Go for serverless functions - Edson Ticona Zegarra

Serverless functions run in a managed compute environment where providers handle infrastructure, scaling and operational concerns

Key characteristics of serverless:

• Pay only for actual usage/execution time
• Auto-scaling based on load
• Limited execution time windows (10-15 mins)
• Shared temporary filesystem between executions
• File descriptor and memory limits
• Cold starts impact latency

Important considerations when using Go:

• Global state may persist between executions
• init() functions used for initialization
• No main() package in cloud functions
• Different function signatures per provider
• Need to handle connection pooling carefully

Common gotchas and challenges:

• File descriptor leaks more apparent due to tight limits
• Database connection management needs special attention
• Cold starts can add 1-2 seconds latency
• Provider-specific behaviors for error handling
• Temporary filesystem state may persist

Best practices:

• Use init() for one-time initializations
• Monitor resource usage carefully
• Consider latency requirements
• Plan for proper scaling
• Understand provider-specific limitations

Ideal use cases:

• Event-driven processing
• Batch operations
• Scheduled tasks
• Workloads with uneven load patterns