5 Ways to Skin a Lambda Function: A DevTools Comparison Guide
#webdev#programming#opensource#cloud
Nathan Tarbert

Nathan Tarbert @nathan_tarbert

About: I am a developer and open-source evangelist!

Location:
Florida, USA
Joined:
Feb 22, 2023

5 Ways to Skin a Lambda Function: A DevTools Comparison Guide

Publish Date: Feb 13 '24
293 20

TL;DR

As the saying goes, there are several ways to skin a cat...in the tech world, there are 5 ways to skin a Lambda Function 🤩

Let's Compare 5 DevTools

Introduction

As developers try to bridge the gap between development and DevOps, I thought it would be helpful to compare Programming Languages and DevTools.

Let's start with the idea of a simple function that would upload a text file to a Bucket in our cloud app.

The next step is to demonstrate several ways this could be accomplished.

Note: In cloud development, managing permissions and bucket identities, packaging runtime code, and handling multiple files for infrastructure and runtime add layers of complexity to the development process.

Let's get started

Let's dive into some code!

1. Wing

After installing Wing, let's create a file: main.w

If you aren't familiar with the Wing Programming Language, please check out the open-source repo HERE


bring cloud;

let bucket = new cloud.Bucket();

new cloud.Function(inflight () => {
  bucket.put("hello.txt", "world!");
});
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Let's do a breakdown of what's happening in the code above.

bring cloud is Wing's import syntax

Create a Cloud Bucket: let bucket = new cloud.Bucket(); initializes a new cloud bucket instance.

On the backend, the Wing platform provisions a new bucket in your cloud provider's environment. This bucket is used for storing and retrieving data.

Create a Cloud Function: The new cloud.Function(inflight () => { ... }); statement defines a new cloud function.

This function, when triggered, performs the actions defined within its body.

bucket.put("hello.txt", "world!"); uploads a file named hello.txt with the content world! to the cloud bucket created earlier.

Compile & Deploy to AWS

  • wing compile --platform tf-aws main.w

  • terraform apply

That's it, Wing takes care of the complexity of (permissions, getting the bucket identity in the runtime code, packaging the runtime code into a bucket, having to write multiple files - for infrastructure and runtime), etc.

Not to mention it generates IAC (TF or CF), plus Javascript that you can deploy with existing tools.

Wing Console

But while you develop, you can use the local simulator to get instant feedback and shorten the iteration cycles.

Wing even has a playground that you can try out in the browser!

2. Pulumi

Step 1: Initialize a New Pulumi Project

mkdir pulumi-s3-lambda-ts
cd pulumi-s3-lambda-ts
pulumi new aws-typescript
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Step 2. Write the code to upload a text file to S3.

This will be your project structure.

pulumi-s3-lambda-ts/
├─ src/
│  ├─ index.ts              # Pulumi infrastructure code
│  └─ lambda/
│     └─ index.ts           # Lambda function code to upload a file to S3
├─ tsconfig.json            # TypeScript configuration
└─ package.json             # Node.js project file with dependencies
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Let's add this code to index.ts


import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

// Create an AWS S3 bucket
const bucket = new aws.s3.Bucket("myBucket", {
    acl: "private",
});

// IAM role for the Lambda function
const lambdaRole = new aws.iam.Role("lambdaRole", {
    assumeRolePolicy: JSON.stringify({
        Version: "2023-10-17",
        Statement: [{
            Action: "sts:AssumeRole",
            Principal: {
                Service: "lambda.amazonaws.com",
            },
            Effect: "Allow",
            Sid: "",
        }],
    }),
});

// Attach the AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole policy
new aws.iam.RolePolicyAttachment("lambdaExecutionRole", {
    role: lambdaRole,
    policyArn: aws.iam.ManagedPolicy.AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole,
});

// Policy to allow Lambda function to access the S3 bucket
const lambdaS3Policy = new aws.iam.Policy("lambdaS3Policy", {
    policy: bucket.arn.apply(arn => JSON.stringify({
        Version: "2023-10-17",
        Statement: [{
            Action: ["s3:PutObject", "s3:GetObject"],
            Resource: `${arn}/*`,
            Effect: "Allow",
        }],
    })),
});

// Attach policy to Lambda role
new aws.iam.RolePolicyAttachment("lambdaS3PolicyAttachment", {
    role: lambdaRole,
    policyArn: lambdaS3Policy.arn,
});

// Lambda function
const lambda = new aws.lambda.Function("myLambda", {
    code: new pulumi.asset.AssetArchive({
        ".": new pulumi.asset.FileArchive("./src/lambda"),
    }),
    runtime: aws.lambda.Runtime.NodeJS12dX,
    role: lambdaRole.arn,
    handler: "index.handler",
    environment: {
        variables: {
            BUCKET_NAME: bucket.bucket,
        },
    },
});

export const bucketName = bucket.id;
export const lambdaArn = lambda.arn;
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Next, create a lambda/index.ts directory for the Lambda function code:


import { S3 } from "aws-sdk";

const s3 = new S3();

export const handler = async (): Promise<void> => {
    const bucketName = process.env.BUCKET_NAME || "";
    const fileName = "example.txt";
    const content = "Hello, Pulumi!";

    const params = {
        Bucket: bucketName,
        Key: fileName,
        Body: content,
    };

    try {
        await s3.putObject(params).promise();
        console.log(`File uploaded successfully at https://${bucketName}.s3.amazonaws.com/${fileName}`);
    } catch (err) {
        console.log(err);
    }
};
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Step 3: TypeScript Configuration (tsconfig.json)

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2018",
    "module": "CommonJS",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "**/*.spec.ts"]
}
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After creating a Pulumi project, a yaml file will automatically be generated. pulumi.yaml

name: s3-lambda-pulumi
runtime: nodejs
description: A simple example that uploads a file to an S3 bucket using a Lambda function
template:
  config:
    aws:region:
      description: The AWS region to deploy into
      default: us-west-2
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Deploy with Pulumi

Ensure your lambda directory with the index.js file is correctly set up. Then, run the following command to deploy your infrastructure: pulumi up

3. AWS-CDK

Step 1: Initialize a New CDK Project

mkdir cdk-s3-lambda
cd cdk-s3-lambda
cdk init app --language=typescript
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Step 2: Add Dependencies

npm install @aws-cdk/aws-lambda @aws-cdk/aws-s3
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Step 3: Define the AWS Resources in CDK

File: index.js


import * as cdk from '@aws-cdk/core';
import * as lambda from '@aws-cdk/aws-lambda';
import * as s3 from '@aws-cdk/aws-s3';

export class CdkS3LambdaStack extends cdk.Stack {
  constructor(scope: cdk.Construct, id: string, props?: cdk.StackProps) {
    super(scope, id, props);

    // Create the S3 bucket
    const bucket = new s3.Bucket(this, 'MyBucket', {
      removalPolicy: cdk.RemovalPolicy.DESTROY, // NOT recommended for production code
    });

    // Define the Lambda function
    const lambdaFunction = new lambda.Function(this, 'MyLambda', {
      runtime: lambda.Runtime.NODEJS_14_X, // Define the runtime
      handler: 'index.handler', // Specifies the entry point
      code: lambda.Code.fromAsset('lambda'), // Directory containing your Lambda code
      environment: {
        BUCKET_NAME: bucket.bucketName,
      },
    });

    // Grant the Lambda function permissions to write to the S3 bucket
    bucket.grantWrite(lambdaFunction);
  }
}
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Step 4: Lambda Function Code

Create the same file struct as above and in the pulumi directory: index.ts

import { S3 } from 'aws-sdk';
const s3 = new S3();

exports.handler = async (event: any) => {
  const bucketName = process.env.BUCKET_NAME;
  const fileName = 'uploaded_file.txt';
  const content = 'Hello, CDK! This file was uploaded by a Lambda function!';

  try {
    const result = await s3.putObject({
      Bucket: bucketName!,
      Key: fileName,
      Body: content,
    }).promise();

    console.log(`File uploaded successfully: ${result}`);
    return {
      statusCode: 200,
      body: `File uploaded successfully: ${fileName}`,
    };
  } catch (error) {
    console.log(error);
    return {
      statusCode: 500,
      body: `Failed to upload file: ${error}`,
    };
  }
};
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Deploy the CDK Stack

First, compile your TypeScript code: npm run build, then

Deploy your CDK to AWS: cdk deploy

4. CDK for Terraform

Step 1: Initialize a New CDKTF Project

mkdir cdktf-s3-lambda-ts
cd cdktf-s3-lambda-ts
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Then, initialize a new CDKTF project using TypeScript:

cdktf init --template="typescript" --local
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Step 2: Install AWS Provider and Add Dependencies


npm install @cdktf/provider-aws
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Step 3: Define the Infrastructure

Edit main.ts to define the S3 bucket and Lambda function:

import { Construct } from 'constructs';
import { App, TerraformStack } from 'cdktf';
import { AwsProvider, s3, lambdafunction, iam } from '@cdktf/provider-aws';

class MyStack extends TerraformStack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string) {
    super(scope, id);

    new AwsProvider(this, 'aws', { region: 'us-west-2' });

    // S3 bucket
    const bucket = new s3.S3Bucket(this, 'lambdaBucket', {
      bucketPrefix: 'cdktf-lambda-'
    });

    // IAM role for Lambda
    const role = new iam.IamRole(this, 'lambdaRole', {
      name: 'lambda_execution_role',
      assumeRolePolicy: JSON.stringify({
        Version: '2023-10-17',
        Statement: [{
          Action: 'sts:AssumeRole',
          Principal: { Service: 'lambda.amazonaws.com' },
          Effect: 'Allow',
        }],
      }),
    });

    new iam.IamRolePolicyAttachment(this, 'lambdaPolicy', {
      role: role.name,
      policyArn: 'arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole',
    });

    const lambdaFunction = new lambdafunction.LambdaFunction(this, 'MyLambda', {
      functionName: 'myLambdaFunction',
      handler: 'index.handler',
      role: role.arn,
      runtime: 'nodejs14.x',
      s3Bucket: bucket.bucket, // Assuming the Lambda code is uploaded to this bucket
      s3Key: 'lambda.zip', // Assuming the Lambda code zip file is named lambda.zip
      environment: {
        variables: {
          BUCKET_NAME: bucket.bucket,
        },
      },
    });

    // Grant the Lambda function permissions to write to the S3 bucket
    new s3.S3BucketPolicy(this, 'BucketPolicy', {
      bucket: bucket.bucket,
      policy: bucket.bucket.apply(name => JSON.stringify({
        Version: '2023-10-17',
        Statement: [{
          Action: 's3:*',
          Resource: `arn:aws:s3:::${name}/*`,
          Effect: 'Allow',
          Principal: {
            AWS: role.arn,
          },
        }],
      })),
    });
  }
}

const app = new App();
new MyStack(app, 'cdktf-s3-lambda-ts');
app.synth();
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Step 4: Lambda Function Code

The Lambda function code should be written in TypeScript and compiled into JavaScript, as AWS Lambda natively executes JavaScript. Here's an example index.ts for the Lambda function that you need to compile and zip:


import { S3 } from 'aws-sdk';

const s3 = new S3();

exports.handler = async () => {
  const bucketName = process.env.BUCKET_NAME || '';
  const content = 'Hello, CDKTF!';
  const params = {
    Bucket: bucketName,
    Key: `upload-${Date.now()}.txt`,
    Body: content,
  };

  try {
    await s3.putObject(params).promise();
    return { statusCode: 200, body: 'File uploaded successfully' };
  } catch (err) {
    console.error(err);
    return { statusCode: 500, body: 'Failed to upload file' };
  }
};
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You need to compile this TypeScript code to JavaScript, zip it, and upload it to the S3 bucket manually or using a script.

Ensure the s3Key in the LambdaFunction resource points to the correct zip file in the bucket.

Compile & Deploy Your CDKTF Project

Compile your project using npm run build

Generate Terraform Configuration Files

Run the cdktf synth command. This command executes your CDKTF app, which generates Terraform configuration files (*.tf.json files) in the cdktf.out directory:

Deploy Your Infrastructure

cdktf deploy

5. Terraform

Step 1: Terraform Setup

Define your AWS Provider and S3 Bucket
Create a file named main.tf with the following:


provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2" # Choose your AWS region
}

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "lambda_bucket" {
  bucket_prefix = "lambda-upload-bucket-"
  acl           = "private"
}

resource "aws_iam_role" "lambda_execution_role" {
  name = "lambda_execution_role"

  assume_role_policy = jsonencode({
    Version = "2023-10-17"
    Statement = [
      {
        Action = "sts:AssumeRole"
        Effect = "Allow"
        Principal = {
          Service = "lambda.amazonaws.com"
        }
      },
    ]
  })
}

resource "aws_iam_policy" "lambda_s3_policy" {
  name        = "lambda_s3_policy"
  description = "IAM policy for Lambda to access S3"

  policy = jsonencode({
    Version = "2023-10-17"
    Statement = [
      {
        Action   = ["s3:PutObject", "s3:GetObject"],
        Effect   = "Allow",
        Resource = "${aws_s3_bucket.lambda_bucket.arn}/*"
      },
    ]
  })
}

resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "lambda_s3_access" {
  role       = aws_iam_role.lambda_execution_role.name
  policy_arn = aws_iam_policy.lambda_s3_policy.arn
}

resource "aws_lambda_function" "uploader_lambda" {
  function_name = "S3Uploader"

  s3_bucket = "YOUR_DEPLOYMENT_BUCKET_NAME" # Set your deployment bucket name here
  s3_key    = "lambda.zip" # Upload your ZIP file to S3 and set its key here

  handler = "index.handler"
  role    = aws_iam_role.lambda_execution_role.arn
  runtime = "nodejs14.x"

  environment {
    variables = {
      BUCKET_NAME = aws_s3_bucket.lambda_bucket.bucket
    }
  }
}
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Step 2: Lambda Function Code (TypeScript)

Create a TypeScript file index.ts for the Lambda function:


import { S3 } from 'aws-sdk';

const s3 = new S3();

exports.handler = async (event: any) => {
  const bucketName = process.env.BUCKET_NAME;
  const fileName = `uploaded-${Date.now()}.txt`;
  const content = 'Hello, Terraform and AWS Lambda!';

  try {
    await s3.putObject({
      Bucket: bucketName!,
      Key: fileName,
      Body: content,
    }).promise();

    console.log('Upload successful');
    return {
      statusCode: 200,
      body: JSON.stringify({ message: 'Upload successful' }),
    };
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Upload failed:', error);
    return {
      statusCode: 500,
      body: JSON.stringify({ message: 'Upload failed' }),
    };
  }
};
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Deploy

Finally after uploading your Lambda function code to the specified S3 bucket, run terraform apply.

I hope you enjoyed this comparison of five simple ways to write a function in our cloud app that uploads a text file to a Bucket.

As you can see, most of the code becomes very complex, except for one.

Rapping it up!

Taylor Swift
Click on the picture ⬆️

If you are intrigued about Wing and like how we are simplifying the process of cloud development, please give us a ⭐ star.

Please star ⭐ Wing

Comments 20 total

  • Shai Ber
    Shai BerFeb 13, 2024

    Thanks for this Nathan, it's nice to see the evolution of tools in this space and how much we've progressed

    • Nathan Tarbert
      Nathan TarbertFeb 13, 2024

      I agree Shai, this was a lot of fun to put together and see the comparison back to back :)

  • Ferguson
    FergusonFeb 13, 2024

    Wow, this is really interesting. I think I need to check out Wing!

  • Philip Miglinci
    Philip MiglinciFeb 15, 2024

    Wing seems definitely cool, so can basically work with any cloud resources that provide terraform providers, but no need for writing .hcl ?

    • Nathan Tarbert
      Nathan TarbertFeb 15, 2024

      Hey @pmig, correct!

      Wing can compile to terraform and then you pick a target so there is no need to write .hcl

      If you look at our playground and click on the "AWS/TERRAFORM" tab, you will see all of the resources that are automatically generated.

      I hope this answers your question.

  • Sakar
    SakarFeb 15, 2024

    You can also use SST Framework for skinning Lambda Function. Wing is interesting do we have full control on development? Thank you for showing different skins for Lambda functions.

    • Shai Ber
      Shai BerFeb 15, 2024

      Hey Sakar, what do you mean by full control of development?

      • Sakar
        SakarFeb 17, 2024

        As a developer, we have many use cases. E.g., when we update DynamoDB, we want to send an email to the user. The writing step functions for many use cases, like receiving messages from an external payment gateway and so on. So a language must be flexible enough to be bent by the developers to support end-user needs. This is what I mean by development-friendly language.

  • Utpal Nadiger
    Utpal NadigerFeb 15, 2024

    Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

  • Bap
    BapFeb 16, 2024

    Here are some reasons as well people should be contributing to wing: linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ac...

  • Matija Sosic
    Matija SosicFeb 16, 2024

    nice one! How hard is it to learn Wing? What would you say it is the most similar to?

    • Nathan Tarbert
      Nathan TarbertFeb 16, 2024

      @matijasos, Wing is the most similar to JavaScript syntax.

      To give developers options and a better experience, we are rolling out full support for additional languages.
      TypeScript is the first and will be added within the coming weeks. The only caveat is you will have to install the Wing SDK.

      This will make the console fully accessible for local debugging and testing without having to learn the Wing language.

  • A.R
    A.RFeb 19, 2024

    "Considering the diverse set of tools discussed, what key factors or criteria would you prioritize when choosing a DevTool for managing AWS Lambda functions in a cloud development environment? Additionally, based on your experience or preferences, which tool do you find most effective, and why?"

    follow back for insight full discussion

  • Deb
    DebFeb 28, 2024

    Cool guide. :)

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