To be very simple, Apache Camel is an open source Java Based API which implements most of the commonly used EIPs. So, the next question is what is an EIP?. Let me briefly explain
Using Camel, we can define a set of route(s) within Camel Context to create the communication. The received messages can be filtered, processed, validated, aggregated, split or routed to different other systems.
In the next post, we will see how to use these concepts to create a route and process the message between two endpoints (within the Camel Context).
Happy Learning!!!!!
Enterprise Integration Patterns
EIPs is a set of design patterns (65 design patterns) on how to integrate different enterprise application running on various technologies and makes them to communicate. These patterns are explained in a book by Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf. So, EIPs is a book in which, the ways to create communication between applications and integrate them are defined. Check the link for more details.Apache Camel
Let's come back to Apache Camel. As I mentioned at the beginning, Apache Camel is an implementation of EIPs. So, we can integrate the enterprise applications using Camel. It supports almost all types of protocols (FTP, HTTP, JMS, WebService, etc,), to communicate either by itself or by leveraging it. See below an overview of CamelCamel Context
Camel Context creates runtime for Apache Camel.EndPoint
As the name indicates, an endpoint is the final or intermediate source/destination of the communication. The endpoint can be a physical address like FTP server or a logical address like JMS Queue, WebService etc. Apache Camel uses URI (of course, Uniform Resource Identifier) to define endpoints. Ex: queue:SAMPLE for a Queue.Exchange
Exchange is analogous to Message in JMS Specification. But the Exchange carries three messages i.e. Incoming, Outgoing and an Exception for processing. These three are defined as in, out and fault messages. Each of theses Messages has it's own headers.Template
CamelTemplate is a class which reads from/writes to an EndPoint. Earlier versions of the camel has the name as CamelClient, but the convention is changed in later versions to be in sync with the other implementations (like Spring JmsTemplate). Template reads/writes Exchanges to/from EndPoint.Component
Component is a factory class through which you can create an instance of an EndPoint. JmsComponent is the factory for creating JMS Endpoints using a method called JmsComponent.createEndpoint();Processor
The points discussed so far are very basic to integrate at-least two applications as it is (exchange the messages as it is with no processing). In order to process the message before sending to destination application, we need processor. The processor is an interface which has only one method called void process(Exchange exchange);Route
A route is a step by step movement of the message between the two endpoints (including exception handling). There are two ways to define a route in Apache Camel. One is using the XML file (like spring bean file). Second is by using Java DSL (Domain Specific Language).In the next post, we will see how to use these concepts to create a route and process the message between two endpoints (within the Camel Context).
Happy Learning!!!!!
