---
title:  Function Execution
---

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A function is a body of code that resides on a server and that an application can invoke from a client or from another server without the need to send the function code itself. The caller can direct a data-dependent function to operate on a particular dataset, or can direct a data-independent function to operate on a particular server, member, or member group.

<a id="function_exec__section_CBD5B04ACC554029B5C710CE8E244FEA">The function execution service provides solutions for a variety of use cases, including:</a>

-   An application needs to perform an operation on the data associated with a key. A registered server-side function can retrieve the data, operate on it, and put it back, with all processing performed locally to the server.
-   An application needs to initialize some of its components once on each server, which might be used later by executed functions.
-   A third-party service, such as a messaging service, requires initialization and startup.
-   Any arbitrary aggregation operation requires iteration over local data sets that can be done more efficiently through a single call to the cache server.
-   An external resource needs provisioning that can be done by executing a function on a server.

-   **[How Function Execution Works](how_function_execution_works.html)**

-   **[Executing a Function in <%=vars.product_name_long%>](function_execution.html)**