Azure Developer — Complete Learning Package
Beginner Labs (1–15)
- Deploy App Service app from GitHub
- Create HTTP-trigger Azure Function
- Blob-trigger Function for image processing
- Timer-trigger Function
- Managed Identity → Key Vault access
- Blob upload/download using SDK
- Service Bus queue producer/consumer
- Cosmos DB CRUD operations
- Redis cache-aside pattern
- Durable Functions chaining
- Durable Functions fan-out/fan-in
- Event Grid + Function subscriber
- APIM with Function API
- Feature flags with App Configuration
- Integration testing with Azurite
Intermediate Labs (16–35)
- Build REST API with OpenAPI
- JWT validation with Entra ID
- Deployment slots (staging → prod)
- Cosmos DB change feed
- Containerized API (Container Apps)
- Saga pattern with Durable Functions
- Outbox pattern with Cosmos DB
- SignalR real-time notifications
- gRPC service on AKS
- GraphQL API with Functions
- Custom APIM policies
- Azure AD B2C auth
- Service Bus sessions (FIFO)
- Idempotent messaging
- CI/CD with GitHub Actions
- Bicep infra templates
- Retry + circuit breaker (Polly)
- Blob → Function → Cosmos pipeline
- User delegation SAS
- Health check endpoint
Advanced Labs (36–50)
- Microservices with Container Apps + Dapr
- CQRS with Event Grid + Cosmos DB
- Serverless API platform (APIM + Functions)
- Multi-tenant SaaS with RLS
- Event sourcing with Cosmos DB
- Custom Function binding
- Distributed locking with Redis
- Real-time dashboard (SignalR)
- Strangler pattern migration
- End-to-end CI/CD pipeline
- Observability with App Insights
- Multi-region API
- Secretless architecture
- API versioning strategy
- Production-grade app build
Major Projects
Core Systems
- E-commerce API (Cosmos + Functions + APIM)
- Real-time chat (SignalR + Cosmos)
- Order processing pipeline (Event Grid + Durable Functions)
- Notification service (Event Grid + SignalR)
- Payment system (Functions + Service Bus + SQL)
Data & Analytics
- Analytics event collector (Event Hubs + Cosmos)
- Search API (AI Search + Functions)
- Customer 360 API
Advanced Systems
- Multi-tenant SaaS platform
- Real-time bidding system
- Workflow engine with Durable Functions
- Serverless CMS
- Full cloud-native application
Gotchas & Common Mistakes
- Functions cold start on Consumption plan
- Cosmos DB partition key is immutable
- Cross-partition queries cost more RUs
- Service Bus messages must be completed
- Event Grid delivers at least once → handle duplicates
- Key Vault throttling → cache secrets
- Durable Functions must be deterministic
- Redis: use connection multiplexing
- Application Insights sampling may miss data
- Always use retry + circuit breaker patterns
- Never store secrets in code
- Use structured logging (JSON)
- Enable HTTPS always
- Use async/await in Functions
- Handle memory limits in Functions
Development Playbook
Workflow
- Develop locally (Azurite / emulator)
- Run unit + integration tests
- CI: build + test
- CD: deploy to staging
- Smoke test → production swap
- Monitor with App Insights
Code Review Checklist
- No credentials in code
- Managed Identity used
- Proper error handling + logging
- Retry with exponential backoff
- Idempotent processing
- Structured logging
- Health endpoint present
- CORS configured
- HTTPS enforced
- API versioned