what are the differences between flow, private flow & sub flow

 

what are the differences between flow, private flow & sub flow

 https://youtu.be/3ryOUu_0Yis

The differences between flow, subflow, and private flow in MuleSoft are as follows:

Flow:

A flow is the basic unit of processing in MuleSoft. It is a sequence of processing steps that are executed in order. Flows can be used to perform a variety of tasks, such as receiving and processing messages, transforming data, and interacting with external systems.

Subflow:

A subflow is a type of flow that can be reused within other flows. Subflows are useful for encapsulating common functionality and making flows more modular and reusable. Subflows are always executed synchronously, meaning that the calling flow will wait for the subflow to finish executing before continuing.

Private flow:

A private flow is a type of flow that is similar to a subflow, but it is not accessible to other flows. Private flows are useful for encapsulating sensitive data or logic that should not be exposed to other flows. Private flows can also be executed asynchronously, meaning that the calling flow will continue executing without waiting for the private flow to finish executing.

The following table summarizes the key differences between flows, subflows, and private flows:

Feature	Flow	Subflow	Private flow
Can be reused by other flows	No	Yes	No
Can be executed asynchronously	No	No	Yes
Has access to the calling flow's context	Yes	Yes	No

When to use flows, subflows, and private flows:

·         Flows should be used for simple processing tasks that do not need to be reused or encapsulated.

·         Subflows should be used for common functionality that needs to be reused in multiple flows.

·         Private flows should be used for sensitive data or logic that should not be exposed to other flows, or for tasks that need to be executed asynchronously.

Here are some examples of when you might use each type of flow:

·         Flow: You might use a flow to receive a message from a queue, transform the data in the message, and then send the transformed message to another queue.

·         Subflow: You might use a subflow to encapsulate the logic for validating a credit card number. This subflow could then be reused in multiple flows that need to validate credit card numbers.

·         Private flow: You might use a private flow to store a database password. This would ensure that the password is not exposed to other flows. You might also use a private flow to execute a long-running task asynchronously, so that the calling flow does not need to wait for the task to finish executing before continuing.

I hope this helps!