When we use the IntelliJ HTTP Client we can write Javascript for the pre-request and response handlers. The Javascript code must be in between {% …​ %} delimeters. If we want to re-use Javascript functions in the pre-request or response handlers we can store them in an external Javascript file. Then we use the import statement to import either the whole file or specify explicitly the code we want to import. This way we can reuse code for different pre-request and response handlers.

The built-in IntelliJ HTTP Client is very useful for testing HTTP requests and responses. We can use it to test for example a REST API that works with JSON data. If an endpoint expects a JSON payload we can specify the payload in our HTTP Client request file. But if we have a lot of endpoints and large payload the request file can get big and messy. Instead of having the payload in the request file directly we can specify an external JSON file with the payload and use it for a request body. We must use the < operator and give the name of the file with our JSON payload. The IntelliJ HTTP Client will read the contents of that file and use it as the request body. The payload may also contain (dynamic) variables and those variables will be replaced with correct values when the request is executed.

When we think of greatness in the world of sports, one name that immediately pops in my mind is Michael Jordan. Widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan’s approach to his craft is legendary. While the world of software engineering might seem miles apart from the basketball court, there are valuable lessons we as software engineers can learn from the Michael Jordan approach and apply them to our work as software engineers.