Features, Benefits and Comparing Functions

Features of Functions

  • You can configure Functions to generate threshold-based alerts.

  • Functions help in monitoring specific parameters and can trigger threshold breach notifications.

  • Using Functions you can propagate data changes to other systems.

  • On a NoSQL platform with no referential integrity, you can perform cascade deletes using Functions.

Comparing Functions with Peer Implementations

Functions and Database Trigger

Functions respond to actual data mutations, and hence it does not directly correlate with Database Triggers. In Functions, the data mutation step is completed in the data-layer. After the data mutations step, Function offers an interface for developers to introduce business workflow in the form of programming logic.

Functions and Rules Engine

Functions cannot trigger another Functions directly. On the other hand, Rules Engines can enforce ordering and other semantics. These capabilities of Rules Engine are not available out-of-the-box with Functions. However, Functions in its purest form can be used to implement a rule.

Functions and Stored Procedure

Stored Procedures is a request-response model. A stored procedure cannot be invoked automatically and has to be invoked by calling a method. On the contrary, Functions are based on data mutations. These data mutations can trigger Functions, and hence this is not a request-response model.