What are Camel components?
Camel components are pre-built, plug-and-play components that allow you to interact with various technologies and systems. For example, you need a JMS connection. Just use the JMS Component of a camel. Do you need Database-Connection? Use DB-Component. There are a lot of components ready to use. In generall components provide a common interface for exchanging data between systems, making it easier to integrate different systems and applications.
Here is a short list of typical used camel-components in EAI-Systems
- JMS for messaging systems
- Database for database connections
- File
- HTTP
- Sftp / Ftp for transfer protokolls
What are Camel endpoints?
Camel endpoints are the endpoints for a component and represent the location where data is exchanged. Endpoints define the address of the component and the data format. This is an example of a JMS endpoint
In this example, the „jms:queue:input“ endpoint represents a JMS queue named „input“. The „jms“ component is used to exchange data with the JMS queue, while the „queue“ endpoint type defines the type of endpoint and the „input“ part represents the name of the queue.
Using Components and Endpoints in Camel Routes
Apache Camel routes define the flow of data between different components and endpoints. For example, the following Camel route defines a flow of data from a JMS queue to a file:
In this example, the „from“ part of the route defines the starting endpoint, which is the JMS queue named „input“. The „to“ part of the route defines the destination endpoint, which is the file named „output“. The Camel routing engine will take care of delivering the data from the JMS queue to the file.
Advanced: Behind the hood
Each Endpoint has the following build-up: Scheme:contextPath?options
<scheme>:<contextPath>?<options>
Example: „file:outbox?fileName=myOwnFileName“ - Scheme: Create a file-endpoint (camel will automatically look for file-component on classpath with the help of the internal ComponentResolver).
- Context path for File-Component is the directory (here we just use the directory outbox, which you have to always find out in the documentation for each component).
- Options are parameters, in this case we can use ?fileName which indicates that our component shall name our files „myOwnFileName„.
You can look at each options in the camel-docs for each component. For example for the file component you have many different options, like filename, the option to automatically move the file, deletion of file etc.
Conclusion
Apache Camel’s routing and mediation engine provides a powerful and flexible way to integrate different systems and applications. The combination of the routing and mediation features allows you to define the flow of data between different components and manipulate the data before it is sent to the next component. Whether you’re looking to integrate applications within your organization or between different organizations, Apache Camel provides a robust and scalable solution for all your integration needs.