AWS Lambda Java Integration

2. Project Structure

my-lambda-function/
├── build.gradle (or pom.xml)
├── src/
│   └── main/
│       ├── java/
│       │   └── com/example/
│       │       └── Handler.java
│       └── resources/
│           └── application.yml (Micronaut only)
└── serverless.yml (or template.yaml)

3. Implementation Examples

Micronaut Handler

@FunctionBean("my-function")
public class MyFunction implements Function<APIGatewayProxyRequestEvent, APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent> {

    private final MyService service;

    public MyFunction(MyService service) {
        this.service = service;
    }

    @Override
    public APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent apply(APIGatewayProxyRequestEvent request) {
        // Process request
        return new APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent()
            .withStatusCode(200)
            .withBody("{\"message\": \"Success\"}");
    }
}

Raw Java Handler

public class MyHandler implements RequestHandler<APIGatewayProxyRequestEvent, APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent> {

    // Singleton pattern for warm invocations
    private static final MyService service = new MyService();

    @Override
    public APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent handleRequest(APIGatewayProxyRequestEvent request, Context context) {
        return new APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent()
            .withStatusCode(200)
            .withBody("{\"message\": \"Success\"}");
    }
}

Core Concepts

Cold Start Optimization

Cold start time depends on initialization code. Key strategies:

1. Lazy Initialization - Defer heavy setup from constructor
2. Singleton Pattern - Cache initialized services as static fields
3. Minimal Dependencies - Reduce JAR size by excluding unused libraries
4. AOT Compilation - Micronaut's ahead-of-time compilation eliminates reflection

Connection Management

// GOOD: Initialize once, reuse across invocations
private static final DynamoDbClient dynamoDb = DynamoDbClient.builder()
    .region(Region.US_EAST_1)
    .build();

// AVOID: Creating clients in handler method
public APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent handleRequest(...) {
    DynamoDbClient client = DynamoDbClient.create(); // Slow on every invocation
}

Error Handling

@Override
public APIGatewayProxyResponseEvent handleRequest(APIGatewayProxyRequestEvent request, Context context) {
    try {
        // Business logic
        return successResponse(result);
    } catch (ValidationException e) {
        return errorResponse(400, e.getMessage());
    } catch (Exception e) {
        context.getLogger().log("Error: " + e.getMessage());
        return errorResponse(500, "Internal error");
    }
}

Best Practices

Memory and Timeout Configuration

• Memory: Start with 512MB, adjust based on profiling
• Timeout: Set based on cold start + expected processing time
  • Micronaut: 10-30 seconds for cold start buffer
  • Raw Java: 5-10 seconds typically sufficient

Packaging

• Use Gradle Shadow Plugin or Maven Shade Plugin
• Exclude unnecessary dependencies
• Target Java 17 or 21 for best performance

Monitoring

• Enable X-Ray tracing for performance analysis
• Log initialization time separately from processing time
• Use CloudWatch Insights to track cold vs warm starts

Deployment Options

Serverless Framework