Coding Azure functions using Visual Studio

Visual Studio is one of the best options for developing Azure functions. To do so, you must set Azure Development Workload, which will help enable Azure functions development natively on the platform.

Once you have done this, the same project you created using VS Code will be available for you to use at Visual Studio. The difference between VS Code and Visual Studio in this case is that Visual Studio will provide an easier setup environment for debugging and a lot of visual dialogs that can facilitate your decisions.

Figure 1.16: Creating a new Azure function for the function app

These dialogs simplify the development process, so if you have the opportunity to use Visual Studio, this will be the best option.

Figure 1.17: Defining the Azure function trigger type

Once again, when you create a Function Apps project, you can add more than one function to this project, which is extremely useful for microservices solutions. In the following example, we have added a second HTTP trigger function called Status to help you understand this possibility and to let you see how these functions work together in a single function app.

Figure 1.18: Function app with more than one function

It is important to mention that the same code developed initially using VS Code can continue to be maintained using Visual Studio, and vice versa. This is great because you can have different developers in the same team using the two environments and this will not cause a problem, at least not with Function Apps projects.

Visual Studio is an excellent option for developing Azure functions due to its comprehensive setup environment for debugging and integrated visual dialogs, which make development easier. Developers can switch between VS Code and Visual Studio without compatibility issues, facilitating team collaboration. Multiple functions, such as HTTP triggers, can be in a single Function Apps project, supporting microservices solutions.