Introduction to AWS Amplify

Amazon Web Services are some of the most useful products we have access to.  One such service that is becoming increasingly popular as the days go by is AWS Amplify. It was released in 2018, and it runs on Amazon’s cloud infrastructure. It is in direct competition with Firebase, but there are features that set them apart.

The user experience on any application is the most important aspect that needs to be taken care of. AWS Amplify helps unify the user experience across platforms such as web and mobile. This makes it easier for a user to choose which one they are most comfortable with. It is useful in the case of front-end development as it helps in building and deployment. Many who use it claim that it actually makes full-stack development a lot easier with its scalability.

Main features of AWS Amplify

• Can be used for authenticating users, which is powered by Amazon Cognito.
• With help from Amazon AppSync and Amazon S3, it can securely store and sync data seamlessly between applications.
• As it is serverless, making changes to any back-end related cases has become simpler. Hence, less time is spent on maintaining and configuring back-end features.
• It also allows for offline synchronization.
• It promotes faster app development.
• It is useful for implementing machine learning and AI-related requirements as it is powered by Amazon machine learning services.
• It is useful for continuous deployment.

Various AWS services are used for various functionalities. AWS Amplify offers. The main components are libraries, UI components, and the CLI tool chain. It also provides static web hosting using the AWS Amplify Console.

Let’s have a brief look at some of these components:

Libraries of AWS Amplify

The libraries are powered by AWS services. The help in the production of applications is immense, especially in the case of the back-end.

• Authentication: Various authentication processes, is immense such as login, sign up by either Google, Facebook, or Amazon itself is supported. This is done with the help of Amazon Cognito.
• API: Making HTTP requests to REST and GraphQL have been made easier. With the ability to consolidate information from its services such as AWS lambda and more and with the use of other services such as Amazon AppSync, being able to build applications with offline synchronization has become possible.
• Analytics: Analytics plays an important part in the case of all applications. With the help of services such as Amazon pinpoint, developers can understand their user’s needs. This service also helps in case of push notifications which is another feature.
• DataStore: Amazon AppSync helps make data distribution less of a hassle as no additional code is required to execute the process in offline and online cases.
• Predictions: Amazon Sagemaker enhances your Machine Learning and AI experiences. Doing text translation or converting text to speech can be done with a lot fewer efforts than you would put in initially.
• Storage: Managing and storing user data security is handled by Amazon S3.
• Interactions: Powered by Amazon Lex, you can easily build conversational bots with simple code.

UI Components of AWS Amplify

• AWS Amplify provides drop-in UI components for Authentication, Storage, and Interactions. 

Static Web Hosting

• From a custom domain to a free HTTPS certificate, building and deploying a full-stack website is fully covered. It ensures a continuous workflow along with global availability. 
• Deployment takes only a few steps compared to many other alternatives. During the development stage, the Amplify framework is used to configure the back-end requirements and connect with the required application. For the deployment part, Amplify Console is used to connect to a repository with the required files or directly upload them. After that, the build settings are determined and then it goes to deployment.

AWS Amplify is a powerful set of tools and services that can be used to build full-stack applications on AWS with ease. Here are some key things you can build with Amplify:

1. Web Applications

• Frontend Hosting: Host static and server-side rendered web applications, such as those built with React, Angular, Vue, Next.js, and more.
• Backend Integration: Integrate with scalable backend services, including databases (DynamoDB, RDS), APIs (GraphQL with AWS AppSync, REST with API Gateway), and file storage (S3).

2. Mobile Applications

• iOS and Android Support: Develop cross-platform mobile applications using frameworks like React Native, Ionic, Flutter, or native iOS/Android.
• Authentication: Implement authentication using AWS Cognito, enabling user sign-up, sign-in, and access control.
• Push Notifications: Integrate push notifications using AWS Pinpoint.

3. Serverless Backends

• GraphQL APIs: Quickly create scalable GraphQL APIs using AWS AppSync.
• REST APIs: Build and deploy RESTful APIs using API Gateway and Lambda functions.
• Data Storage: Utilize managed databases (DynamoDB, Aurora) and file storage (S3).

4. Real-time Applications

• Subscriptions: Implement real-time data synchronization and subscriptions with GraphQL.
• Chat Applications: Build chat applications with real-time messaging features.

5. Machine Learning Integration

• AI/ML Services: Integrate AWS machine learning services like Recognition for image analysis, Polly for text-to-speech, and Comprehend for natural language processing.

Pre-requisites:

• Node.js: Ensure you have Node.js installed. Download from Node.js official site.
• NPM: Node.js comes with NPM (Node Package Manager).
• AWS Account: Create an account at AWS.

Follow the below guide for a successful installation of AWS Amplify

Installation Steps:

1. Open Node.js Command Prompt: Launch the command prompt provided by Node.js.

Install Amplify CLI: Run the following command to install the AWS Amplify Command-Line Interface (CLI):

npm install -g @aws-amplify/cli 

This process can take anywhere between a few minutes to more than 10 minutes but it won’t go on for too long.

Once this gets done, you have successfully completed the installation process!

Install Amplify CLI: Run the following command to install the AWS Amplify Command-Line Interface (CLI):

amplify configure 

Note: If you used the clear command to clear the screen during the process, it is fine. The screen might not be clear for everyone.

This will prompt you to sign in to your AWS account. Sign in as a root user to establish the connection successfully.

Sign in as a root user, hence this will successfully establish a connection. Now you are ready to work with AWS Amplify!

AWS Amplify offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Here are the key components:

1. Hosting

• Free Tier:
  • 5 GB stored per month
  • 1 GB served per month
  • 1000 build minutes per month
• Beyond Free Tier:
  • Storage: $0.023 per GB stored per month
  • Data Transfer: $0.15 per GB served
  • Build & Deploy: $0.01 per build minute

2. Backend Services

• API Requests:
  • GraphQL and REST API requests are billed based on the number of requests made.
  • Free Tier: 1 million requests per month.
  • Beyond Free Tier: $4.00 per million requests.
• Storage:
  • Charged based on the amount of data stored.
  • Free Tier: 1 GB of storage.
  • Beyond Free Tier: $0.25 per GB per month.

3. Authentication

• Active Users:
  • Free Tier: 50,000 monthly active users.
  • Beyond Free Tier: $0.0055 per MAU (Monthly Active User) for the first 50,000 users, with decreasing rates for higher tiers.

4. Push Notifications

• Messages:
  • Free Tier: 1 million push notifications per month.
  • Beyond Free Tier: $1.00 per million messages.

What exactly is AWS Amplify?

AWS Amplify is a set of tools and services designed to help developers build, deploy, and manage scalable full-stack web and mobile applications. It simplifies backend integration, hosting, and authentication using AWS services.

What are the benefits of using AWS amplify?

AWS Amplify simplifies full-stack application development with built-in tools for hosting, backend integration, and continuous deployment, allowing developers to rapidly build and scale web and mobile apps. It offers seamless integration with other AWS services, enhancing functionality and performance.

What is the difference between Lambda and amplify?

AWS Lambda is a serverless computing service that runs code in response to events without managing servers. AWS Amplify is a development platform for building full-stack web and mobile applications with integrated backend services.

Is AWS amplify an EC2?

No, AWS Amplify is not an EC2. AWS Amplify is a set of tools and services for building and deploying full-stack web and mobile applications, while EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) provides scalable virtual servers for running applications.

Why do we use amplify?

We use AWS Amplify to rapidly build, deploy, and manage full-stack web and mobile applications with integrated backend services like authentication, APIs, and storage, all streamlined through a unified interface. It simplifies development workflows and accelerates time to market.