What is Azure Functions?
With Azure Functions, you can start writing your application code. It can be done without worrying about the application architecture and infrastructure required to run the application. Azure Functions also provides the capability to scale as needed. So, if the load is high, you can expect Azure Functions to scale and cater to the high load. Also, with this you pay only for the time your code runs. Therefore, if the load on the application is low, you pay less.
Combining Events ( ⚡) and Code (<>) is the story behind Azure Function’s purpose and logo. This is Microsoft Azure’s Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS) offering.
Here are some important features:
- Browser-based interface: You can write and test your code directly in the interface without using any integrated development environment (IDE).
- Programming languages: It supports many languages. Such as C#, JavaScript, F#, Java, Python, TypeScript, PHP, Batch, Bash, PowerShell, and a few other experimental languages.
- Seamless integration with third-party apps: It integrates seamlessly with third-party apps. Such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Twilio, and other Azure services like CosmosDB, Azure Storage, Azure Service Bus, and more. You can also integrate existing apps using triggers and events.
- Continuous deployment: It supports continuous deployment through Azure DevOps (VSTS), GitHub, Xcode, Eclipse, and IntelliJ IDEA.
As you can see, it possesses some unique capabilities that not only enhance your productivity but provide lots of different options for developers to choose from. Still, developers get confused when to use this and when to use Azure WebJobs. The primary reason for this confusion is that developers have traditionally reduced the load on the application. And this is because doing extensive and time-consuming computations in Azure WebJobs.
For more information read this official document : Introducing Azure Functions | Azure Blog and Updates | Microsoft Azure
