[google-app-engine] What is the difference between Google App Engine and Google Compute Engine?

Or to make it even simpler (since at times we fail to differentiate between GAE Standard and GAE Flex):

Compute Engine is analogous to a virtual PC, where you'd deploy a small website + database, for instance. You manage everything, including control of installed disk drives. If you deploy a website, you're in charge of setting up DNS etc.

Google App Engine (Standard) is like a read-only sandboxed folder where you upload code to execute from and don't worry about the rest (yes: read-only - there are a fixed set of libraries installed for you and you cannot deploy 3rd party libraries at will). DNS / Sub-domains etc is so much easier to map.

Google App Engine (Flexible) is in fact like a whole file-system (not just a locked down folder), where you have more power than the Standard engine, e.g. you have read/write permissions, (but less compared to a Compute Engine). In GAE standard you have a fixed set of libraries installed for you and you cannot deploy 3rd party libraries at will. In the Flexible environment you can install whatever library your app depends on, including custom build environments (such as Python 3).

Although GAE Standard is very cumbersome to deal with (although Google makes it sound simple), it scales really well when put under pressure. It's cumbersome because you need to test and ensure compatibility with the locked-down environment and ensure any 3rd party library you use does not use any other 3rd party library you're unaware of which may not work on GAE standard. It takes longer to set it up in practice but can be more rewarding in the longer run for simple deployments.

Examples related to google-app-engine

Problems with installation of Google App Engine SDK for php in OS X Get Public URL for File - Google Cloud Storage - App Engine (Python) Visual Studio Code pylint: Unable to import 'protorpc' Get root password for Google Cloud Engine VM Spring Boot - Cannot determine embedded database driver class for database type NONE What is the difference between Google App Engine and Google Compute Engine? Cross-Origin Request Blocked Class JavaLaunchHelper is implemented in both. One of the two will be used. Which one is undefined ImportError: No module named apiclient.discovery java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.sun.jersey.spi.container.servlet.ServletContainer

Examples related to google-compute-engine

What is the difference between Google App Engine and Google Compute Engine? How to open a specific port such as 9090 in Google Compute Engine Google server putty connect 'Disconnected: No supported authentication methods available (server sent: publickey) Permission denied (publickey,gssapi-keyex,gssapi-with-mic)

Examples related to google-cloud-platform

GoogleMaps API KEY for testing How to change the project in GCP using CLI commands Enabling CORS in Cloud Functions for Firebase Get root password for Google Cloud Engine VM gcloud command not found - while installing Google Cloud SDK What is the difference between Google App Engine and Google Compute Engine? How to open a specific port such as 9090 in Google Compute Engine Google server putty connect 'Disconnected: No supported authentication methods available (server sent: publickey) How to use Google App Engine with my own naked domain (not subdomain)?