Sometimes you find a use case that has a simple and elegant solution in a particular programming language. It might come from a question in conversation, or a requirement in a project on the table. The nature of elegance in code defies firm definition, but as a famous Jurist once said, "I can't define it, but I do know what I like."
One characteristic I usually find in what most observers might call "elegant code" is brevity. Fewer lines of code mean fewer places for a software fault to lurk. DataWeave certainly lends itself to brevity, even nearly to the point of compulsion.
Recently, a student of mine raised a question after doing one of the standard exercises in the MuleSoft Developer series using DataWeave. His question surfaced a typical use case for an API.
We had just finished a Walkthrough that has us observe how to filter the elements of an Object given a list of desired fields.
His idea was to allow a query parameter that listed the fields being requested. If an API interface enumerates the fields that may be requested, the input can be easily validated.
Once we walked through the idea, we ended with a single line of code that completely handled the task. Follow our logic, and see if you find the outcome to be elegant, or simply brief.
