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Level 2: Build

Purpose​

Build real applications using serverless. Create REST APIs, database-backed functions, and event-driven workflows on AWS and Google Cloud.

Who It's For​

  • Developers who completed Level 1
  • Full-stack engineers building serverless systems
  • Prerequisites: Completed Level 1: Foundations

What You Will Build​

  • Complete REST APIs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
  • Database-backed functions (AWS & GCP)
  • Event-driven workflows
  • Infrastructure as Code
  • Mini project: Serverless API on both clouds

Lesson Agenda​

  1. REST APIs — API Gateway (AWS) vs. Cloud Run (GCP)
  2. Data Storage — DynamoDB vs. Firestore comparison
  3. Event Sources & Triggers — S3, Pub/Sub, Cloud Tasks
  4. Service Integration — SNS/SQS vs. Pub/Sub patterns
  5. Infrastructure as Code — SAM vs. Terraform/Deployment Manager
  6. Authentication — Lambda Authorizer vs. Cloud IAM
  7. Deployment — GitHub Actions for both clouds

AWS ↔ GCP Service Map​

LayerAWSGoogle Cloud
HTTP APIAPI GatewayCloud Run / Cloud API Gateway
NoSQL DatabaseDynamoDBFirestore (Native Mode)
Object StorageS3Cloud Storage
Event BusEventBridgeCloud Events / Pub/Sub
Task QueueSQSCloud Tasks
Pub/SubSNSCloud Pub/Sub
IaC ToolSAM / CloudFormationDeployment Manager / Terraform
CI/CDCodePipeline / GitHub ActionsCloud Build / GitHub Actions
SecretsSecrets ManagerSecret Manager
API AuthLambda Authorizer + API KeysCloud Identity / Service Accounts

Duration: 2–3 weeks

Time per lesson: 30–45 minutes

Project: Build Serverless API on AWS & GCP

Next level: Ready for Level 3: Operate — Monitoring and troubleshooting

Project (Cloud-Agnostic)​

Design a simple CRUD API with an event-driven side effect (e.g., send a notification after create).

Deliverables:

  1. Describe the vendor-neutral architecture (API, compute, data, events, observability).
  2. Map each component to AWS or GCP services.
  3. Explain why those services fit the workload.

If you want feedback, email your write-up to [email protected].

References​