What exactly is Apache Camel?

Question

I don't understand what exactly Camel does.

If you could give in 101 words an introduction to Camel:

• What exactly is it?
• How does it interact with an application written in Java?
• Is it something that goes together with the server?
• Is it an independent program?

Please explain what Camel is.

Answer 1

Apache Camel is an open source integration framework made to make integrating systems simple. It consists of some Java libraries which help in implementing integration problems on the Java platform making the process easier.

Basically, where there is a requirement to connect / integrate systems, you will probably need to connect to some data source and then process this data to match your business requirements, So 

1. You could develop your own software which does the job ( would take time, hard to understand for other developers)

2. You could use already developed softwares like Apache Camel etc. ( More standard, most of the connecters already developed, less time consuming)

So what it does is consume the data from any source/ format, then processes it and outputs the data. Apache Camel is developed with Enterprise Integration Patterns, this helps integrate systems in easy manner.