Azure Functions Live – May 2019

Key Announcements at Microsoft Build 2019

Event-driven programming model with Kubernetes – KEDA

Since Azure Functions can be containerized, you can now deploy a Function App to any Kubernetes cluster, keeping the same scaling behavior you would have on the Azure Functions service. This is a significant milestone for the open source ecosystem around Kubernetes, This blog covers this topic in detail, “Announcing KEDA: bringing event-driven containers and functions to Kubernetes.”

Premium Functions

This plan enables a suite of long-requested scaling and connectivity options without compromising on the event-based scale. With the Premium plan you can use pre-warmed instances to run your app with no delay after being idle, you can run on more powerful instances, and you can connect to VNETs, all while automatically scaling in response to load.

PowerShell Core as a supported language (preview)

Companies all over the world have been using PowerShell to automate their cloud resources in their organization, as well as on-premises, for years. Most of these scenarios are based on events that happen on the infrastructure or application that must be immediately acted upon in order to meet service level agreements and time to recovery.

With the release of PowerShell support in Azure Functions, it is now possible to automate these operational tasks and take advantage of the native Azure integration to modernize the delivering and maintenance of services.

Dependency injection support for .NET

This is one of the favorite features. Azure Functions builds on top of the ASP.NET Core Dependency Injection features. You should understand services, lifetimes, and design patterns of ASP.NET Core dependency injection before using them in functions. Here is the latest detailed documentation for Dependency injection support for .NET

Extension bundles

Bundles take all of the extensions that you will install in current V2 functions to use any bindings. So, if you want any trigger type or binding other than HTTP, like Storage, Cosmos DB, Event Hub, Event Grid those all require an extension. These extensions require a nuget install, so with bundles, it takes all of those packages and put them in one functions platform bundle that you can reference.

Durable Functions stateful patterns

For stateful functions that map to an entity like an IoT device or a gaming session, you can use the new stateful entity trigger for actor-like capabilities in Azure Functions. The team is making the state management of your stateful functions more flexible with preview support for Redis cache as the state provider for Durable Functions, enabling scenarios where applications may run in a disconnected or edge environment.

Streamlined Azure DevOps experience

With new build templates in Azure Pipelines, you will have the ability to quickly configure your Azure Pipeline with function-optimized tasks to build your .NET, Node.js, and Python applications. Azure Functions deployment task is now GA, which is optimized to work with the best deployment option for your function app. Also, the Azure CLI release introduced a new command that can automatically create and configure an Azure DevOps pipeline for your function app.

New Serverless Community Library experience

There are a lot of improvements made to the Azure Serverless Community Library, including an updated look, a streamlined sample submission process, and more detailed information about each sample.

Defining and managing your Functions APIs with serverless API Management

Exposing and managing APIs built with Azure Functions through API Management is made simple with this improved integration, the Function Apps blade in the Azure portal presents an option to expose your HTTP-triggered functions through a new or an existing API in API Management.

Once the Function App is linked with API Management, you can manage API operations, apply policies, edit and download OpenAPI specification files, or navigate to your API Management instance for a full-featured experience.

Azure Functions Build 2019 Links

Community Highlights

Marc Duiker has created Twitter bot @az_func_updates that will send out details on new releases found on GitHub related to Azure Functions.
Building Azure Functions in JetBrains Rider – JetBrainsRider
Real Time Flight Map w/ Azure Functions, CosmosDB & SignalR – Dave Theunissen