MSDN Documentation

Cloud Functions on MSDN App Services

Cloud Functions provide a serverless compute solution that enables you to run small pieces of code, or "functions," in the cloud without managing infrastructure. Triggered by events from other MSDN services or custom HTTP requests, Cloud Functions are ideal for building event-driven applications, APIs, and automating tasks.

Leveraging the power of Cloud Functions, you can focus on writing your business logic while MSDN handles the underlying compute, scaling, and availability. This significantly reduces operational overhead and accelerates development cycles.

Getting Started with Cloud Functions

Begin your journey with Cloud Functions by following these steps:

1. Sign up or Log in: Access your MSDN account.
2. Create a Function App: Navigate to the App Services section and create a new Function App. This acts as a container for your functions.
3. Choose a Template: Select a pre-defined template or start from scratch. Templates provide a basic structure for common scenarios.
4. Write Your Code: Develop your function logic in a supported language (e.g., JavaScript, Python, C#, Java).
5. Configure Triggers and Bindings: Define what events will execute your function and how it interacts with other services.
6. Deploy: Deploy your function code to the Function App.

Our integrated development environment (IDE) within the MSDN portal or command-line tools (CLI) can help streamline this process.

Understanding Triggers

Triggers are the event sources that invoke your Cloud Functions. Common triggers include:

• HTTP Trigger: Execute your function via an HTTP request (GET, POST, etc.). Ideal for building serverless APIs.
• Timer Trigger: Schedule your function to run at a specific time or interval. Useful for cron-like tasks.
• Blob Storage Trigger: Run a function when a new or updated blob is detected in a storage container.
• Queue Storage Trigger: Process messages from a queue.
• Event Grid Trigger: Respond to events published by Event Grid.
• Service Bus Trigger: Handle messages from Azure Service Bus queues or topics.

Each trigger has its own configuration and parameters to define its behavior.

Working with Bindings

Bindings simplify your function code by reducing the amount of boilerplate code needed to interact with other MSDN services. They define how your function connects to input and output data.

• Input Bindings: Provide data to your function. For example, an HTTP trigger provides the request object, and a Table Storage input binding can retrieve a specific row.
• Output Bindings: Send data from your function to another service. For instance, writing to a database or sending a message to a queue.

Bindings are declarative, meaning you configure them in your function's metadata, and MSDN runtime takes care of the data access logic.

Runtime Environments

Cloud Functions support a variety of popular programming languages and runtimes, allowing you to choose the best fit for your project:

• JavaScript (Node.js)
• Python
• C# (.NET)
• Java
• PowerShell
• TypeScript

We continuously update our runtimes to ensure you have access to the latest features and security patches.

Development & Deployment

Develop your Cloud Functions using your preferred tools:

• MSDN Portal: An in-browser IDE for quick edits and testing.
• MSDN CLI: A powerful command-line interface for local development, debugging, and deployment.
• Visual Studio / VS Code: Integrations with popular IDEs offer a rich development experience, including debugging and deployment pipelines.
• CI/CD Integration: Seamlessly integrate with MSDN DevOps or other CI/CD pipelines for automated builds and deployments.

Monitoring & Logging

Gain deep insights into your function's performance and behavior:

• MSDN Monitor: A comprehensive monitoring service that collects and analyzes telemetry from your functions.
• Application Insights: Track requests, dependencies, exceptions, and performance metrics.
• Live Metrics Stream: View real-time performance data during development and debugging.
• Logging: Log custom messages from your function code for detailed debugging.

Pricing Model

Cloud Functions follow a consumption-based pricing model. You are charged based on the number of executions and the resources consumed (memory and execution time). A generous free tier is available for development and low-traffic applications.

Explore the MSDN App Services Pricing page for detailed information.

Common Use Cases

Cloud Functions are versatile and can be used for a wide range of scenarios: