1) What are the main differences between REST and SOAP APIs in Salesforce, and when would you choose one over the other?
Differences between REST and SOAP APIs:
Format and Simplicity:
REST API: Supports both JSON and XML formats. It is lightweight, easy to use, and well‑suited for modern web and mobile applications.
SOAP API: Supports only XML format, which can be more complex to handle.
Protocol and Methods:REST API: Uses standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.
SOAP API: Relies on a strict XML messaging protocol and includes a WSDL (Web Services Description Language) file for communication.
When to Choose:Choose REST API when simplicity, speed, and modern formats like JSON are needed.
Choose SOAP API when integration demands more robust error handling, advanced security, or backward compatibility with older systems.
2) What is Salesforce Connect, and in what scenarios would you recommend using it for integration?
Salesforce Connect is a feature that allows users to access and display external data within Salesforce without storing it in Salesforce databases. It uses external objects to map to external data tables and accesses data on demand in real time.
Scenarios for Using Salesforce Connect:
Large Data Volumes: When you have large datasets that you don't want to replicate in Salesforce.
Real‑Time Data Access: When you need real‑time access to the latest external data instead of working with stale data copies.
Efficient Data Retrieval: When only small amounts of data are needed at a time, minimizing the need for storage and replication.
Advantages:Avoids data redundancy.
Ensures up‑to‑date and accurate information.
Simplifies integration with minimal data storage overhead.
Example Use Case: A company might use Salesforce Connect to access customer data stored in an external ERP system, ensuring sales teams always have the most up‑to‑date order and account details without duplicating that data in Salesforce.
3) What is the Bulk API in Salesforce, and when should it be used?
The Bulk API is designed for handling large‑scale data operations asynchronously. It supports insert, update, delete, upsert, and query operations in batches, making it ideal for processing thousands or millions of records efficiently.
When to Use:
When working with large data sets (e.g., over 2,000 records).
For data migrations or regular bulk updates.
To optimize performance and avoid API call limits.
4) What is a Connected App in Salesforce, and why is it important for integration?
A connected app in Salesforce is designed to enable external applications to integrate with Salesforce APIs securely. For example:
To use OAuth authorization for external apps, configure the connected app with appropriate OAuth settings.
For SAML single sign‑on (SSO) flows, configure SAML settings.
5) What is Single sign‑on (SSO)?
Single sign‑on (SSO) is an authentication method that enables users to access multiple applications with one login and one set of credentials. For example, after users log in to your org, they can automatically access all apps from the App Launcher. You can set up your Salesforce org to trust a third‑party identity provider to authenticate users. Or you can configure a third‑party app to rely on your org for authentication.
6) What is identity provider and service provider? What are the different ways that I can implement SSO?
When you set up SSO, you configure one system to trust another to authenticate users, eliminating the need for users to log in to each system separately. The system that authenticates users is called an identity provider. The system that trusts the identity provider for authentication is called the service provider.
Salesforce supports SSO with SAML and OpenID Connect. Salesforce also has preconfigured authentication providers that you can use to enable SSO with systems that have their own authentication protocols, like Facebook.
7) What is the role of SAML in Salesforce Single Sign‑On (SSO), and how does it work between two Salesforce orgs?
SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) enables Single Sign‑On (SSO) between applications. In a Salesforce SSO scenario, one Salesforce org acts as the Identity Provider (IdP), where the user logs in, and another Salesforce org acts as the Service Provider (SP), where the user is redirected after successful authentication. The IdP authenticates the user and sends a SAML assertion to the SP to grant access.
8) What is Just‑in‑Time (JIT) Provisioning in Salesforce, and how is it used in Single Sign‑On (SSO)?
Just‑in‑Time (JIT) Provisioning in Salesforce is a feature that automatically creates or updates user accounts in the Service Provider (SP) org during the Single Sign‑On (SSO) process. It simplifies user management by eliminating the need to pre‑create user accounts in the SP org.
How JIT Works:
The Identity Provider (IdP) sends user information in a SAML 2.0 assertion during the authentication process.
Salesforce processes this information using a JIT handler (Apex class) or standard JIT settings.
If the user does not already exist in the SP org, a new user account is created in real‑time.
Example Use Case:
In a multi‑org setup, if a user logs in to an Identity Provider org but their account does not exist in the SP org, JIT creates the account dynamically based on the information provided in the SAML assertion.
9) What are SAML Request, SAML Response, and SAML Assertion in the context of Single Sign‑On (SSO), and how do they function?
SAML Request:
When a user tries to access a Service Provider (SP), the SP sends a SAML Request to the Identity Provider (IdP).
This request asks the IdP to authenticate the user.
SAML Response:
After authenticating the user, the IdP sends a SAML Response back to the SP.
The response includes a signed SAML Assertion containing user details.
SAML Assertion:
A SAML Assertion is part of the SAML Response and asserts facts about the user, such as their username or email address.
The assertion is signed by the IdP to ensure its authenticity.
The SP validates this signature to confirm the integrity of the information.
How They Work Together:
The SAML Request initiates the SSO process.
The SAML Response conveys the authentication result.
The SAML Assertion provides the necessary user details to complete the authentication and grant access.
This process ensures secure, seamless user authentication between the Identity Provider and Service Provider.
10) What is an Identity Provider‑Initiated SAML Flow, and how does it work?
Identity Provider‑Initiated SAML Flow is a Single Sign‑On (SSO) process where the login begins at the Identity Provider (IdP).
Steps:
The user logs in to the identity provider.
The user clicks a button or link to access the service provider. For example, the user clicks an app on the App Launcher page in a Salesforce org.
The identity provider initiates login by sending a cryptographically signed SAML response to the service provider. The SAML response contains a SAML assertion that tells the service provider who the user is.
The service provider validates the signature in the SAML response and identifies the user.
The user is now logged in to the service provider.
11) What are the key steps involved in any OAuth authorization flow?
OAuth flows typically involve three main steps:
Access Request: The client app requests access to a protected resource.
Token Issuance: The authorization server grants an access token to the client app.
Token Validation: The resource server validates the access token and allows access to the protected resource.
12) How does the OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials Flow differ from the Username‑Password Flow?
OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials Flow: used for server‑to‑server integrations without user interaction. The client app exchanges its consumer key and consumer secret for an access token. More secure and avoids transmitting user credentials.
OAuth 2.0 Username‑Password Flow: authorizes a client app using stored user credentials. It is not recommended due to security risks, suitable only in special cases with a high degree of trust.
13) What makes the OAuth 2.0 JWT Bearer Flow secure, and when should it be used?
Security Features:
Uses a JSON Web Token (JWT) signed with a certificate, ensuring data integrity and authenticity.
Eliminates the need to transmit sensitive user credentials or rely on interactive logins.
Requires prior approval of the connected app, adding an additional layer of control.
Use Case:
Ideal for server‑to‑server integrations where ongoing access to Salesforce resources is needed without user interaction.
14) Why is the Username‑Password Flow not recommended, and what are its key steps?
The Username‑Password Flow is not recommended because it involves passing sensitive user credentials (username and password) back and forth, which can lead to security vulnerabilities, especially if the credentials are intercepted.
Key Steps:
The connected app sends a POST request to the Salesforce token endpoint with the user's credentials and app details (client ID, client secret, username, and password).
Salesforce verifies the request and grants an access token to the connected app.
The connected app uses the access token to access protected resources in Salesforce.
15) How can you integrate two Salesforce orgs using the Username‑Password Flow, and what are the main steps involved?
The integration of two Salesforce orgs using the Username‑Password Flow involves securely fetching data from one org (ORG B) and displaying it in another org (ORG A). This method leverages OAuth 2.0 for authentication and the Salesforce REST API for data retrieval.
Key Steps in Integration:
In ORG B: Create a Connected App to allow authentication. Implement a RESTful Web Service to fetch data.
In ORG A: Configure a Remote Site Setting to allow outbound calls to ORG B. Create an Apex Controller to authenticate with ORG B using the Username‑Password Flow and call the web service in ORG B to fetch the required data. Develop a Visualforce Page or LWC to display the retrieved information.
16) How would you integrate two Salesforce orgs using the Client Credentials Flow?
To integrate two Salesforce orgs using the Client Credentials Flow, follow these high‑level steps:
Setup in ORG B: Create a Connected App in ORG B, enabling the Client Credentials Flow to allow secure server‑to‑server communication; note consumer key/secret; implement web service in ORG B to handle incoming requests.
Setup in ORG A: Store credentials; configure Remote Site Settings; develop an Apex class to authenticate with ORG B and perform API callouts based on business rules; include error handling and logging.
17) What is the purpose of Salesforce Streaming API?
The Salesforce Streaming API enables real‑time data updates using push technology and an event‑driven architecture. It operates on an event‑based model, allowing applications to subscribe to events and receive updates as they occur in near real‑time.
18) What types of events are supported by the Salesforce Streaming API, and in which scenarios should it be used?
Types of Events Supported:
Generic Events: Legacy, for custom notifications.
PushTopics: Legacy, for changes in Salesforce records based on SOQL queries.
Change Data Capture (CDC): For tracking changes to Salesforce data records in real‑time.
Platform Events: For high‑volume, custom business event notifications.
When to Use the Streaming API:
Use Streaming API when real‑time data updates are required to synchronize external systems with Salesforce data, such as in applications that react immediately to changes in data or business processes.
Note: PushTopics and generic events are legacy products with limited support. For new implementations, use Change Data Capture instead of PushTopics and Platform Events instead of generic events.
19) What are platform events in Salesforce?
Platform events are secure and scalable messages used to enable real‑time communication between Salesforce and external apps, as well as within Salesforce itself, using an event‑driven messaging architecture.
20) What is the Event Bus in Salesforce?
The event bus is a temporary storage system where platform event messages are published. Events on the bus can be retrieved using a CometD client, and each event contains a ReplayId field to identify its position in the stream.
21) How can you publish a platform event using Apex?
You can publish a platform event using the EventBus.publish() method in Apex. Here's how:
Create an instance of the platform event object and populate its fields.
Use EventBus.publish() to publish the event, which returns a Database.SaveResult.
Check isSuccess() on the result to determine whether the event was published successfully.
TestEvent__e event = new TestEvent__e(
Customer_Country__c = 'India',
Customer_State__c = 'Maharashtra',
Government_Customer__c = true
);
Database.SaveResult result = EventBus.publish(event);
if (result.isSuccess()) {
System.debug('Platform event published successfully.');
} else {
for (Database.Error error : result.getErrors()) {
System.debug('Error: ' + error.getMessage());
}
}
22) What is the difference between ReplayId and EventUuid in platform events?
ReplayId: A system‑assigned field that identifies the position of an event in the event stream. It isn’t guaranteed to be unique, especially during Salesforce maintenance activities.
EventUuid: A universally unique identifier (UUID) introduced in API version 52.0 and later. It is always unique and should be used to identify a platform event message.
Example of Retrieving EventUuid:
Database.SaveResult result = EventBus.publish(event);
if (result.isSuccess()) {
System.debug('UUID=' + EventBus.getOperationId(result));
}
Using EventUuid ensures the identification of an event message across different scenarios, including maintenance activities.
23) What are the Apex governor limits for platform event triggers?
Although platform event triggers run asynchronously, the synchronous limits apply to platform event triggers. This is because asynchronous limits are for long‑lived processes, such as Batch Apex and future methods. Synchronous limits are for short‑lived processes that execute quickly and platform event triggers are short‑lived processes that execute in batches rather quickly.
Because a platform event trigger runs in a separate transaction from the one that fired it, governor limits are reset, and the trigger gets its own set of limits.
24) How can you configure the user and batch size for a platform event trigger?
You can override the default running user and batch size of a platform event trigger using PlatformEventSubscriberConfig via Tooling API or Metadata API.
Default Configuration: Runs as the Automated Process user with a batch size of 2,000.
Custom Configuration: Specify a custom user and a batch size between 1 and 2,000. Smaller batch sizes help avoid hitting governor limits.
25) What is the High‑Volume Platform Event Hourly Publishing Allocation?
It specifies the maximum number of platform events that can be published in one hour. The limit is 250,000 events per hour for Performance and Unlimited Editions.
26) What publishing methods count toward the hourly publishing limit?
Publishing methods include:
Apex
Pub/Sub API
REST API
SOAP API
Bulk API
Flows
Process Builder processes
27) What happens if you exceed the hourly publishing limit?
Events published beyond the limit will fail. Organizations must monitor and optimize their event publishing to stay within the allowed limits.
28) What is Change Data Capture (CDC)?
Change Data Capture is a streaming product in Salesforce that enables real‑time integration with external systems. It notifies subscribed systems of data changes like record creation, updates, deletions, and undeletions, helping keep external systems in sync without periodic data exports or repeated API calls.
29) What types of objects support CDC?
CDC is available for all custom objects and a subset of standard objects. Each object has an associated ChangeEvent object, named ChangeEvent for standard objects and __ChangeEvent for custom objects.
30) Can CDC events be queried or modified?
No, ChangeEvent objects don’t support CRUD operations or queries. They are used to capture and publish changes but cannot be directly.
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