Last Updated on 30/05/2021 by Patryk Bandurski
What is the most important thing that a mule developer needs? I think that a well configured IDE is the answer. While you can have an appropriate set of skills, you wouldn’t be as efficient as you could without a good toolkit. In this article, I explain how I configure my development environment. I have updated this article with the newest changes! I hope that you will enjoy it :)!
If you have some interesting tips feel free to post them in a comment below.
Checklist
Environment
I work on a day-to-day basis on Windows OS. However, you can apply tips on Linux as well. The only exception here is Tortoise Apps. TortoiseGIT and TortoiseSVN are only available for Windows OS while they are designed to integrate with Windows Explorer.
Around Anypoint Studio
Java
In order to work with anypoint studio, Java JDK 8 should be installed. From a couple of releases, Anypoint Studio is bundled with JDK inside, so you do not do this extra step either. Path to JDK is taken either from PATH variable or AnypointStudio.ini file.
Version Control
I have never met a developer that did not use any versioning control system. The most popular are GIT and SVN. I use for most of the projects the GIT versioning system.
Each application that I am describing or building on this blog is published on the GitHub server.
Dependency management
Anypoint Studio has already bundled maven installation. I prefer to have my own maven installation as I know where it is installed, and I can connect to the same maven repository from different IDEs.
Testing toolkit
Since we write RESTfull and/or SOAP web services, we need a toolkit to test them. I use standalone Postman for REST calls. I much appreciate the possibility to synchronize content between devices and sharing requests with the team. In the case of SOAP web services, I use Soap UI. It is a software that accepts the WSDL file definition and generates sample requests. I like that tool as well for the mock feature. I am able just based on the WSDL file test service without actually calling real implementation.
Anypoint Studio
When we set Java, versioning control software, and maven installed, we may set up Anypoint Studio. First, you need to unzip the file that you have downloaded. Start application and select default workspace.
Runtime
Mule ESB is delivered as a Kernel Edition and an Enterprise Edition. If you do not have a license, you can still develop applications in Anypoint Studio, but it requires some extra steps. I have described this in this article. The studio is usually equipped with the latest Runtime. However, you may require an older 4.x version. To do it, perform the next steps:
- Go to the menu Help → Install New Software…
- Select Mule Runtimes for Anypoint Studio in Work with
- Next, extend Anypoint Studio Enterprise Runtimes
- Select the desired version like Mule Server Runtime 4.1.1 EE
- Proceed with installation
eGIT plugin
As I mentioned earlier, GIT/SVN systems are used in every project. I wouldn’t say I like switching back and forth between my IDE and Windows Explorer/command line to perform GIT/SVN operations on the file system. I prefer to do that directly from IDE. This plugin is in the default bundled. So you do not need to install it on your own.
Summary
Well done. You are now ready to develop Mule 4 applications and design APIs in your Anypoint Studio. Each Anypoint Studio version is becoming more and more polished. New features, new plugins, bug fixes. I always can’t wait to see the newest release notes if the bigger update is announced. Nevertheless, I wish you all the best in your MuleSoft journey!