In this chapter, we're going to add Amazon API Gateway to the mix and talk about why this service is such a good fit for Lambda. By adding an API gateway to our Lambda solutions, we are also introducing some features and benefits that will help to make our architectures production-ready. These features are centered around API management, which can help with things such as throttling and quota management, monetization of your APIs, and added security functionality. One of the additional benefits of using Amazon API Gateway over other options is its native integration with Lambda along with many other integrations in the AWS ecosystem.

We'll go over some of these features and then build on the knowledge learned from the previous chapter to explain how to create an API backed by a Lambda function.

We'll cover the following topics:

• Serverless APIs—build, deployment, and use cases
• WebSocket APIs
• How to secure your API with IAM, Cognito, and custom authorizers
• Overview of API management including deployment options
• Building your own API with Lambda using the console and the AWS CLI