Azure functions

Question 1

What are azure functions?

Answer 1

Azure functions is a serverless compute service that lets you run event triggered code.
without having to explicitly provision or manage infrastructure

Question 2

How are azure functions used?

Answer 2

building microservices, processing data, integrating systems, and IoT

Question 3

What are Azure Functions?

Answer 3

Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that enables you to run small pieces of code (functions) in response to events without explicitly managing infrastructure. You pay only for the execution time of your code.

Question 4

How do azure functions scale?

Answer 4

they scale automatically based on demand.

Question 5

What triggers can be used in azure functions?

Answer 5

http timer message queue blob storage

Question 6

Binding

Answer 6

provide a declarative way to connect other azure services and external resources to your function

Question 7

can bindings be input or output?

Answer 7

bindings can be input or output or both, they are used to pass data

Question 8

How do azure functions handle dependencies?

Answer 8

supports nuget and npm packages allowing you to define dependencies.

Question 9

consumption plan vs app service plan

Question 10

What is the primary benefit of using Azure Functions?

Answer 10

The main benefits are cost efficiency, automatic scaling, and reduced operational overhead. Azure handles all the underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus solely on the code logic.

Question 11

Explain the difference between Azure Functions and Azure App Services Web Apps.

Answer 11

Azure Functions is a serverless platform (FaaS - Function as a Service), ideal for event-driven, short-lived tasks with automatic scaling. Azure App Services Web Apps is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering for hosting full web applications where you have more control over the underlying infrastructure and a persistent environment.

Question 12

What are triggers and bindings in Azure Functions?

Answer 12

Triggers: Define how a function is initiated
an HTTP request
a message in a Service Bus queue
a timer

Question 13

What are bindings in Azure Functions?

Answer 13

Bindings: Provide a declarative way to connect data and services to your function without writing complex integration code. Bindings can be input (data into the function) or output (data sent from the function).

Question 14

Name some common types of triggers used in Azure Functions.

Answer 14

Common triggers include
HTTP Trigger, Timer Trigger, Blob Storage Trigger, Azure Service Bus Queue/Topic Trigger, Event Hub Trigger, and Cosmos DB Trigger.

Question 15

Can a single Azure Function have multiple triggers?

Answer 15

No, a single function can have only one trigger. However, it can have multiple input and output bindings.

Question 16

How do you configure bindings in an Azure Function?

Answer 16

Bindings are defined in the function’s configuration file (function.json) or through attributes in compiled languages like C#. The Microsoft Azure documentation provides detailed guides on configuring different binding types.

Question 17

What are the different hosting plans available for Azure Functions?

Answer 17

Consumption Plan
Premium Plan
App Service Plan

Question 18

Consumption Plan

Answer 18

The default serverless plan, where you are billed per execution and Azure automatically manages the scaling.

Question 19

Premium Plan

Answer 19

Offers enhanced performance, VNet connectivity, and pre-warmed instances to avoid cold starts, with a predictable pricing model.

Question 20

App Service Plan

Answer 20

Allows functions to run on existing dedicated VMs alongside other App Services, offering consistent pricing and performance but requiring manual scaling management.

Question 21

What is a “cold start” and how can it be mitigated?

Answer 21

A cold start occurs when a serverless function is triggered after a period of inactivity, and the platform needs time to allocate and initialize the required resources. It can be mitigated by using the Premium hosting plan with pre-warmed instances.

Question 22

What programming languages are supported by Azure Functions?

Answer 22

Azure Functions supports multiple languages, including C#, F#, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and PowerShell.

Question 23

How can you test Azure Functions locally?

Answer 23

You can use the Azure Functions Core Tools extension in Visual Studio or VS Code to run and debug functions on your local machine before deployment.

Question 24

Explain different deployment methods for Azure Functions.

Answer 24

Common methods include Azure DevOps pipelines, GitHub Actions, Visual Studio publishing, Azure CLI, and FTP.

Question 25

What are Azure Durable Functions?

Answer 25

Durable Functions is an extension of Azure Functions that lets you write stateful orchestrations and workflows in a serverless environment using code (C#, JavaScript, Python, etc.). It helps manage complex, long-running processes. functions calling other functions awaiting results and retrying

Question 26

How do you handle configuration and secrets in Azure Functions?

Answer 26

Configuration values can be stored in the Azure Function App's Application Settings in the portal or in local.settings.json for local development. For sensitive data, it's best practice to use Azure Key Vault and reference the secrets in the application settings.

Question 27

How do you monitor and debug Azure Functions in production?

Answer 27

Azure Application Insights provides robust monitoring, logging, and debugging capabilities, offering insights into execution counts, performance metrics, and potential errors.

Question 28

how do you secure an azure function?

Answer 28

1 function keys which provide an API key-level authentication. 2 integration with active directory for O auth based security 3 IP restrictions to limit access to funtions from specified IP addresses 4 CORS setting to manage cross origin resources sharing

Question 29

best practices for logging azure functions?

Answer 29

it is integrated with azure monitor and application insights for monitoring and logging 1 use built in ILogger 2 set appropriate log levels based on severity (info, warning, error) 3 include custom telemetry in logging to track usage and performance of functions

Question 30

Azure function proxies?

Answer 30

define a single api surface for multiple functions more streamlined can route requests to functions or outside urls acting as a reverse proxy and facilitate a microservices architechture

Question 31

how do you manage state ?

Answer 31

azure blob - large states azure table storage or cosmos db for structured data durable functions for stateful orchestrations

Question 32

maximum execution timeout?

Answer 32

consumption plan 5 min, can be extended to 10 premium or dedicated (app service) plan - it can be unbounded

Question 33

example use case

Answer 33

front end of web api can pass user photo to azure function for azure blob storage for compression blob trigger calls function, function compresses it, saves to blob less storage, cost savings uses signs up triggers azure function to send welcome email

Answer 34

serverless compute service lets yo run code in response to events without managing infrastructure

Answer 35

automatically scales and executes only when triggered cost effecient and light wieght

Question 36

why not write function inside your main application?

Question 37

steps to write azure function?

Answer 37

can be different language from main application run independantly from main application name function after function name add logic to run - this is the method that gets executed

Question 38

azure function and function app?

Answer 38

single unit of execution runs from function trigger function app is the container that groups multiple azure functions

Question 39

how would you send email when file uploaded to blob?

Answer 39

use a blob trigger mixing function code inside app increases coupling affect scalability performance maintainability