Google App Engine (GAE) is a cloud-based Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that lets developers build, deploy, and scale web applications without managing infrastructure. It operates on a serverless architecture within Google’s global infrastructure. Google automatically handles:
- Server provisioning
- Scaling (up or down based on traffic)
- Load balancing
- Security patches
- Monitoring and logging
Because of its serverless nature, developers can focus on writing code while Google manages the underlying infrastructure.
When creating GAE, we will be presented with the option to chose the language from dropdown and also to chose the environment (standard or flexible)
Supported Programming Languages
Google App Engine supports a wide range of popular programming languages, including:
- Python
- Java
- Node.js
- Go
- PHP
- Ruby
- .NET / C# (via Flexible environment)
The Standard environment uses Google-managed runtimes, while the Flexible environment supports custom runtimes through Docker, giving developers full control over dependencies.
When to Use Standard vs Flexible — Which to Choose
(TIP: GCP Exam Question)
Choose Standard Environment when:
- Application is fairly simple, stateless, and written in one of GAE’s supported languages/runtimes.
- Expect sudden or unpredictable traffic, and want to scale to zero when idle to save cost.
- Fast startup time (instances start in seconds) and minimal operational overhead.
Choose Flexible Environment when:
- Application requires custom libraries, native code, background processes, disk writes, or more CPU/memory than allowed in standard sandbox.
Important Considerations in Flexible environment:
- A) At least one instance must always be running, making it more expensive
- B) Startup time is slower than Standard
- C) Ideal for workloads requiring custom binaries, libraries, or native code
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