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AWS Lambda FAQ

John Demian on August 14, 2018

Have you heard about AWS Lambda, the new computing system that offers you a variety of benefits like real-time data processing and custom back...
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tux0r

I find the wording confusing. If a software runs remotely on a computer (or multiple computers), it is not "serverless" because those are, in fact, servers...?

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John Demian

Hey buddy. I appreciate you taking the time to read through the article and pointing out the confusing phrase, but I can't seem to find the section you are talking about. Can you point me to it?

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tux0r

It's under "What is AWS Lambda?":

AWS Lambda is an Amazon serverless computing system

A remote "computing system" is a server (or a server cluster), according to my limited understanding.

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John Demian

The term serverless is a tad misleading, I'll give you that but the technology got its name, not from the fact that it lacks servers but because you, the developer, don't manage them or have to worry about them, ever!

Here's a little article that might help you: dashbird.io/blog/origin-of-serverl...

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tux0r

Wouldn't that mean that every single webspace hoster has been "serverless" since the 90s? Because the customers won't have to manage or worry about them, ever.

Thank you for that article. I still find it confusing... I'm not a friend of buzzword bingo. A server is a server even if I can't see it. Alas, if that's what the technology should be called, I begrudgingly accept.

I wish more people would care about technology. We seem to go back into a time where computers are seen as "magic devices" doing "magic things". Sorry for being so stubborn about that.

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John Demian

I hear you! And while I miss having the observability I got with a traditional server, with serverless there are some benefits I just can't deny. Things like cost-effectiveness, scaling and the fact that it lets me - a front-end developer - worry about the business logic and the user experience rather than mucking about with the backend.

To each it's own, I guess :)