Cloud Computing
Functions as a Service
Definition
Function as a Service (FaaS) is a category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage application functionalities without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing an app. It is the core of serverless computing.
Why It Matters
FaaS is the programming model for serverless. It allows developers to deploy small, single-purpose functions that are triggered by events, enabling a highly scalable and cost-effective event-driven architecture.
Contextual Example
AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Azure Functions are all popular FaaS platforms. A function could be triggered by an HTTP request, a new message in a queue, or a new file in a storage bucket.
Common Misunderstandings
- FaaS is the compute part of a serverless architecture.
- Functions are typically stateless, meaning they do not retain data between invocations.