Logic apps ready for prime time

A couple of years ago, as a result of a company wide IT directive to use Low Code where possible, I looked at using Logic Apps to solve a particular problem. At that time I found that they were awkward to put together and rather limited in many ways.

Fast forward two years and I needed to create an workflow to:

1. Import a png, bmp or jpeg file from my desktop
2. Create multiple versions (different sizes) of each file
3. Convert each version to webP format
4. Put each version into Azure Storage using a naming convention.

Pretty quickly I came to the conclusion that the best solution would be to use a Logic App to import the original file from my desktop and then to have the Logic App call an Azure Function which would do the rest. The Logic App however was crucial in providing the orchestration for the workflow.

I'm now impressed by Logic Apps. Firstly, at the range of connectors available, which included a connector for Onedrive. Secondly, at the range of Actions for each connector - I needed an action for new files, file updates and possibly file deletes as well. Thirdly, the standard of documentation is much better than a few years ago and lastly there are a lot of useful articles and questions and answers on Stack Overflow.

The Logic App was very quick to create. However, it did require some code which was not possible through the GUI. Therefore, although Logic Apps are "Low Code", they are unlikely to be "No Code".

The GUI works hand in hand with the Code View. Changes in the GUI View will update the Code View. Importantly though you can type code into the Code View to create functionality that you can't create through the GUI View, but that code doesn't get overwritten when you switch back to the GUI view.

Tracking down the right code did actually utilise my development background (sigh of relief). Therefore, you could expect that most Logic Apps development is going to require experienced developers at some point. For instance, to get the right code for the Logic App to call the Azure Function I needed to know that an Azure Function is the same as an API. This was because the example I found was to connect an API to a Logic App.

All the best.

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