🗄️What does the term "Server-less" mean?

The term "Server-less" has many meanings, but what does it really mean?

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The concept of Server-less is that it does not require the use of any type of servers whatsoever. But that's a confusing definition because there are plenty of things that don't involve servers.

🚨Does using GitHub to manage your code repositories mean it is Serverless? Does Gmail run without a server?

In order to better understand Server-less, I have broken it down into three categories.

Server-less as SaaS

When you, as developers, are using a third-party service to handle any aspect of the software stack, that is considered being taking advantage of Server-less technology, or Software as a Service (SaaS).

To provide further context, here are a few examples.

Easy AUTH: Using Azure Easy AUTH for your app's authentication

GitHub: Using GitHub for hosting code repositories

Stripe: Using Stripe for payments

New Relic: Using a New Relic tool for monitoring

🚨Although it is helpful to understand that these SaaS solutions remove the requirement for developers to design and manage their own framework, it is not usually what we mean when we say Server-less.