Book excerpt: Build cost-effective and robust cloud solutions with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using these simple and practical recipes Key FeaturesExplore the various service offerings of the GCPHost a Python application on Google Compute EngineSecurely maintain application states with Cloud Storage, Datastore, and BigtableBook Description GCP is a cloud computing platform with a wide range of products and services that enable you to build and deploy cloud-hosted applications. This Learning Path will guide you in using GCP and designing, deploying, and managing applications on Google Cloud. You will get started by learning how to use App Engine to access Google's scalable hosting and build software that runs on this framework. With the help of Google Compute Engine, you’ll be able to host your workload on virtual machine instances. The later chapters will help you to explore ways to implement authentication and security, Cloud APIs, and command-line and deployment management. As you hone your skills, you’ll understand how to integrate your new applications with various data solutions on GCP, including Cloud SQL, Bigtable, and Cloud Storage. Following this, the book will teach you how to streamline your workflow with tools, including Source Repositories, Container Builder, and Stackdriver. You'll also understand how to deploy and debug services with IntelliJ, implement continuous delivery pipelines, and configure robust monitoring and alerts for your production systems. By the end of this Learning Path, you'll be well versed with GCP’s development tools and be able to develop, deploy, and manage highly scalable and reliable applications. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: Google Cloud Platform for Developers Ted Hunter and Steven PorterGoogle Cloud Platform Cookbook by Legorie Rajan PSWhat you will learnHost an application using Google Cloud FunctionsMigrate a MySQL database to Cloud SpannerConfigure a network for a highly available application on GCPLearn simple image processing using Storage and Cloud FunctionsAutomate security checks using Policy ScannerDeploy and run services on App Engine and Container EngineMinimize downtime and mitigate issues with Stackdriver Monitoring and DebuggerIntegrate with big data solutions, including BigQuery, Dataflow, and Pub/SubWho this book is for This Learning Path is for IT professionals, engineers, and developers who want to implement Google Cloud in their organizations. Administrators and architects planning to make their organization more efficient with Google Cloud will also find this Learning Path useful. Basic understanding of GCP and its services is a must.