Working with Functions

Introduction

Catalyst CLI enables you to set up and work with the project components that you did not initialize during the project initialization. You can set up the client and the functions directories from the CLI at any time while working with the project.

This feature is very convenient if you did not initialize the functions package during the project initialization, or if you initialized an empty project, and then later need the functions component to be added to your application. You can set up the functions directory with one function, and later add more functions to it as needed. You can learn more about Catalyst functions from the Functions help page.

When a Java, Node.js, or Python function is initialized or set up, the dependent files and the configuration files are added automatically to the function’s folder by Catalyst. Therefore, it is recommended you create Catalyst functions either using the CLI or the Catalyst console. This allows for the boilerplate code of the dependency files to be added properly in the standard project directory structure . The updated information about the function component will also be added to the catalyst.json file when you set it up.

You can also launch a node shell for testing, executing, and debugging Catalyst functions locally from the CLI after you code them. The CLI also lets you delete the deployed functions. We will discuss each of these CLI commands in this help document.