Google App Engine

Website

cloud.google.com

Pricing URL

Official Google App Engine Pricing

Categories

#Cloud Computing #Cloud Hosting #Backend As A Service #Mobile Backend

Google Cloud Functions

Website

cloud.google.com

Pricing URL

-

Categories

#Cloud Computing #Cloud Hosting #Backend As A Service #Business & Commerce

Google App Engine features and specs

• Auto-scaling
  Google App Engine automatically scales your application based on the traffic it receives, ensuring that your application can handle varying workloads without manual intervention.
• Managed environment
  App Engine provides a fully managed environment, covering infrastructure management tasks like server provisioning, patching, monitoring, and managing app versions.
• Integrated services
  Seamlessly integrates with other Google Cloud services such as Datastore, Cloud SQL, Pub/Sub, and more, offering a comprehensive ecosystem for building and deploying applications.
• Multiple languages support
  Supports multiple programming languages including Java, Python, PHP, Node.js, Go, Ruby, and .NET, giving developers flexibility in choosing their preferred language.
• Security
  Offers robust security features including Identity and Access Management (IAM), Cloud Identity, and automated security updates, which help protect your applications from vulnerabilities.
• Developer productivity
  App Engine allows rapid development and deployment, letting developers focus on writing code without worrying about infrastructure management, thus boosting productivity.
• Versioning
  Supports versioning of applications, allowing multiple versions of the application to be hosted simultaneously, which helps in A/B testing and rollback capabilities.

Possible disadvantages of Google App Engine

• Cost
  While you pay for what you use, costs can escalate quickly with high traffic or resource-intensive applications. Detailed cost prediction can be challenging.
• Vendor lock-in
  Relying heavily on Google App Engine's proprietary services and APIs can make it difficult to migrate applications to other platforms, leading to vendor lock-in.
• Limited control
  Being a fully managed service, App Engine provides limited control over the underlying infrastructure which might be a limitation for certain advanced use cases.
• Environment constraints
  Certain restrictions and limitations are imposed on the runtime environment, such as request timeout limits and specific resource quotas, which can affect application performance.
• Complex debugging
  Debugging issues in a highly abstracted managed environment can be more complex and difficult compared to traditional server-hosted applications.
• Cold start latency
  Serverless environments like App Engine can suffer from cold start latency, where the initial request triggers a delay as the environment spins up resources.
• Configuration complexity
  Despite its benefits, configuring and optimizing App Engine for specific scenarios can be more complex than expected, requiring a steep learning curve.

Google Cloud Functions features and specs

• Scalability
  Google Cloud Functions automatically scale up or down as per demand, allowing you to handle varying workloads efficiently without manual intervention.
• Cost-effectiveness
  You only pay for the actual compute time your functions use, rather than for pre-allocated resources, making it a cost-effective solution for many use cases.
• Easy Integration
  Seamless integration with other Google Cloud services like Cloud Storage, Pub/Sub, and Firestore simplifies building complex, event-driven architectures.
• Simplified Deployment
  Deploying functions is straightforward and does not require managing underlying infrastructure, reducing the operational overhead for developers.
• Supports Multiple Languages
  Supports various programming languages including Node.js, Python, Go, and Java, offering flexibility to developers to use the language they are most comfortable with.

Possible disadvantages of Google Cloud Functions

• Cold Start Latency
  Functions may experience cold start latency when they have not been invoked for a while, leading to higher initial response times.
• Limited Execution Time
  Cloud Functions have a maximum execution timeout (typically 9 minutes), making them unsuitable for long-running tasks or processes.
• Vendor Lock-In
  Heavily relying on Google Cloud Services can make it difficult to migrate to other cloud providers, leading to potential vendor lock-in.
• Complexity in Local Testing
  Testing cloud functions locally can be challenging and may not fully replicate the cloud environment, complicating the development and debugging process.
• Limited Customization
  Less control over the underlying infrastructure might pose challenges if you require specific customizations that are not supported by Cloud Functions.

Get to know Google App Engine

More videos:

Google Cloud Functions: introduction to event-driven serverless compute on GCP

More videos: