Azure Functions

Table of Contents

• Overview
• When to Use
• Quick Start
• Reference Guides
• Best Practices

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