Serverless Computing: Because Who Needs Servers When You Have the Cloud?

Part 8 of The Software Development Odyssey: A Journey Through Time and Tech

Hold on to your hats, fellow developers! We’ve come a long way in our software development odyssey, and now we’re about to enter the realm of serverless computing, where the cloud takes centre stage, and servers become an afterthought.

Serverless computing is a model that allows developers to build and run applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. In this magical world, cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud handle all the server management, scaling, and maintenance, so we can focus on writing and deploying code.

The term “serverless” might be a bit of a misnomer, as there are still servers involved in the process. However, the responsibility of managing those servers now lies with the cloud providers, effectively abstracting them away from the developers. This means we can focus on creating value for our users instead of getting bogged down by server management.

There are two main types of serverless offerings: Function as a Service (FaaS) and Backend as a Service (BaaS). FaaS platforms, like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions, allow developers to write and deploy code snippets that are triggered by specific events or on-demand. BaaS platforms, on the other hand, provide developers with ready-to-use backend services like databases, authentication, and storage.

This model has several benefits, including cost savings, as we only pay for the compute time we actually use, and auto-scaling, as the cloud provider automatically adjusts resources based on demand. Plus, with serverless computing, we can say goodbye to those pesky server maintenance tasks.

Serverless computing has also given rise to new architectural patterns, like event-driven architectures and microservices. These patterns enable greater flexibility and modularity, making it easier to develop, deploy, and maintain applications in the ever-evolving world of technology.

As our journey continues, we’ll discover how developers are taking control of their own destiny through Infrastructure as Code (IaC). In the next chapter, we’ll learn how code can be used to define, provision, and manage our infrastructure, so we can spend more time crafting applications and less time wrestling with hardware. Stay tuned!

Part 9: Infrastructure as Code: Where Developers Took Control of Their Own Destiny