Wednesday 1 April 2009

Apache Camel switching from Java to BPEL, WSDL and RDF XML (with some XSLT)!

The Apache Camel team has always strived to make complex integration challenges as easy as possible connecting pretty much all transports, protocols and middleware together easily using any of the enterprise integration patterns typically in a single line of Java code.

However our users have often said that Java is way too complex to understand. So to tackle that need we're dropping support for Java due to its complexity and instead we're switching to a combination of BPEL, WSDL and RDF XML Syntax instead (with maybe some XSLT too).

We're hopeful that a single XML document with 6 or 7 namespaces along with 2 or 3 spring ones should just about be able to route from one endpoint to another in a similar way to using a line of Java code - but using all the power of the various XML specifications; making it easy to add any WS-* specifications you fancy too!

One downside of this approach is that the XML header to define all the namespaces and their prefixes is about page or so of text but we're hoping a netbeans plugin will be completed soon that just hides the first page of your XML - making development much more agile!

We've also got a signed CLA on file so we can reuse Opera's new face gestures technologies to help typing in all those pointy brackets and XML namespaces; while giving yourself a great face workout at the same time. Agile integration and fitness in one!

More detailed design notes are available here from our new technical architect on the project.

Go Camel! :)

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome news! Can't wait for the RDF integration and have SPARQL-driven messager routing!

Toni Menzel said...

God bless it's an april's fools joke.

Christopher said...

Crikey, you had me going... You have to be careful with us older folks and our hearts!

James Strachan said...

LOL :) Sorry about that!

I don't often do April 1st stuff, I couldn't resist just this once

Anonymous said...

I like the move to XML but is BPEL to narrow of a scope?

James Strachan said...

Sorry Brian, it was a feeble attempt at an April 1st joke. Apache Camel has always supported Java or XML (or Scala/Ruby/Groovy) for writing the routing DSL

patient renter said...

For someone stumbling across this post now in May, the April fools joke seems out of place. But who doesn't appreciate a good Rick roll?