C4: Container, Code, Cloud & Context

Single Table Design (STD) is the most controversial and misunderstood DynamoDB pattern. The premise: store all entity types in one table, use generic partition and sort keys, and leverage Composite Primary Keys and GSIs for access patterns. When done correctly, STD eliminates N+1 queries, reduces costs, and simplifies IAM. When done incorrectly, it creates debugging […]

The Azure Functions Premium Plan (EP1, EP2, EP3) eliminates the pain points of the Consumption plan: cold starts, 10-minute timeouts, and limited VNET connectivity. However, Premium comes at a significant cost premium, and choosing incorrectly can result in either poor performance or wasted spend. This guide provides a data-driven approach to deciding when Premium makes […]

AWS S3 Object Lambda is one of the most innovative yet underutilized AWS services. It allows you to intercept S3 GET requests and transform data on-the-fly using a Lambda function—without storing multiple copies of the data. Use cases include PII redaction, image resizing, format conversion, decompression, and dynamic watermarking. This comprehensive guide covers architecture patterns, […]

Azure Container Apps (ACA) represents Microsoft’s vision for a serverless container platform that sits between Azure Functions and Azure Kubernetes Service in complexity. Now Generally Available, ACA provides a fully managed environment for deploying containerized applications with built-in support for KEDA autoscaling, Dapr integration, and seamless CI/CD. Having deployed multiple production workloads on ACA, this […]

Lambda Function URLs provide a built-in HTTPS endpoint without API Gateway. This simplifies architectures and reduces cost for simple use cases. When to Use Use Function URLs: Webhooks, internal services, simple APIs. Use API Gateway: Rate limiting, API keys, request validation, caching.

Event Grid is the message backbone of Azure. It uses a push model (HTTP webhooks) with automatic retries and dead-lettering. Advanced Filtering