Cloud Functions | Google Compute | Googlecloud Tutorial

Introduction

Cloud Functions is a lightweight, event-driven compute solution that allows you to create small, single-purpose functions that respond to cloud events without needing to manage a server or runtime environment. This tutorial will guide you through setting up and deploying a Cloud Function on Google Cloud Platform.

Setting Up

Before you start, ensure you have a Google Cloud account and the Google Cloud SDK installed on your machine.

Step 1: Install the Google Cloud SDK from here.

Step 2: Initialize the SDK with the following command:

gcloud init

Creating a Cloud Function

Google Cloud Functions can be written in Node.js, Python, or Go. For this tutorial, we'll use Node.js.

Create a new directory for your Cloud Function:

mkdir my-cloud-function

Navigate into the directory:

cd my-cloud-function

Create an index.js file with the following content:

exports.helloWorld = (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello, World!');
};

Create a package.json file with the following content:

{
  "name": "my-cloud-function",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.17.1"
  }
}

Deploying the Cloud Function

To deploy your Cloud Function, use the following command:

gcloud functions deploy helloWorld --runtime nodejs14 --trigger-http --allow-unauthenticated

This command deploys the function with HTTP as the trigger and allows unauthenticated access.

Testing the Cloud Function

Once deployed, you will receive a URL endpoint for your Cloud Function. You can test it by navigating to the URL in your web browser or using curl:

curl YOUR_FUNCTION_URL

You should see "Hello, World!" as the output.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully created, deployed, and tested a Cloud Function on Google Cloud Platform. Cloud Functions are a powerful tool for building scalable, event-driven applications without managing servers.