How to pay only for what you use in the cloud?

Question

Cloud computing

I remember when I watched some course on the clouds and it was said that the cloud is cheap, because you only pay for what you use and it's all very profitable.
And now, let's say I want a site in php or python and use this cool feature, pay only for the used "ticks" of the processor, and if I just close the site, then don't pay at all.
I go to Yandex.cloud or Google.cloud and see only virtual machines from a friend. And if I understand correctly, it's not the same.

I misunderstood something, right? And if there is such an opportunity, then for what words to google answers?

Answer 1

The answer to the question is that only as your provider allows you, in some cases you can insert checks into your code, calculate the billing yourself and turn off the service for exceeding the limits.
Cloud is a marketing term, with all the inconveniences or bonuses that come with it.
The main advantage / definition of the cloud is the speed of obtaining resources, ideally - instantly, without waiting and without any additional settings. In cases where this is possible, you generally get exactly as much as you ask for - if you want 10 requests per second, you get it, if you want a billion in the next - take it, just pay. This is when you do not request a virtual machine, but a ready-made service for processing certain requests, for example.
Why it was called a cloud - because for implementation the provider keeps many machines, and user applications are processed by all of them sequentially or simultaneously depending on the load, and this is selected automatically, i.e. the service is not running on one machine, but in an abstract cloud of an indefinite number of machines.
Clouds appeared against the backdrop of the classic service of providing a dedicated server, when its receipt usually required waiting for several hours or even days, after requesting and paying ... then control panels appeared when you could adjust the settings for the amount of memory / cores / disk / ... mouse to get what you want in minutes/seconds (often the OS needs to be rebooted, but usually it's fast) ... I repeat, the clouds are a form of user application management, interface and pricing.
ps be extremely careful https://habr.com/ru/post/532624/