Introducing AWS Lambda

I still remember the days when there was a clear demarcation between IT developers and system administrators; so much so that, each time a developer wanted a simple software platform or environment to be set up on their workstations, they would have to log one or more change requests, then dubiously wait for an IT admin to come along, who would more often than not provide you with an incorrect version of the software that you requested. Basically, you would end up wasting a week's effort just to get some simple software like Java or Tomcat to be setup, right? Many of us have sometime or the other been through this so called vicious cycle in IT and some still do, even today. But what if I told you that there is some ray of light around the corner! What if you, as a developer had the flexibility to simply write your code and put it up for execution; without having to worry about the underlying software platform, the OS or the hardware on which your code will run? Sounds too good to be true? Well fret no more, because that is what this book is all about! How you, as a developer start leveraging certain cloud-based services to develop, test, and host applications without having to even manage anything! Welcome to the amazing world of serverless computing!

In this chapter, we are going to get an understanding of the following topics:

• What serverless computing is, along with its pros and cons
• Introduction of AWS Lambda as a service and how it works
• Getting started with AWS Lambda using the AWS Management Console, as well as the CLI
• Pricing and a few of Lambda's limitations

So, without further ado, let's get started!