easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
Cloud Digital Leader Practice Question: A developer wants to run her application code…
A developer wants to run her application code without managing any servers, operating systems, or runtime environments. She wants to focus entirely on writing business logic. Which cloud service model best fits this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
Google Cloud often tests the distinction between PaaS and FaaS by describing a scenario where the developer wants to avoid managing servers and runtimes, leading candidates to choose PaaS because it abstracts the OS, but the key difference is that FaaS also eliminates runtime management and allows function-level granularity, which PaaS does not fully achieve.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Serverless / Functions as a Service (FaaS), where the developer writes and deploys code functions and the provider manages all underlying infrastructure automatically
Serverless/FaaS (Option C) is the correct choice because it abstracts away all server, OS, and runtime management, allowing the developer to deploy individual functions that execute in response to events. The cloud provider automatically scales and manages the underlying infrastructure, so the developer writes only business logic without provisioning or patching anything.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where the developer provisions virtual machines and installs the runtime
Why it's wrong here
IaaS provides raw compute, storage, and networking resources, typically as virtual machines. The developer must provision those VMs, install the operating system, set up the runtime, apply patches, and handle capacity planning and scaling. This requires substantial infrastructure management, directly contrary to the scenario where the developer focuses only on business logic.
- ✗
Platform as a Service (PaaS), where the developer deploys code to a managed platform that handles the OS and runtime
Why it's wrong here
PaaS does manage the underlying OS, runtime, and middleware, so it is closer to the target model. However, PaaS still requires the developer to choose the service tier, configure application hosting, manage deployment packages, and often plan for scaling or maintain a persistent environment. The question describes an even more abstracted model where the developer never considers servers or platform maintenance at all.
- ✓
Serverless / Functions as a Service (FaaS), where the developer writes and deploys code functions and the provider manages all underlying infrastructure automatically
Why this is correct
FaaS/serverless is the model where the developer's only concern is the business logic in the function. There are no servers to configure, no OS to patch, no capacity to plan. The runtime is automatically managed and scaled by the provider.
- ✗
Software as a Service (SaaS), where the developer uses a fully managed application built by the cloud provider
Why it's wrong here
SaaS is a delivery model for end-user applications that are fully built, hosted, and managed by the vendor. A developer using SaaS does not write or deploy code for their own business logic; they only configure and use the provided application. The question specifically describes a developer writing and deploying code functions, which SaaS does not support.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Cloud Digital Transformation
Key term
Serverless
Serverless is a cloud computing model where the cloud provider manages the servers, and you only pay for the actual compute time your code uses, without having to worry about provisioning or maintaining infrastructure.
Key term
Service
A service is a software component or system that performs a specific function and is available to be used by other programs or users over a network.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This GCDL practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the GCDL exam.