Azure Functions
Table of Contents
Overview
Azure Functions enables serverless computing on Microsoft Azure. Build event-driven applications with automatic scaling, flexible bindings to various Azure services, and integrated monitoring through Application Insights.
When to Use
- HTTP APIs and webhooks
- Message-driven processing (Service Bus, Event Hub)
- Scheduled jobs and CRON expressions
- File and blob processing
- Queue-based workflows
- Real-time data processing
- Microservices and backend logic
- Integration with Azure ecosystem services
Quick Start
Minimal working example:
# Install Azure Functions Core Tools
curl https://aka.ms/install-artifacts-ubuntu.sh | bash
# Login to Azure
az login
# Create resource group
az group create --name myapp-rg --location eastus
# Create storage account (required for Functions)
az storage account create \
--name myappstore \
--location eastus \
--resource-group myapp-rg \
--sku Standard_LRS
# Create Function App
az functionapp create \
--resource-group myapp-rg \
--consumption-plan-location eastus \
--runtime node \
--runtime-version 18 \
--functions-version 4 \
--name myapp-function \
--storage-account myappstore
// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)
Reference Guides
Detailed implementations in the references/ directory:
| Guide | Contents | |---|---| | Azure Function Creation with Azure CLI | Azure Function Creation with Azure CLI | | Azure Function Implementation (Node.js) | Azure Function Implementation (Node.js) | | Azure Functions with Terraform | Azure Functions with Terraform | | Function Bindings Configuration | Function Bindings Configuration |
Best Practices
✅ DO
- Use managed identity for Azure services
- Store secrets in Key Vault
- Enable Application Insights
- Implement idempotent functions
- Use durable functions for long-running operations
- Handle exceptions and failures
- Monitor function execution
- Use bindings instead of SDK calls
❌ DON'T
- Store secrets in code or configuration
- Ignore Application Insights
- Create functions without error handling
- Use blocking operations
- Create long-running functions without Durable Functions
- Ignore monitoring and logging