Just Another Dang Blog

Quick little tip. On my Ant deployment script for Salesforce I run into an issue where my password which was assigned to a variable contained double dollar sign characters. Ant would by default strip out any string with ‘$$’ sign into ‘$’ because it was expecting a value.

This caused my password to stop working.

I ended up breaking my password into two variables.

from

sf.password = time$$machine

to

sf.password = time$

sf.password2 = machine

Then on my build.xml file, I created a new property to store the dollar value and updated the passwordToken property.

<property name="dollar" value="$" />
<property name="passwordToken" value="${sf.password}${dollar}{sf.password2}${sf.token}"/>

That is the post for the day.

In this post I’m sharing my notes for spec driven development and cover the basics on creating an API specification. Spec driven development is a development process where your application is built in two distinct phases.

• creation of the specification (design)
• development of code to match the spec(development)

What are the phases for spec driven development in the Mulesoft world?

• Design
• Simulate
• Feedback
• Validate

So what is an API Specification and how to create one?

– API specification and definition are interchangeble. API Specification is much more concerned with the overall behavior of the API, and how it links to other APIs.

– To create API Specification we use a language called RAML.

• RAML is a language for the definition of HTTP-based APIs that embody most or all of the principles of Representational State Transfer (REST).
• It is a non-proprietary language to build API specifications
• Data structure is hierarchical and by indentation not markup

Source: https://github.com/raml-org/raml-spec

Where can you start creating RAML?

• Design Center on the Anypoint Platform
• You can use Anypoint Studio
• API Workbench – installed as an Atom package – http://apiworkbench.com/

Some key design features of creating an API Spec on the Anypoint Platform

• Documentation is created from the RAML and shown in the API console
• A mocking service can be used in the API console to test the API
• Make an API discoverable by publishing it to the Private Exchange
• You can publish to the public(needs Mulesoft review)
• API portals are auto generated
• Automatically generated api endpoint is created that uses mocking service
• API portals can be shared to internal or external users
• Share the API to external developers by making portal public
• You can customize the public portal
  • logo
  • favicon
  • welcome text
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What is a mocking service?

• it is an auto generated api endpoint to use for testing

Those are just the basics and will cover more on upcoming posts.

Been working on Boomi platform for couple months now and here to share a quick tip that I learned earlier. Since Boomi now support Custom SOQL for an operation it however looses the XML profile when you import an object.

The profile can easily be fixed by doing the following.

1. Add a Message shape and add your SOQL
   
2. Add Salesforce Connector
3. Add an Operation and click on Advanced link and choose Custom SOQL
4. Save and run the process
   
5. Inspect the logs and copy the xml and save it as a file
   
6. Create a new mapping shape
7. On the Left mapping click on Choose
8. On Profile type select XML and choose Create New Profile
   
9. Click on Import Profile
   
10. Select your saved file and you are set.

Here is how my process looks like.

Give it a try!

Since fibre just recently became available in our neighbourhood I just got it installed about a month ago and has been enjoying it.

The location in the house where I had the fibre box set up was in the living room as I wanted to hook it up to the gaming console. I didn’t know what to expect with the Vodafone TV but I it actually allowed me to get rid of the dish tv satellite receiver and just use broadband to view tv shows. Anyway because of the location of the new router some parts of the house are not getting good wifi coverage.

Since I switched internet provider I was left with the old modem/router.

In this tutorial basically we are going to connect the old router to the new router. The old router will act as access point and that allowed me to extend the wifi coverage in the house.

Steps:

Boot up the Fritz box router and connect it to your computer using a LAN cable.

Open your browser and go to the default setup URL which is http://fritz.box

If you do not remember your password which is provided by the ISP, simply click on forgot password link to reset. The router will reboot after.

Once logged you’ll get an overview of your system. Click on the Internet menu on the top left to start configuring your router.

Click on the Internet and select Account Information. On the section Internet Service Provider. Select Existing connection over wireless LAN.

The Wireless LAN devices will be listed, select your wifi network and under Security add your wifi password and hit Apply.

When you hit Apply the system would reboot the first time and assign the router a new IP. You can access the new IP eg. 192.168.88.1 or simply visit http://fritz.box

Next set the a new Wifi name. Notice the option gives you 2.4 GHZ and 5-GHZ frequency band. (The router as far as I can tell can only connect to 2.4 ghz frequency on my new router so setting up 5Ghz here won’t really matter, you would still be on the 2.4 ghz band). Hit Apply to save the changes.

Click Security under WLAN to setup the Network Key password and hit Apply.

Hit Apply and you are done. Disconnect the LAN cable and search for the new Wifi in your network.

Pros : You can extend the wifi signal in your house

Cons: It can only connect to the 2.4 GHZ channel frequency which is the slower band. I get into the range of 20-40 mbs.

Hopefully this is useful to somebody out there. Happy surfing.

Just passed the last certified Identity and Access Management Designer to get the Certified System Architect certification. My method of studying seems to be working and would like to share my methods and notes.
Early this year at the 2nd part I made a goal to start the Technical Architect journey and get a certified every month . The method I’ve been doing is really easy, I book a date one month in advance and spend at least and hour or two reading the materials I need. I use technique called Pomodoro using an online tool kanbanflow.com and concentrate on a learning a concept. I try to do this at least everyday either before bed or I missed it for that evening I try to get up early in the morning. So far this has worked great for me as I have now a Certified System Architect.
Now about the Identity and Access Management exam. This is like the rest of the exam which is 60 + 5 extra multiple choice question. You are given 120 minutes and passing is 65%.
Honestly this was a hard exam. Best if you have done implementation of it. I wasn’t that confident I would pass the exam when I hit the Submit button.

Here are my notes about the key parts of the exam:< o the this trialmix and nail down it to 100%. - https://trailhead.salesforce.com/users/00550000006yDdKAAU/trailmixes/architect-identity-and-access-management