A Consumption plan is a fully serverless option that allows you to only pay for execution time.

The Premium plan, on the other hand, provides always warm instances for fastest response times.

A Dedicated hosting plan is also available, where you can host your functions in an existing App Service plan.

This is a good choice when you need predictable scaling behaviors and costs from your functions.

With a Dedicated hosting plan, you can also take advantage of excess App Service hosting resources.

If you need complete control over your functions runtime environment and dependencies, you can deploy your functions in custom containers.

Custom containers can be hosted by Functions, deployed as part of a microservices architecture in Azure Container Apps, or even self-hosted in Kubernetes.

Azure Functions come in different runtime versions, each tied to a specific .NET version. Here are the available runtime versions:

Azure Functions 2.x is generally available, while 1.x is in maintenance mode, which means it's still supported but no longer actively developed. Migrating from 1.x to a later version is straightforward and can be done directly from the Azure portal.

Azure Function App pricing is based on Execution time and Total Executions. It also includes a monthly free grant of 1 million requests and 4,00,000 GB-s of resource consumption per month.

The pricing for Execution Time is $0.000016 per GB-s. This is a small cost, but it adds up over time.

For every million executions, you'll be charged $0.20. This might not seem like a lot, but it can quickly add up if you have a high-traffic app.

You can get a better understanding of the costs by breaking it down into a table:

If you opt for the Azure Function Premium plan, you'll be billed based on vCPU-s and GB-s. This plan offers enhanced performance.