deploy serverless infrastructure with openwhisk

What is Serverless?

Before talking about OpenWhisk, let’s understand serverless.

• Normally, when you run code (like a website backend), you need to manage servers.
• With serverless, you just write the code, and the cloud runs it for you—no need to worry about servers!
• You pay only when your code runs (not when it’s idle).

What is Apache OpenWhisk?

OpenWhisk is an open-source serverless platform. It lets you run small pieces of code (called "functions") in the cloud without managing servers.

How Does It Work?

1. You write a function (in Python, JavaScript, Java, etc.).
2. Upload it to OpenWhisk.
3. Set a trigger (like an HTTP request, a database change, or a scheduled time).
4. When the trigger happens, OpenWhisk runs your function automatically.

If you want to test it on your own machine:

1. Install Docker: https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/
2. Clone OpenWhisk:

git clone https://github.com/apache/openwhisk.git
cd openwhisk

Start OpenWhisk (this may take a few minutes):

./gradlew core:standalone:bootRun

Use the wsk CLI to interact with it:

• Download wsk from OpenWhisk releases .