Serverless computing entails the use of cloud-based technology to execute the backend function of a website or app. Serverless computing does not mean no servers. The word 'serverless' only explains that these servers are not seen by the developers nor are they managed by them or interact with them.

What is serverless computing?

Serverless computing enables developers to focus on the front-end code and operation without bothering about its backend functions. The front end of a website or application focuses on the parts users see like images, text, videos, etc.

The backend focuses on the parts users can't see, such as the server where application files exist, the database where users' data are stored, and business logic and operation.

The terms serverless computing and FaaS (Function as a Service) are used conversely. FaaS is a cloud computing service that makes developers execute code when certain events or requests are triggered without managing the infrastructure necessary to run and execute the code.

Serverless computing on the other hand is a complete service that can respond to specific events or requests and scale to zero when not in use. In serverless computing, the cloud provider takes care of provisioning, management, and billing all of which remain hidden from developers.

Serverless computing represents a cloud-based model where computer resources are automatically utilized, adjusting in scale as needed and scaling to zero when the application is inactive. Hence, users only pay for the storage space an application code occupies and the amount it uses.

The Serverless computing model has four attributes which are:

• Reliability. It is very reliable because it has high availability and fault tolerance.
• Self-maintaining. Clients do not need to worry about server maintenance.
• Scalability. It scales up and down without client programming help.
• Variable in price. Its charges are pay-as-you-go which means you only pay for what you use.

There are some cloud-based servers that share certain attributes with serverless computing, such as:

BaaS (Backend as a service). In this model, the cloud provider offers backend services like data storage.

PaaS (Platform as a Service). In this model, products are developed and deployed in the cloud environment.

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). This model, enables you to carry out almost all your activity in the cloud system.

But Serverless computing stands out in its power of automatic scaling. In all other cloud-based models a need to interact with the vendor or cloud provider is required when more space is needed, whilst a serverless computing model handles this automatically.

Use cases for serverless computing

1. API Backends.

Any function or action in a serverless platform can be transformed into an HTTP endpoint which can be consumed by a web client. The actions get the name web action when they're implemented for the web. Once, the web actions are gotten you can arrange them into a full-featured API with a gateway for added security, rate limiting, etc.

2. Data Processing

The serverless model is efficient for the data processing of images, videos, texts, and audio data. Its tasks for video data processing include; image processing (rotation, noise reduction, etc.), transcoding, and audio normalization.

3. Serverless and Microservices

The serverless design has garnered considerable acclaim within the realm of microservices architecture. This approach emphasizes the development of compact services, each dedicated to a specific function and interconnected via APIs. While some organizations adopt microservices using either PaaS or containers, the rise of serverless can be attributed to its swift provisioning, inherent and seamless scalability, emphasis on concise code components, and a cost structure that does not bill for idle resources.

Conclusion

In conclusion, serverless computing is the future of cloud-based technology. It is a type of computing system that allows developers to major in the front end of websites or apps because the back end is already handled by the cloud provider.

In serverless computing, the cloud provider takes care of provisioning, management, and billing all of which remain hidden from developers. The serverless computing model will make a good choice if you do not want to bother about your server scaling and maintenance because all of these are already taken care of by the cloud provider.