Persistance in Serverless Applications

This repository contains demos for my talk: 'Persistence in Serverless Applications'.

The src folder contains an Azure Functions project (.NET 6 in-process) with the following HTTP triggered functions:

Name	Binding	Description
StorePlayerWithStreamBlobOutput	Blob output	Using Stream
StorePlayerWithStringBlobOutput	Blob output	Using string
StorePlayerWithStringBlobOutputDynamic	Blob output	Using IBinder (dynamic binding)
GetPlayerWithStreamBlobInput	Blob input	Using Stream
GetPlayerWithStringBlobInputDynamic	Blob input	Using IBinder (dynamic binding)
StorePlayerReturnAttributeTableOutput	Table output	Using return attribute
StorePlayersWithCollectorTableOutput	Table output	Using IAsyncCollector<PlayerEntity>
GetPlayerByRegionAndIdTableInput	Table input	Using PlayerEntity
GetPlayersByRegionTableClient	Table input	Using TableClient
StorePlayerCosmosOutput	CosmosDB output	Using the Player
StorePlayerReturnAttributeCosmosOutput	CosmosDB output	Using return attribute
StorePlayersWithCollectorCosmosOutput	CosmosDB output	Using IAsyncCollector<Player>
GetPlayerByRegionAndIdCosmosInput	CosmosDB input	Using Player
GetPlayersByRegionDocumentClientCosmosInput	CosmosDB input	Using DocumentClient
UpdatePlayerScore	Durable Entity	Uses Durable Functions

Running locally

Prerequisites

• .NET 6 SDK; the SDK and runtime to develop Azure Functions in C# .NET 6.
• VSCode; a powerful cross platform source editor.
• Azure Functions extension for VSCode; for creating and running Azure Functions locally (using the Azure Functions Core Tools).
• Azurite extension for VSCode; Storage emulator for blobs, tables and queues.
• Azure Databases extension for VSCode; To manage your cloud based CosmosDB from VSCode.
• Azure CosmosDB or the CosmosDB Emulator; a NoSQL data store.
• Azure Storage Explorer; Graphical user interface to manage and inspect blobs, tables, and queues, either in the cloud or locally emulated.
• A REST client, such as the REST Client extension for VSCode.

All VSCode extensions are automatically recommended to be installed when you open this folder in VSCode.

Running the Function App

1. Clone this repo.
2. Open the folder in VSCode.
3. Install the recommended extensions.
4. Ensure that a CosmosDB instance is present in either the cloud or the emulator with these settings:
   • Database: gamedb
   • Collection: players
   • PartitionKey: region
5. Build the project to ensure that there are no errors:
   • Via the build task: CTRL/CMD+SHIFT+B or
   • Via the terminal in the src/ServerlessPersistence folder: dotnet build
6. Start Azurite services:
   • Via the command palette: CRTL/CMD+SHIFT+P -> Azurite: Start
7. Run the Function App:
   • Via the debug command: F5 or
   • Via the terminal in the src/ServerlessPersistence folder: func start.
8. Now use the http files located in tst and a REST client to trigger the functions.

More info

If you want to learn more about Azure Functions, have a look at Azure Functions University, a free and open source curriculum on GitHub and YouTube.

Found a bug or want to ask a question? Feel free to raise an issue or submit a pull request. Or you can reach out to me on Twitter.