MuleSoft for Salesforce Developers: A practitioner's guide to deploying MuleSoft APIs and integrations for Salesforce enterprise solutions

I LOVE the book, Covered every concepts in very detail, from installation to deployment of APIs. I specifically LOVE the chapters about Dataweave (Chapters - 6, 7) and Integrations with Salesforce and other connectors - (chapters - 12 ,13) of this book. All Authors did a fantastic job to make MuleSoft easier to understand even for novice users.Really a great book from MuleSoft Champions Alex, Arul and Akshata!!

One of the best features of most current large software offerings is their flexibility, and SalesForce is no exception. “MuleSoft for Salesforce Developers” (Packt) by Arul Christuraj Alphonse, Alexandra Martinez, and Akshata Samant offers some insight into one of the unique paths to build better integrations, manage a CI/CD, and do it all within a largely no-code/low-code offering. The book steps through every level, from the basic API construction to more advanced solutions using the DataWeave language created by MuleSoft. Further, the book dives into not just the integrations with SalesForce but integrating with other third parties, such as SAP and AWS to bring the material back to SalesForce. At the end, there are some good generic and specific tips, as well as a guide to how to get certified using MuleSoft. The book divides into three sections, getting started, deep dives, and integration with SalesForce. The first section details some basic API requirements anyone needs to know when building an interface between a program and additional programs. MuleSoft is a subscription-based software tool that offers a 30-day free trial. Any company hoping to use the tool will have to pay those fees beyond the initial trial. However, paying those fees will allow access to the range of MuleSoft products in Anypoint Platform, Anypoint Studio, and Composer. The tools included in those areas are described in the last two chapters of the section, with full details on everything one can do through the no-code GUI. Once basic mastery appears during the first section, the next section expands into the actual development tasks. The deep dive starts with learning DataWeave, the custom language MuleSoft uses to support all APIs. DataWeave is a non-sequential language that does not use for or while statements. Additionally, the good rule of thumb to know while using DataWeave is that data is immutable, so variables can’t be modified and must be recalled when one intends to use something different. The functionality uses a call-by-need strategy with no loops or classes, and the overall structure is not tab or line based. These constraints seem odd from generic programming but make sense when one considers most of the APIs integrated with SalesForce deal with driving data from place to place so more immutable structures may help prevent simple mistakes. Once the API is built through the platform, the section’s second half considers deployment, testing, and securability. Deployment addresses a number of ways to get the API to the customer and includes some basic instructions to integrate CI/CD features. The testing chapter includes an introduction to mUnit as the testing software for DataWeave and ways to blend it with other existing software to robustly conduct unit, integration, and functionality tests, as well as several others. A personal favorite was the emphasis on security due to the subject matter. The book describes how to build policies based on compliance, quality of service or any other security feature desired. Also emphasized are ways to make the APIs use encrypted goals to maintain security from sender to receiver within the SalesForce systems. The final section, Integration, begins with an explanation of how MuleSoft works with SalesForce and others. Others include multiple possibilities such as SAP, AWS, Apache, Workday, and over 150 other offerings. This allows for finding areas with built-in integration when transitioning to prevent rebuilding from scratch. The best practices are fairly standard industry applications but are always useful when learning new software. Then, the last chapter describes ways to get certified with MuleSoft, and some useful tips if one is interviewing for a position as a MuleSoft developer. The book’s strength and shortcoming was the exhaustive amount of detail in every section. Each command, link, and GUI was described in detail, and functionally explained, and screenshots were included. This makes it great for learning the software, but I felt the end-to-end integration for the business was lacking. This approach does make sense with MuleSoft, since, as an API development kit, it provides the middle between multiple other points which either create or use the data. The questions in each chapter helped to learn, but a single, integrated example to build a case throughout, or even by section, would greatly aid the overall understanding, perhaps in a future edition. Anyone who uses Salesforce on a regular basis should at least review this book and determine if the tools are ones that could help the corporate return. The details are exhaustive but perhaps better suited to someone already doing development than a project manager looking for a comparison with another development option. Some of the options could be done through more code-based development rather than the no-code options offered here, but as always, the importance becomes deciding how much a company needs to build software versus delivering their main product. Again, if your company uses SalesForce, and is seeking some customized approaches, this book could help short-circuit that path.

I’ve learned a lot by reading MuleSoft for Salesforce Developers. Unlike other technology books that promise to take you from a basic to intermediate-advanced level and then leave you in frustration, this book does fulfill its promise. The free Anypoint Studio trial and this book are the perfect combination to make the most of your 30-day trial, which can be difficult with other technologies that have restricted access.Although the book is focused on the use of MuleSoft, the authors keep you up to date on how to create an API, providing a clear and concise explanation of the process and key concepts. It helps you understand all the components and key topics when working with APIs, such as security, design, testing, and deployment. I must say that this part was what caught my attention the most, given my experience with the Marketing Cloud platform, such as integration through SFTP, which is very common in my line of work.As a non-developer, I fear not having absorbed everything the book has to offer, but I finally understand the Mulesoft ecosystem and how it connects with Salesforce tools, which I call a win-win. There are moments in the book that you wish it were an online course, due to the number of screens and how-to's.This book is a great source of information for anyone who wants to learn about MuleSoft and integration solutions. Thanks to Packt Publishing for allowing me to read the book and provide this review.

This book is not only for Salesforce Developers; This is a complete guide for anyone interested in acquiring more knowledge in the Mulesoft Platform and a great resource if you want to strengthen or refresh your knowledge of APIs.The book's topics are well structured and conducted and fully fulfill the promise of taking you from a basic understanding of the technology to an intermediate/advanced level. Resources such as images, repositories, examples, and questionaries at the end of each chapter play a fundamental role in comprehending the concepts covered.Subjects walk you through the introductory concepts associated with APIs, concluding to get a final product that completes the API lifecycle, like designing, building, testing, deploying, and securing APIs. Along with subjects about integrating with Salesforce and other connectors and their use cases.Dataweave examples and descriptions are straightforward for anyone, regardless of your level. Dataweave transformations are well explained and include out-of-the-box transformations that fall into multiple projects in real life.If you want to get into the APIs lifecycle in the Mulesoft ecosystem and integrations, I highly recommend this book!