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A Beginner's Guide to Mule

In this post, we take a quick, introductory look at how to create applications using Mule and the ways to work with Anypoint Studio.

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Pryank Gupta user avatar
Pryank Gupta
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Feb. 14, 18 · Analysis
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Mule Application Building Blocks

Mule application building blocks are separated into categories in the Mule Palette:

Image title

Message Sources :

The first building block of most flows is a receiver that receives new messages and places them in the queue for processing.

  • Message sources are usually Anypoint Connectors.

  • Connectors provide connectivity to external resources, such as:

    •  Databases, protocols, or APIs.

    • Standard protocols like HTTP, FTP, SMTP, AMQP.

    • Third-party APIs like Salesforce, Twitter, or MongoDB.

Anypoint Connectors :

  • Anypoint Platform has over 120 pre-built connectors:

    • 30 bundled with Anypoint Studio.

    • Additional ones available in the Anypoint Exchange.

  • Connectors are accessible directly from Anypoint Studio or at https://www.mulesoft.com/exchange

  • There are 2 main types:

    • Endpoint-based connectors

    • Operation-based connectors

Endpoint-Based Connectors :

  • Are either inbound or outbound endpoints in a flow.

  • Inbound endpoints serve as a message source for a flow.

  • Outbound endpoints send information to external systems.Image title

Operation-Based Connectors :

  • These connectors require the specification of an operation in order to perform.

  • This category includes most connectors not based on a standard communication protocol

Image title

Connector vs Endpoint :

  • A connector is a Mule-specific connection to an external resource of any kind.

  • An endpoint is a flow-level element that is configured to receive and/or send messages from and/or to external resources.

  • When you drag a connector from the Mule Palette, an endpoint is created.

  • Connectors and endpoints are global elements.

Creating Mule Applications With Anypoint Studio

Anypoint Studio is an Eclipse-based integration development environment that provides:

  • Two-way editing between graphical and XML views.

  • Visual debugging (EE).

  • A data transformation framework and language (EE).

  • One-click deployment of applications.

  • Templates for common integration patterns (EE).

  • Integration with Maven for continuous build processes.

Anatomy Of Flow: VisualImage title

Anypoint Studio Anatomy:Image title

Running an Application:

Anypoint Studio comes with an embedded Mule runtime to test applications without leaving it.

The console outputs application logs and information:

Image title

Testing Applications to Make Requests to an Endpoint:

Some options:

  • A browser.

  • A cURL command-line utility.

  • A browser extension like Postman (for Google Chrome).Image title

Introducing Mule Flows and Message

Mule Flows

Mule applications accept and process messages through a series of message processors plugged together in the flow.


Image title

A typical flow has:

  • Message Source  - Accepts a message from an external source, triggering the execution of the flow.

  • Message Processors - Transforms, filters, enrichs, and processes messages.

An application can consist of:

  • A single flow.

  • Multiple flows connected together to create more complex applications.

Anatomy of  a Flow :Image title

Mule Message
Image title

application Connector (mathematics) Flow (web browser)

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Related

  • MuleSoft Integration With RabbitMQ
  • How to Use Mulesoft VM Connector
  • Step-by-Step Guide to Use Anypoint MQ: Part 1
  • Mule 4: Dynamically Call Multiple Subflows With One Flow-Ref

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