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This article will introduce a popular serverless framework provided by Google: Cloud Functions for Firebase.
If you are a tech enthusiast, you have probably heard of serverless. This is a platform that allows developers to develop applications without worrying about server issues such as maintenance, expansion, and resource allocation. Everything will be done automatically by providers and all you need to do is code and upload your code to the cloud.
Cloud Functions for Firebase is a serverless framework that allows for simple deployment of backend code. Firebase Functions can be activated through Firebase services such as Firestore, Storage, etc., or via HTTPS with GET, POST, PUT,...
For example, functions will be activated when a file is uploaded to the storage to create a thumbnail or send a mail notification mail when a record is inserted into Firestore. The code will be stored on Google Cloud and can be written in Javascript or Typescript.
Firebase cloud functions
You might be interested in Firebase Database: A great solution for the fast development of real-time applications
Some reasons why you should use Firebase Cloud Functions:
There is almost no need to care about hardware or infrastructure, all managed on Google's cloud.
It can be said that the cost of using Firebase functions is very cheap. You can use them for free up to 2 million calls in a month.
With very comprehensive documentation and a large support community, you can quickly find answers to any problems in the process. You can even learn more tips from a variety of samples on GitHub. Moreover, Google provides a powerful and user-friendly Firebase toolkit.
Firebase functions can be activated by many different events. You can activate functions at any Firebase service and https.
No solution is perfect, including technology. Cloud Functions for Firebase also have their own disadvantages.
The scalability of cloud functions is great. However, after a long period of inactivity, it will take a short time to start so it may take longer than usual. This is also a common feature, which is difficult to avoid when using cloud functions from any provider.
Firebase functions only support two languages: Javascript and Typescript. It is a limitation compared to other providers such as AWS or Azure, with the number of languages supported being more diverse.
Firebase functions may require you to configure a lot of different files, config through firebase-cli, through files .runtimeconfig.json,... may be difficult to reach for first-time users.
With the above advantages and disadvantages, Cloud Functions for Firebase is definitely not the perfect solution for all developers and in all cases. When should we use Firebase Cloud Functions?
Use Cloud Functions for Firebase if you want to build a web application or a mobile application. Especially when combined with other Firebase services (Authentication, firestore, storage, etc.), it would be a perfect combo to create a great application. Developers can also easily combine functions with other services outside the Firebase
Use Cloud Functions for Firebase when you need to develop applications quickly. You won't have to worry about the complicated configuration on the server, everything has been done by Google for you. And even if the number of requests increases too much, everything will be automatically scaled.
There are still logic processes running on the server, but all you have to do is write code and put it into the cloud so it can be considered that it does not have a server as the name serverless. This will be an incredibly powerful assistant to build up a great application.
If you feel that Firebase Cloud Functions are right for your project, let Rabiloo support you.
Rabiloo is a software company that has successfully developed more than 150 projects along with many enterprises in Japan, Singapore, the USA, France, and Vietnam.
Our domain knowledge is education, retail, and e-commerce. If you are doing business in these areas, we are confident we have enough knowledge and experience to accompany you.
If you are not sure about the experience and competence of the team of programmers, let us prove it.
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