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Discussion on: The differing definitions of “serverless”

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koas profile image
Koas

Great article!

I'm thinking of trying the serverless approach in my next pet project. As a PHP developer I've always worked with a server. Do you know any guide ir article for a serverless implementation with PHP?

Thanks! 😀

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sublimegeek profile image
Jonathan Irvin

Jelly Fin is planning on using serverless with Firebase. I'm going this route because I don't want to have to deal as much with setting up server boxes, vms, or containers and then have to monitor them for stability, uptime, etc. etc.

I just want an endpoint I can hit, when I want, and how I want. The beauty is that is scales with the app. When you hit a serverless endpoint once, it takes a few hundred milliseconds longer to execute. This is known as a cold start. In most small apps, this is ok.

As the app scales, you need a faster response. Whatever service you use begins keeping the endpoint in memory and highly-available as it gets used more often resulting in faster responses.

To many, this is a dream come true! Setting up infrastructure in an automated fashion is a pain. You have to provision vms, install operating systems, patch them for security holes, THEN install your app, monitor performance, make sure your servers aren't slammed...the list goes on.

Whenever we cross these boundaries from shared hosting and now serverless architecture, it begs the question...what's next?