Durable Functions for workflows in Azure - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What are Durable Functions in Azure?

Durable Functions are an extension of Azure Functions that let you write stateful workflows in a serverless environment. They manage state, checkpoints, and restarts automatically.

beginner

What is an orchestrator function in Durable Functions?

An orchestrator function defines the workflow logic. It calls activity functions and manages their execution order, retries, and state without losing progress.

beginner

How do activity functions differ from orchestrator functions?

Activity functions perform the actual tasks or work units. Orchestrator functions coordinate these tasks but do not do the work themselves.

intermediate

Why are Durable Functions good for long-running workflows?

Because they save state and checkpoints, Durable Functions can pause and resume workflows even after restarts or failures, making them reliable for long tasks.

intermediate

What is the role of the Durable Task Framework in Durable Functions?

The Durable Task Framework handles the state, checkpoints, and messaging behind the scenes, so developers can focus on workflow logic without managing infrastructure.

Which function type in Durable Functions manages the workflow logic?

A Orchestrator function

B Activity function

C Trigger function

D HTTP function

The orchestrator function defines and manages the workflow logic by calling activity functions.

What happens if a Durable Function workflow is interrupted?

A It automatically resumes from the last checkpoint

B It loses all progress and restarts from the beginning

C It stops permanently

D It requires manual restart

Durable Functions save checkpoints and state, allowing workflows to resume automatically after interruptions.

Which of these is NOT a benefit of Durable Functions?

A Automatic state management

B Manual server provisioning

C Support for long-running workflows

D Built-in retries and error handling

Durable Functions are serverless and do not require manual server provisioning.

What does an activity function do in Durable Functions?

A Coordinates workflow steps

B Triggers the workflow

C Performs a specific task or action

D Manages checkpoints

Activity functions perform the actual work or tasks called by the orchestrator.

Which Azure service is extended by Durable Functions?

A Azure Logic Apps

B Azure App Service

C Azure Kubernetes Service

D Azure Functions

Durable Functions are an extension of Azure Functions to support stateful workflows.

Explain how Durable Functions manage state and why this is useful for workflows.

Think about what happens if a workflow stops unexpectedly.

Describe the roles of orchestrator and activity functions in a Durable Function workflow.

Compare it to a manager and workers in a team.