MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1: All You Need to Know

The MuleSoft Certified Developer (MCD) certification demonstrates your skills in using Mule 4 to connect enterprise data and applications to the cloud.

This shows your understanding of Mule 4 concepts, including application networks, API design, and consumption, Mule events, data transformations, event flow control, error handling, batch processing, etc.

As a certified MuleSoft developer, you will become one of an organization's most sought-after and highly-paid professionals.

But how do you prepare for the certification MCD-level-1 exam? Need help finding the right platform to take the exam? Don't worry; we've got you covered.

In this post, we will let you know what to expect from the exam, including the format, content, duration, passing score, and much more.

What is Mulesoft?

MuleSoft Anypoint is a platform that enables event-driven architecture (EDA) and Mule Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). MuleSoft helps organizations innovate and transform faster by connecting applications, data, and devices with APIs. It allows capturing the demand and mapping the customer’s needs to a solution in the design phase. Customer feedback can be incorporated at this stage.

MuleSoft and Salesforce help businesses to unlock data across systems, create adaptive integration networks, and ultimately deliver them. The integration possibilities are endless with the various portfolio patterns, Salesforce components, and external systems.

Build connected apps with the Heroku and Lightning platforms and engage individual customers across the sales and service cloud. Sync and enrich data across Salesforce 360 with the MuleSoft connector.

Salesforce bought MuleSoft in 2018, mainly to speed up the digital transformation of its customers. With MuleSoft, data can be accessed across legacy systems, applications, and cloud devices, making decision-making more efficient and effective.

It provides a highly connected MuleSoft Anypoint platform (now part of the Salesforce Integration Cloud). MuleSoft also has an integration connector in Salesforce for seamless integration.

How does Mulesoft work?

MuleSoft offers many predefined APIs for all kinds of applications and systems. By pre-adding the API to the legacy system, you can instantly have a modern way of interacting with the system without knowing how it works. Each cloud system has an intermediate API called the system API, which modern system languages understand. Also, each MuleSoft API has a different function and is networked.

Using the API, the extracted data is processed in a more complex manner. Execute some logic, and the interactive API processes the data format to be presented on various multimedia devices (such as desktops, mobile phones, applications, etc.) and the development and execution of the API.

Customers want a connected experience. They don’t want to see the seams where their systems and departments meet. By simplifying the connection of applications, devices, and data, MuleSoft helps companies transform and innovate faster. APIs: Application Programming Interfaces: APIs accept requests and tell system users what they want. The messenger then sends back the response to the user.

The MuleSoft platform makes data unification easy, providing automated business processes, a single customer view, and creating connected customer experiences.

Through API-based integrations, each integration becomes a reusable building block. By simplifying a reusable process, businesses can accelerate IT adoption, increase organizational agility, and drive innovation at scale.

The results speak for organizations. Forrester found that MuleSoft customers achieved a 445% return on investment in just three years and saved up to 90% of development time by maintaining APIs and integrations.

What is the MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification?

The MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 should be capable of working on basic Mule 4 projects under guidance and supervision.

The MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification exam validates a developer's knowledge and skills in designing, building, testing, and debugging APIs and integrations: moving from Anypoint Platform to Anypoint Studio and back again.

A certified candidate should be able to:

• Design, build, deploy, manage, and govern a basic API using MuleSoft's Anypoint Platform.
• Build, test, and debug basic API implementations using Anypoint Studio.
• Access databases, files, web services, SaaS applications, and JMS queues.
• Execute basic data transformations using DataWeave 2.0.
• Manage event flow and deal with errors.
• Prepare batch records.

Exam format

Format: Multiple-choice, closed book, proctored, online Length: 60 questions Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours) Pass score: 70% Language: English Cost: USD 400

What is the validity of the MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification?

The MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification is valid for two years from the date you pass the MCD-level-1 exam.

To extend the validity of the MuleSoft Developer certification, you must take the MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 MAINTENANCE exam.

What topics are covered in the MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification exam?

This MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification exam validates your ability to perform the following tasks.

Explaining application network basics

• Explain MuleSoft’s proposal for closing the IT delivery gap.
• Describe the role and characteristics of the “modern API.”
• Describe the purpose and roles of a Center for Enablement (C4E).
• Define and describe the benefits of API-led connectivity and application networks.
• Define and correctly use API, API implementation, API interface, API consumer, and API invocation.
• Describe the basics of the HTTP protocol and the characteristics of requests and responses.
• Describe the capabilities and high-level components of Anypoint Platform for the API lifecycle.

Designing and consuming APIs

Describe the lifecycle of the “modern API.” Use RAML to define API resources, nested resources, and methods. Identify when and how to define query parameters vs URI parameters. Use RAML to define API parameters, requests, and responses. Use RAML to define reusable data types and format-independent examples. Read a RAML spec and formulate RESTful requests with query parameters and/or headers as appropriate.

Accessing and modifying Mule events

• Describe the Mule event data structure.
• Use transformers to set event payloads, attributes, and variables.
• Write DataWeave expressions to access and modify event payloads, attributes, and variables.
• Enrich Mule events using target parameters.

Structuring Mule applications

• Parameterize an application using property placeholders.
• Define and reuse global configurations in an application.
• Break an application into multiple flows using private flows, sub-flows, and the Flow Reference component.
• Specify what data (payload, attributes, variables) is persisted between flows when a Flow Reference is used.
• Specify what data (payload, attributes, variables) is persisted between flows when a Mule event crosses a connection boundary.
• Specify what data (payload, attributes, variables) exists in a flow before and after a call in the middle of a flow to an external resource.

Building API implementation interfaces

• Manually create a RESTful interface for a Mule application.
• Generate a REST Connector from a RAML specification.
• Describe the features and benefits of the APIkit.
• Use APIkit to create implementation flows from a RAML file.
• Describe how requests are routed through flows generated by APIkit.

Routing events

• Use the Choice router to route events based on conditional logic.
• Use the Scatter-Gather router to multicast events.
• Validate data using the Validation module.

Handling errors

• Describe the default error handling in a Mule application.
• Define a custom global default error handler for an application and identify in what situations it will be used.
• Compare and contrast how the On Error Continue and On Error Propagate scopes work.
• Create one or more error handlers for a flow.
• Use the Try scope to specify error handlers for one or more event processors.
• Describe the data structure of the Mule Error object.
• Map errors to custom application errors.

Transforming data with DataWeave

• Write DataWeave scripts to convert JSON, XML, and Java data structures to different data structures and types.
• Use DataWeave functions.
• Define and use DataWeave variables, functions, and modules.
• Define and use custom data types.
• Apply correct DataWeave syntax to coerce data types.
• Apply correct DataWeave syntax to format strings, numbers, and dates.
• Call Mule flows from a DataWeave script.

Using Connectors

• Retrieve data from a Database using the Database connector.
• Create parameterized SQL queries for the Database connector.
• Retrieve data from a REST service using HTTP Request or a REST Connector.
• Use a Web Service Consumer connector to consume SOAP web services.
• Use the Transform Message component to pass arguments to a SOAP web service.
• List read, and write local files using the File connector.
• List read, and write remote files using the FTP connector.
• Use the JMS connector to publish and listen to JMS messages.

Processing records

• List and compare and contrast the methods for processing individual records in a collection.
• Explain how Mule events are processed by the For Each scope.
• Use the For Each scope to process records.
• Explain how Mule events are processed by the Batch Job scope.
• Use a Batch Job with Batch Steps and a Batch Aggregator to process records.
• Use the Scheduler component to trigger a flow.
• Use connector listeners to trigger flows.
• Describe the features, benefits, and processes of using watermarking.
• Describe the features, benefits, and process of using automatic watermarking vs. manual watermarking.
• Use connectors with automatic watermarking capabilities.
• Persist data between flow executions using the Object Store.

Debugging and troubleshooting Mule applications

• Use breakpoints to inspect a Mule event during runtime.
• Install missing Maven dependencies.
• Read and decipher Mule log error messages.

Deploying and managing APIs and integrations

• Package Mule applications for deployment.
• Deploy applications to CloudHub.
• Use CloudHub properties to ensure deployment success.
• Create and deploy API proxies.
• Connect an API implementation to API Manager using autodiscovery.
• Use policies, including client ID enforcement, to secure an API.
• Create SLA tiers and apply SLA-based policies.

What are the benefits of MuleSoft?

MuleSoft is a well-known software platform providing integration solutions for a wide range of applications, data, and devices. It helps organizations connect their systems and data across the enterprise and to the cloud using APIs and reusable components.

Some of the benefits of MuleSoft are:

• It supports complex hybrid integration frameworks and cloud migration
• It enables component reuse and message transformation
• It offers personalized and connected customer and employee experiences
• It improves operational efficiencies and reduces costs
• It is highly scalable and adaptable to different topologies

The final say

MuleSoft is a powerful platform that enables businesses to connect their systems, applications, and data with APIs. By connecting customers, employees, and partners, MuleSoft helps businesses transform their business processes.

By harnessing the power of MuleSoft, businesses can unleash their data's potential and improve agility, efficiency, and innovation.

If you want to take the MuleSoft Certified Developer - Level 1 certification exam and looking for a reliable source —look no further! Click the chat options to learn more about the exam, and we’ll guide you accordingly.