Building at the Edge: A New Paradigm

Edge computing represents a fundamental shift in how we think about web application architecture. Instead of relying on centralized servers, we can now run our code closer to users, resulting in lower latency and better performance.

What is Edge Computing?

Edge computing moves computation and data storage closer to the location where it is needed. For web applications, this means running code at edge locations distributed around the world, rather than in a single central data center.

Benefits of Edge Computing

1. Lower Latency: Code runs physically closer to users
2. Better Performance: Reduced round-trip times for requests
3. Improved Reliability: No single point of failure
4. Cost Efficiency: Only pay for what you use

Cloudflare Workers

Cloudflare Workers is one of the leading edge computing platforms. It allows you to deploy JavaScript code that runs on Cloudflare's global network of over 300 data centers.

addEventListener('fetch', event => {
  event.respondWith(handleRequest(event.request))
})

async function handleRequest(request) {
  return new Response('Hello from the edge!', {
    headers: { 'content-type': 'text/plain' },
  })
}

Real-World Applications

Edge computing is particularly well-suited for:

• API gateways and routing
• Authentication and authorization
• Static site generation
• Real-time data processing
• A/B testing and feature flags

The Future is Distributed

As we move forward, edge computing will become increasingly important. The ability to run code close to users opens up new possibilities for building fast, reliable, and scalable applications.