Introduction to Mule Cloud Connectors
Federico Recio on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Every week we blog about new Cloud Connectors made available for the Mule community and we have plenty more in the pipe but now is probably a good time to explain more of the what and why of of Cloud Connectors.
What is a Cloud Connector? How can I build one?
First things first. A Cloud Connector is built using the Cloud Connect toolset which helps you create a layer of abstraction on top of Mule so that you only have to care about business stuff. Let’s say you have (or want to create) a Java class to act as a client of a public API. This class is an ordinary Java class with no dependency to Mule. So we need just a couple of steps to convert it to a Cloud Connector:
- Annotate the class with @Connector
- Annotate the methods you want to use within Mule with @Operation
- Change your Maven project packaging to cloud-connector
Simple, isn’t it? Then you build your project and you can start using it within Mule ESB. You don’t think it can be that easy? Check out this great article on building Cloud Connectors or this screen cast.
Why Cloud Connectors are important?
It’s all about staying connected. New APIs are released every day: social media, online shopping, CRM systems, geo-located services, and more. Just to mention a few examples: Facebook, Twitter,Magento, SalesForce, Twilio… and many more that are coming. I recommend you take a peak at this article from Ross Mason for some more context of the impact of these APIs.
Programmable web tracks public APIs and Mashups built using these APIs. As well as the number of APIs exploding the usage of APIs in public mashups is on the rise as developers figure out more cool stuff you can do with the wealth of APIs out there. Check out this chart on new mashups:
Taking advantage of these new public APIs or SaaS platforms is the main goal of Cloud Connectors.
I recently ran into this survey and found it really interesting, its title is pretty descriptive: “API Integration Pain Survey Results”. One of the questions is “how many services would you like to connect to?” and the the most noticeable answer is “Everything if it were easy”. I think this one is the most honest and straight response.
Again, Cloud Connectors are about integrating with public APIs and SaaS platforms fast and painless.
The power of Mule community
Cloud Connectors are also about community. We release almost all Cloud Connectors into the Mule community. This means whether you are using Mule on premise or Mule iON iPaaS you get unrivalled connectivity to SaaS, Social Media and cloud applications. If you’ve developed a Cloud Connector or want to create one that doesn’t exist yet, you can choose to share it with other Mule users like you and help empowering our community (we will make sue you get the credit for your contribution!).
Conclusion
- The world is moving fast and we have to keep up with all the new Cloud APIs and SaaS platforms in order to survive.
- We need able to integrate with the rest of the world as fast and clean as possible in order to keep up with the rate of innovation these APIs bring.
- Cloud Connectors and Mule are a means to rapidly integrate with new cloud APIs and SaaS platforms.
Related posts:
- Cloud Connectors + Mule iON screencast
- GeoNames Cloud Connector for Mule
- Twilio Cloud Connector for Mule
- Identity Management for the Cloud