Programming AWS Lambda: Build and Deploy Serverless Applications with Java

A little light on Java programming details. Assumes the reader is an experienced Java programmer needing instruction on how to successfully create and deploy functional Lambdas on the AWS platform. Quite helpful. At first I was a little annoyed by the sparse Java examples, but as I read on and continued to make live Lambdas, I came to appreciate the author’s approach more and more.

Assumes nothing and builds toward expert usage of AWS lambda for Java -- with a lot of good info even if you aren't using the Java runtime.Great insights for all levels, but especially if you are new to serverless computing and planning on using the jvm, save yourself the trouble of learning these lessons the hard way and buy this book!

Most words and hand wavey. I expected more code when the book title has the word "programming" in it. There were chapters with no code at all, so the title is deceiving. Edit: Just finished the book, I think there's really not much meat in this book.

This book covers everything you could want to know about using Lambda. It starts out my explaining the terms and reasons for using. I think it would have been good to have a reference to the services for readers new to AWS. The diagrams and screenshots were excellent.There were good comparisons about tradeoffs like Python vs Java and even within Java. I like that the first example was built-in JavaScript to focus on the mechanics of creating a lambda before having to write one. In fact, it was so smooth that I missed the code. (It was provided by AWS Lambda rather than printed in the book). I also liked the advice to delete the lambda stack if getting into trouble.The examples use Maven, but you didn't need to know it going in. You do need to feel comfortable reading Java, JSON and XML. I learned a number of new things. And I was happy to see newer things included like CloudWatch Insights and Provisioned Concurrency.Chapter 5 was a comparatively long chapter (50 pages) but covered a lot and was easy to understand. I like that there were chapters on testing, logging, etc. I would have liked to see JUnit 5 used instead of JUnit 4 since this is a new book. (I was also surprised not to see static imports used, but that's probably personal preference.) The chapter full of problems and solutions was great!Each chapter ends with exercises to get hands on experience. I was very happy to see that! A couple are labeled as “extended task” which is nice because you know what you are getting into.---Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing this review on behalf of the NYJavaSIG.

In this book John Chapin and Mike Roberts do an excellent job diving deep into programming with Lambda in Java, while providing enough information about the AWS ecosystem in general to contextualize Lambda in the world of "serverless". I recommend this book both for those brand new to AWS Lambda and those with more experience.I am a software engineer that has worked with AWS the last three years, and I still learned a lot about the intricacies of using AWS Lambda, the tools AWS provides for packaging/deployment and various other AWS resources as they interact with Lambda, some of which are newly released or currently in preview. I was left with many notes with ideas of how my team can use them!The authors clearly explain tradeoffs between different solutions that use Lambda, importantly considering the cost of each one. In addition to tradeoffs, they walk through best practices given their long experience programming Lambdas in Java in various settings with their clients. Throughout the book, they work through examples (with the full code in a github repo) and at the end of each chapter they provide a few exercises to the reader to practice that chapter's focus.---Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing this review.

Why wasted pages on using Java with Lambda? It doesn't make much sense. I'd never do it and wasted pages in a book I bought for Lambda and see this material dedicated to Java and setting up environment for Java. Waste. If you want to do it at least spare some of us by titling it Lambda using Java

The authors have done a great job developing a comprehensive guide to building serverless applications on AWS Lambda. They cover everything a developer needs to get going with this emerging platfrom including development tools, architectural patterns, operational concerns (logging / monitoring / costs), and java runtime specific concerns.There are examples for building REST based services and backend data processing infrastructure. I appreciated that the examples are built in such a way that they provide a good foundation to expand upon. They aren't simple hello world examples, but introduce the reader to working with all the tools necessary to build a solid application. The examples are centered around the standard AWS provided tools (eg Serverless Application Model, CloudFormation, Cloudwatch, etc) and provide a solid foundation through examples and exercises for readers who aren't necessarily AWS experts already.The book shares a lot of the authors’ hard earned insights and best practices that are useful for all experience ranges, which makes the book applicable to a wide audience. Overall a great resource for anyone who’s interested in building serverless applications on AWS.