Flow Designer is used to design and develop fully-functional MuleSoft applications in a hosted development environment.
Designed to be used by Senior Architects as well as Junior Admins, Flow Designer is a simple alternative to creating full-blown APIs from scratch within Anypoint Studio. With Flow Designer being packed with numerous features, it’s an obvious choice to consider when planning projects.
Design Center
To start creating a Flow Designer project, you simply opt to build a MuleSoft application rather than write a RAML within Design Center. Design Center differs from traditional RAML creation by showing what you make, as well as the processes graphically with easy-to-follow indicators displaying order, the hierarchy of elements, and triggers. Another benefit to using Flow Designer is that all work is automatically saved to the cloud for later continuation, collaborative editing, and safe-keeping.
Triggers and Connectors
The vast selection of triggers and connectors created by MuleSoft, as well as other users, allow for an ever-expanding number of uses and implementations. These triggers and connectors reduce the work required to duplicate processes you have already made, or processes others have already made. Saving both time and energy, by reducing redundancy and possible errors when working with a new system or CRM. Additionally, these triggers and connectors are all free to use and available to everyone through MuleSoft’s Anypoint Exchange.
Mapping and Transforming Data
Gone are the days of fumbling around with data mapping documentation. Flow Designer has a built-in automatic data mapping feature that takes the hard work out of transforming and mapping data. And with an easy drag and drop-style editor, editing the automated mappings is a breeze. Adding custom fields or functions to your transformations or mappings is simple using MuleSoft’s native DataWeave language. In as little as a few clicks and a little reading, you can create lightweight and versatile code to meet every task’s unique needs.
Error Handling and Debugging
Unfortunately, errors are almost impossible to avoid entirely. Luckily, debugging and fixing errors is easy to do within Flow Designer. With a dedicated “Problems” button that displays any errors in layman’s terms, understanding and resolving the issue can be accomplished without extensive knowledge of MuleSoft.
Summary
All of these features, as well as Automatic Data Mapping and more, were designed to facilitate the complex and time-consuming process of creating integrations. Though a traditional creation strategy may be more efficient for complex projects possibly not supported by Flow Designer, Flow Designer should still be an option seriously considered by project planners and businesses looking to get their desired results more efficiently.