AWS Amplify - your first app

Welcome to your first app with AWS Amplify! In this article, I’ll introduce you to the powerful set of tools and services that make up AWS Amplify, and guide you through the process of getting started with them.

What is AWS Amplify?

AWS Amplify is a collection of tools and services that makes it easy for you to build, deploy, and manage mobile and web applications on the AWS cloud. It provides a range of features and services that help you develop, test, and deploy your applications with ease, including:

• A command-line interface (CLI) for building and deploying your applications
• A set of libraries for accessing AWS services from your app
• A range of pre-built UI components for building user interfaces
• Tools for testing and debugging your applications

Why or Why not AWS Amplify?

Pros

• Ease of use: AWS Amplify makes it easy for developers to build, deploy, and manage applications on the AWS cloud. With a simple command-line interface and a range of pre-built UI components and libraries, Amplify takes care of much of the heavy lifting involved in cloud development, allowing developers to focus on building great experiences for their users.
• Scalability: Amplify applications can automatically scale to meet the needs of your users, whether you have a few hundred or millions of them. This makes it easy to build apps that can handle heavy traffic and grow with your business.
• Integration with other AWS services: Amplify integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, such as Amazon S3, Amazon Cognito, and Amazon DynamoDB. This makes it easy to build apps that take advantage of the full range of AWS features and capabilities.
• Cost-effective: Amplify provides a pay-as-you-go pricing model, which means that you only pay for the resources you use. This can be a cost-effective way to build and deploy apps, especially if you are just starting out or don't have a lot of resources.

Cons

• Limited to AWS: Amplify is designed specifically for building applications on the AWS cloud. If you are looking for a more general-purpose development platform, you may want to consider other options.
• Learning curve (until you’ve read this article!) : While Amplify is generally easy to use, there is still a learning curve involved in getting started with the platform. You will need to become familiar with the various AWS services and tools that Amplify provides, as well as the Amplify CLI and libraries.
• Dependency on AWS: Because Amplify is tightly integrated with AWS, you will need to have an AWS account and be familiar with the AWS ecosystem in order to use it. If you are not already familiar with AWS, you may need to spend some time learning about the platform before you can get started with Amplify.

Getting started with AWS Amplify

Getting started with AWS Amplify is easy! The first step is to install the Amplify CLI on your machine. This is a simple process that involves downloading the CLI and running a few commands to set it up.

To download the Amplify CLI, visit the AWS Amplify documentation. Follow the instructions provided there to install the CLI on your system.

Once you have the Amplify CLI installed, you can use it to create a new Amplify project. This will create a new folder on your machine with a basic file structure and some starter code. To create a new project, open a terminal and navigate to the folder where you want to create your project. Then, run the following command:

amplify init

This will prompt you to provide some information about your project, such as its name and the region where you want to host it. Once you have provided this information, the Amplify CLI will create a new project for you and set up the necessary files and directories.

With your Amplify project set up, you can use the CLI to add the AWS services that you want to use in your application. For example, you might want to add a database or authentication service. To add a service to your project, run the following command:

amplify add <service>

Replace <service> with the name of the service that you want to add. For example, to add a database service, you would run amplify add database. The Amplify CLI will then guide you through the process of setting up and configuring the service for your project.

Building your first app with AWS Amplify

Great! Now that you have your Amplify project set up, it's time to start building your first app. As I mentioned earlier, Amplify provides a range of libraries and UI components that make it easy to build scalable applications quickly.

To get started, let's create a new component for our app using the Amplify CLI. In your terminal, navigate to your Amplify project folder and run the following command:

amplify add component

This will prompt you to select a type of component to create. For this example, let's choose a "Form" component. The Amplify CLI will then ask you to name your component and provide a few additional details. Once you have provided this information, the CLI will generate a new file for your component in your project folder.

The file that the Amplify CLI generates for your component will contain some basic code and a template that you can use to build your component. Here is an example of what the file might look like:

import React from 'react';
import { Form } from '@aws-amplify/ui-react';

const MyForm = () => (
  <Form>
    <Form.Field label="First Name" name="firstName" required />
    <Form.Field label="Last Name" name="lastName" required />
    <Form.Field label="Email" name="email" required type="email" />
    <Form.Field label="Phone Number" name="phoneNumber" type="tel" />
    <Form.Button type="submit">Submit</Form.Button>
  </Form>
);

export default MyForm;

This code creates a simple form with four input fields and a submit button. The Form component is provided by the @aws-amplify/ui-react library, which is a collection of pre-built UI components that you can use to build your app's user interface.

You can customize this form by adding your own HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as needed. For example, you might want to add some additional fields or validation to the form, or style it to match your app's branding.

Once you have your component set up the way you want it, you can use the Amplify CLI to deploy it to the cloud. This will create a new instance of your app on AWS, making it available to users around the world.

To deploy your component, simply run the following command in your terminal:

amplify publish

This will build your app and upload it to AWS, where it will be hosted and served to users. You can then access your app by visiting the URL provided by the Amplify CLI in your browser.

When you run the amplify publish command to deploy your app, the Amplify CLI will output a URL that you can use to access your app in a web browser. The exact format of this URL will depend on the specific hosting provider that you are using with Amplify, but it will typically look something like this:

https://<your-app-id>.aws-amplify.com

For example, if your app's ID is "my-amplify-app", the URL to access your app would be:

https://my-amplify-app.aws-amplify.com

You can also use the Amplify CLI to view a list of your deployed apps and their URLs by running the following command:

amplify hosting list

This will output a list of all the apps that you have deployed with Amplify, along with their URLs and other relevant information. You can then use these URLs to access your apps in a web browser.

Conclusion

And thats it you have completed and made your first AWS amplify app…

I hope you found this article helpful and are now well on your way to becoming an expert in building and deploying mobile and web applications on the AWS cloud.
if you ever get stuck, the AWS Amplify documentation is always there to help. And hey, if you're feeling especially confident now that you're an AWS Amplify expert, you might even try your hand at building a cloud-powered magic 8-ball. Who knows, it might just become the next big thing!