aster.cloud aster.cloud
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
aster.cloud aster.cloud
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
  • Programming

Introducing Swift AWS Lambda Runtime

  • aster.cloud
  • June 1, 2020
  • 4 minute read

It is my pleasure to announce a new open source project for the Swift Server ecosystem, Swift AWS Lambda Runtime. Distributed as a Swift package, the Swift AWS Lambda Runtime is designed to help Swift developers build serverless functions for the Amazon Web Services Lambda platform.

The project is a group effort that included engineers across the Swift community, including engineers from Apple and Amazon. Notably Fabian Fett pioneered the work in the community and co-authored the library. As an open source library, anyone interested in contributing to the project can easily join in to help make it better.


Partner with aster.cloud
for your next big idea.
Let us know here.



From our partners:

CITI.IO :: Business. Institutions. Society. Global Political Economy.
CYBERPOGO.COM :: For the Arts, Sciences, and Technology.
DADAHACKS.COM :: Parenting For The Rest Of Us.
ZEDISTA.COM :: Entertainment. Sports. Culture. Escape.
TAKUMAKU.COM :: For The Hearth And Home.
ASTER.CLOUD :: From The Cloud And Beyond.
LIWAIWAI.COM :: Intelligence, Inside and Outside.
GLOBALCLOUDPLATFORMS.COM :: For The World's Computing Needs.
FIREGULAMAN.COM :: For The Fire In The Belly Of The Coder.
ASTERCASTER.COM :: Supra Astra. Beyond The Stars.
BARTDAY.COM :: Prosperity For Everyone.

Background

Many modern systems have client components, like iOS, macOS or watchOS applications, as well as server components with which those clients interact. Serverless functions are often the easiest and most efficient way for client application developers to extend their applications into the cloud.

Serverless functions are becoming an increasingly popular choice for running event-driven or otherwise ad-hoc compute tasks in the cloud. They power mission critical microservices and data intensive workloads. In many cases, serverless functions allow developers to more easily scale and control compute costs given their on-demand nature.

When using serverless functions, attention must be given to resource utilization as it directly impacts the costs of the system. This is where Swift shines! With its low memory footprint, deterministic performance, and quick start time, Swift is a fantastic match for the serverless functions architecture.

Combine this with Swift’s developer friendliness, expressiveness, and emphasis on safety, and we have a solution that is great for developers at all skill levels, scalable, and cost effective.

Read More  Oracle Expands Distributed Cloud Offerings to Help Organizations Innovate Anywhere

Swift AWS Lambda Runtime was designed to make building Lambda functions in Swift simple and safe. The library is an implementation of the AWS Lambda Runtime API and uses an embedded asynchronous HTTP Client that is fine-tuned for performance in the AWS Runtime context. The library provides a multi-tier API that allows building a range of Lambda functions: From quick and simple closures to complex, performance-sensitive event handlers.

How does it work?

Using Closures

The simplest way to use AWS Lambda Runtime is to pass in a closure, for example:

// Import the module
import AWSLambdaRuntime

// In this example we are receiving and responding with strings
Lambda.run { (context, payload: String, callback) in
  callback(.success("Hello, \(payload)"))
}

More commonly, the payload would be a JSON, which is modeled using Codable, for example:

// Import the module
import AWSLambdaRuntime

// Request, uses Codable for transparent JSON encoding
private struct Request: Codable {
  let name: String
}

// Response, uses Codable for transparent JSON encoding
private struct Response: Codable {
  let message: String
}

// In this example we are receiving and responding with JSON using Codable
Lambda.run { (context, request: Request, callback) in
  callback(.success(Response(message: "Hello, \(request.name)")))
}

Since Lambda functions are often triggered by events originating from the AWS platform such as SNS, SQS, or S3 events, the package also includes an AWSLambdaEvents module providing implementations for these common trigger event types. For example, handling a SQS message:

// Import the modules
import AWSLambdaRuntime
import AWSLambdaEvents

// In this example we are receiving a SQS Message, with no response (Void)
Lambda.run { (context, message: SQS.Message, callback) in
  ...
  callback(.success(Void()))
}

In addition to these common trigger events, AWSLambdaEvents also includes abstractions for integrating Lambda functions with APIGateway – an AWS system that helps exposing Lambda function as HTTP endpoints.

// Import the modules
import AWSLambdaRuntime
import AWSLambdaEvents

// In this example we are receiving an APIGateway.V2.Request,
// and respoding with APIGateway.V2.Response
Lambda.run { (context, request: APIGateway.V2.Request, callback) in
   ...
   callback(.success(APIGateway.V2.Response(statusCode: .accepted)))
}

Using EventLoopLambdaHandler

Modeling Lambda functions as closures is both simple and safe. Swift AWS Lambda Runtime will ensure that the user-provided function is offloaded from the network processing thread to its own thread so that even if the code becomes slow or unresponsive, the underlying Lambda process can continue and interact with the Runtime engine. This safety comes at a small performance penalty from context switching between the networking and processing threads. In most cases, the simplicity and safety of using the Closure-based API is preferred over the complexity of the performance-oriented API detailed below.

Read More  Why is the Swift Language Gaining Popularity? Is it Tailored Swift?

Performance-sensitive Lambda functions may choose to use a more complex API which allows the user code to run on the same thread as the networking handlers. Swift AWS Lambda Runtime uses SwiftNIO as its underlying networking engine, which means these APIs are based on SwiftNIO’s concurrency primitives like the EventLoop and EventLoopFuture.

For example, handling an SNS message:

// Import the modules
import AWSLambdaRuntime
import AWSLambdaEvents
import NIO

// Our Lambda handler, conforms to EventLoopLambdaHandler
struct Handler: EventLoopLambdaHandler {
    typealias In = SNS.Message // Request type
    typealias Out = Void // Response type, or Void

    // In this example we are receiving a SNS Message, with no response (Void)
    func handle(context: Lambda.Context, payload: In) -> EventLoopFuture {
        ...
        context.eventLoop.makeSucceededFuture(Void())
    }
}

Lambda.run(Handler())

Beyond the cognitive complexity of using the EventLoopFuture based APIs, note that these APIs should be used with extra care. An EventLoopLambdaHandler will execute the user-provided function on the same EventLoop (thread) as the library’s networking engine, putting a requirement on the implementation to never block the underlying EventLoop. In other words, the Lambda code should never use blocking API calls as it might prevent the library from interacting with the Lambda platform.

Additional resources

Additional documentation and examples can be found in the project’s readme.

Project Status

This is the beginning of a community-driven open-source project actively seeking contributions. While the core API is considered stable, the API may still evolve as it gets closer to a 1.0 version. There are several areas which need additional attention, including but not limited to:

  • Further performance tuning
  • Additional trigger events
  • Additional documentation and best practices
  • Additional examples
Read More  Just make it scale: An Aurora DSQL story

Getting Involved

If you are interested in Swift AWS Lambda Runtime, come and get involved! The source is available, and we encourage contributions from the open source community. If you have feedback, questions or would like to discuss the project, please feel free to chat on the Swift forums. If you would like to report bugs, please use the GitHub issue tracker. We look forward to working with you, and helping move the industry forward to a better, safer programming future.

 

 

 

Tom Doron
Tom Doron is a member of the Swift Core Team and the Swift Server Work Group.
He manages a team working on server-side Swift libraries at Apple.
Source: swift.org

For enquiries, product placements, sponsorships, and collaborations, connect with us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Our humans need coffee too! Your support is highly appreciated, thank you!

aster.cloud

Related Topics
  • AWS
  • AWS Lambda Runtime API
  • Lambda Runtime
  • Swift
  • Swift AWS Lambda Runtime
  • Swift.org
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Architecture
  • Data
  • Engineering
  • People
  • Programming
  • Software Engineering
  • Technology
  • Work & Jobs

Predictions: Top 25 Careers Likely In High Demand In The Future

  • June 6, 2023
View Post
  • Programming
  • Software Engineering
  • Technology

Build a Python App to Alert You When Asteroids Are Close to Earth

  • May 22, 2023
View Post
  • Programming

Illuminating Interactions: Visual State In Jetpack Compose

  • May 20, 2023
View Post
  • Computing
  • Data
  • Programming
  • Software
  • Software Engineering

The Top 10 Data Interchange Or Data Exchange Format Used Today

  • May 11, 2023
View Post
  • Architecture
  • Programming
  • Public Cloud

From Receipts To Riches: Save Money W/ Google Cloud & Supermarket Bills – Part 1

  • May 8, 2023
View Post
  • Programming
  • Public Cloud

3 New Ways To Authorize Users To Your Private Workloads On Cloud Run

  • May 4, 2023
View Post
  • Programming
  • Public Cloud

Buffer HTTP Requests With Cloud Tasks

  • May 4, 2023
View Post
  • Programming
  • Public Cloud
  • Software
  • Software Engineering

Learn About Google Cloud’s Updated Renderer For The Maps SDK For Android

  • May 4, 2023

Stay Connected!
LATEST
  • 1
    The Summer Adventures : Hiking and Nature Walks Essentials
    • June 2, 2025
  • 2
    Just make it scale: An Aurora DSQL story
    • May 29, 2025
  • 3
    Reliance on US tech providers is making IT leaders skittish
    • May 28, 2025
  • Examine the 4 types of edge computing, with examples
    • May 28, 2025
  • AI and private cloud: 2 lessons from Dell Tech World 2025
    • May 28, 2025
  • 6
    TD Synnex named as UK distributor for Cohesity
    • May 28, 2025
  • Weigh these 6 enterprise advantages of storage as a service
    • May 28, 2025
  • 8
    Broadcom’s ‘harsh’ VMware contracts are costing customers up to 1,500% more
    • May 28, 2025
  • 9
    Pulsant targets partner diversity with new IaaS solution
    • May 23, 2025
  • 10
    Growing AI workloads are causing hybrid cloud headaches
    • May 23, 2025
about
Hello World!

We are aster.cloud. We’re created by programmers for programmers.

Our site aims to provide guides, programming tips, reviews, and interesting materials for tech people and those who want to learn in general.

We would like to hear from you.

If you have any feedback, enquiries, or sponsorship request, kindly reach out to us at:

[email protected]
Most Popular
  • Understand how Windows Server 2025 PAYG licensing works
    • May 20, 2025
  • By the numbers: How upskilling fills the IT skills gap
    • May 21, 2025
  • 3
    Cloud adoption isn’t all it’s cut out to be as enterprises report growing dissatisfaction
    • May 15, 2025
  • 4
    Hybrid cloud is complicated – Red Hat’s new AI assistant wants to solve that
    • May 20, 2025
  • 5
    Google is getting serious on cloud sovereignty
    • May 22, 2025
  • /
  • Technology
  • Tools
  • About
  • Contact Us

Input your search keywords and press Enter.