The Anypoint Connector DevKit enables the development of connectors that facilitate communication between third-party systems and Mule applications. It provides features like visual design, Maven support, authentication support, testing capabilities, and packaging tools to simplify connector development. Connectors act as extensions that hide API complexity and allow integration with external resources like databases, APIs, SaaS applications, and on-premise systems.

1. Anypoint Connector DevKit
0

2. Introduction
• The Anypoint Connector DevKit, or simply DevKit, enables the
development of Anypoint Connectors. An Anypoint Connector is an
extension module to the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform that facilitates
communication between third-party systems/APIs and Mule
applications.

3. Developing with DevKit
• This is what you need to develop DevKit-based Anypoint Connectors on your system with your instance of Anypoint Studio.
• See detailed instructions here on how to install: Java JDK version 8, Apache Maven, Anypoint Studio, and Anypoint DevKit Plugin to build and test
your connector. You can develop a connector using Windows, Mac, or Linux.
• New Connector:
• Anypoint Connector Developer Guide - Set up Anypoint Studio and install the connector plugin.
• Existing Connector:
• Click File > Import > Anypoint Studio > Anypoint Connector Project from External Location, choose a URL or a .zip file, and complete the wizard to
locate and import the project.
• See also Creating a SOAP Connector Creating a REST Connector Using Jersey.

4. • Determine resource access - Each resource has a different access method, such as REST, SOAP, FTP, or the
Java SDK features.
• Choose an authentication mechanism - Mule supports OAuth V1 or V2, and username and password
authentication (known as connection management), which can be used for protocols such as API Key, SAML,
NTLM, Kerberos, or LDAP.
• Choose the connector’s data model - Models can be static Java objects or dynamic objects. You can use
DataSense - Determine what information the target resource expects.
• Add connector @ attribute annotations - Create code for your connector containing the @ attributes that
Mule uses to designate the important parts of your connector.
• Code tests - Tests can be unit tests, functional tests, and Studio interoperability tests.
• Document your connector - MuleSoft provides a template that helps you fill in the blanks to create
documentation to help your staff and others understand the features and use of your connector.
• Package your connector.

5. DevKit Features
• Visual design and implementation using Anypoint Studio with an Eclipse-based interface that simplifies and speeds up
development.
• Maven support.
• Connector packaging tools.
• Authentication support for multiple types of authentication, including OAuth and username and password authentication.
• DataSense support to acquire remote metadata.
• Extensive testing capability.
• Examples, training, and support to simplify development startup.
• Batch, Query Pagination, and DataSense Query Language support.

6. What is a Connector?
• An Anypoint Connector is an extension module that eases the interaction
between a Mule application and external resources, such as a databases or
APIs, through REST, SOAP, or the Java SDK.
• As reusable components that hide API complexity from the integration
developer, custom connectors facilitate integration with SaaS and on-
premise web services, applications, and data sources. Connectors built
using Anypoint DevKit in Anypoint Studio, running Mule runtime
environments, act as extensions of Mule Anypoint Platform.

7. Connector Architecture
• Connectors operate within Mule applications, which are built up from
Mule Flows, and external resources, which are the targeted
resources.
• A Mule connector has two operational sides. The Mule-facing side
communicates with a resource’s target-facing client side to enable
content to travel between the Mule applications, and the external
target-facing resource.

8. Mule-Facing Functionality
• From the Mule-facing side, a connector consists of:
• Main Java class. Java code that you annotate with the @Connector attribute. See the
Anypoint DevKit API Reference for information about Anypoint Connector DevKit
annotations. See Java annotations for information on how annotations work.
• Connector attributes. Properties of the @Connector class that you annotate with the
@Configurable attribute.
• Methods. Functionality that you annotate with the @Processor attribute.

9. • Additional annotations define authentication-related functionality, such as
connection management. Annotations allow you to control the layout of
the Anypoint Studio dialogues for the connector as well. The data model
and exceptions that either raise or propagate are also Mule-facing classes.
• DevKit generates a scaffold connector when you create your Anypoint
Connector project in Studio. This scaffold connector includes the
@Connector class, the @Configurable attributes, the @Processor methods,
and authentication logic to build out your connector.

10. Target-Facing Functionality
• The target facing or client facing side of a connector depends on the client
technology that enables access to the resource. This functionality consists
of a class library and one or more classes that @Connector classes use to
access client functionality. This functionality is called the client class.
• The client class in turn generally depends on other classes to actually
implement calls to the targeted resource. Depending on your target, some
of these classes may be generated or provided for you. For example, if you
have a Java client library, or are working with a SOAP or REST services,
most of the client code is implemented there. In other cases, you have to
write the code yourself.

11. Coding a Connector
• DevKit lets you build connectors from scratch. Before creating your
own connector, check the Anypoint Exchange for available
connectors. The connectors page also lists Community open source
connectors that let you contribute to the growing community of
public connector development.

12. Connector Data Model
• The data model for the connector consists of the objects passed into
and out of the exposed operations. While many Web services accept
and return XML or JSON data, a proper Mule connector must
translate the data format the client uses into Java objects – either
POJOs or key-value maps which represent the data objects sent to,
and returned from, the target. (Returning raw XML or JSON responses
to Mule is one marker for an immature, improperly implemented
connector.)

13. REST Versus SOAP
• REST simplifies access to HTTP using POST, GET, PUT, and DELETE calls to provide
access to creating, getting, putting, and deleting information on a resource.
• DevKit currently provides a strategy for Creating a Connector for a RESTful API
Using Jersey to build a REST API-supported connector.
• SOAP is a traditional means of communicating with a resource and requires a
WSDL file, which is an XML file that specifies all aspects of a Java class’s structure,
methods, properties, and documentation. SOAP is an industry standard with tools
for governance, building, and schema information. DevKit provides a tools that
helps building a connector using a WSDL file.

14. DevKit 3.8 Example Default Connector
• The following is an example of the starting @Connector and
@Configuration classes that DevKit 3.8 create