Chapter 5. Using standalone functions

 

This chapter covers

  • Importing custom libraries in your function
  • Subscribing functions to events coming from other AWS services
  • Creating back-end resources such as S3 buckets and DynamoDB tables
  • Using binaries with your function
  • Implementing a serverless face detection function
  • Scheduling functions for recurring execution

In the previous chapters, you learned how to manage security within the AWS platform. Many concepts were introduced using AWS IAM, such as roles and policies, that you can use with Lambda functions to give them the necessary authorization to access other resources.

In this chapter you’ll use that knowledge to create standalone functions that can be scheduled for periodic execution or triggered by events coming from other AWS services such as Amazon S3. This is the first step toward building an event-driven application using multiple functions together.

5.1. Packaging libraries and modules with your function

At this point, the functions you’ve created are basic and don’t include any modules other than what’s already included in AWS Lambda—for example, the AWS SDKs for Node.js and Python. But sometimes you need to include more powerful libraries that can help you implement sophisticated functionalities.

5.2. Subscribing functions to events

5.3. Using binaries with your function

5.4. Scheduling function execution

Summary

Exercise