Introduction

Azure Functions is a serverless computing service provided by Microsoft Azure that allows you to run code in response to various triggers without the need to manage server infrastructure. In this guide, you'll learn how to create serverless functions in Go and deploy them as Azure Functions. We'll cover setting up your development environment, writing Go Azure Functions, deploying them to Azure, and provide sample code with detailed steps.


Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have Go (Golang) installed on your system and an Azure account. Familiarity with Go and basic Azure concepts will be helpful.


Setting Up Your Development Environment

To create Go-based Azure Functions, follow these steps to set up your development environment:

  1. Install Go: If you haven't already, download and install Go from the official website.
  2. Install Azure Functions Core Tools: Install the Azure Functions Core Tools, a set of tools to develop and run Azure Functions locally.
  3. Configure Azure Credentials: Use the Azure CLI to configure your Azure credentials by running az login.

Writing Go Azure Functions

Azure Functions in Go are Go programs that follow a specific structure. You define a handler function that Azure Functions invokes when the function is triggered. Here's a simple example of a Go Azure Function that responds with "Hello, World!" when triggered:

package main
import (
    "net/http"
    "fmt"
)
func HandleHTTPTrigger(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    fmt.Fprintf(w, "Hello, World!")
}
func main() {
    http.Handle("/api/HelloWorld", http.HandlerFunc(HandleHTTPTrigger))
    http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil)
}

Deploying Go Azure Functions

To deploy Go Azure Functions to Azure, you can use Azure Functions Core Tools or Azure DevOps. Here's an example of deploying the Go Azure Function using Azure Functions Core Tools:

# Build the Go binary for Azure Functions
GOOS=linux go build -o HelloWorld
# Create a new function app in Azure
func init MyFunctionApp
# Deploy the Go Azure Function
func azure functionapp publish MyFunctionApp --build remote

Sample Code

Here's a sample Go Azure Function code that responds with "Hello, World!" when triggered by an HTTP request. You can customize the handler function to perform more complex tasks based on your use case.

package main
import (
    "net/http"
    "fmt"
)
func HandleHTTPTrigger(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    fmt.Fprintf(w, "Hello, World!")
}
func main() {
    http.Handle("/api/HelloWorld", http.HandlerFunc(HandleHTTPTrigger))
    http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil)
}

Conclusion

Using Go with Azure Functions allows you to build serverless functions that respond to various triggers, such as HTTP requests, timer events, and more. In this guide, we covered setting up your development environment, writing Go Azure Functions, and deploying them to Azure Functions. You can extend this knowledge to create more complex serverless applications.


Further Resources

To further explore Go and Azure Functions, consider the following resources: