Using Amazon Web Services to create a serverless web app

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides resources that can take the place of a traditional webserver. A huge advantage to this approach is removing the need for the developer to maintain servers, and to allow for easy scaling depending upon use.

In my project, I want to set up mobile app that will use AWS as a backend. I plan on using the following services:

  • Lambda – allows you to run arbitrary code without setting up a server
  • Relational Database Service (RDS) – hosted database. I will be using postgresql
  • Step Functions – Connect services together using visual workflows
  • API Gateway – Create API endpoints to allow your backend to be used outside of AWS

Other technology I will be using

  • Node.js – I am new to JavaScript and want to learn more about it
  • PostgreSQL
  • Bookshelf.js/Knex – I want a well supported ORM that supports PostgreSQL. Bookshelf.js seems robust and since it is built on top of Knex, I can always fall back to Knex for unsupported functionality.
  • node-lambda – Make it easier to manage AWS Lambda deployment

Here is an outline of my steps

  • Set up PostgreSQL and Bookshelf.js
  • Set up hosted database using RDS
  • Create simple lambda that reads from RDS
  • Integrate API Gateway with Lambda
  • Connect 2 Lambdas together with Step Functions
  • Integrate API Gateway with Step Functions

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