Welcome to the Q4 edition of Red Hat’s quarterly newsletter all about Apache Camel! This series aims to share all noteworthy Camel goodness over the last quarter so you don’t miss a thing! Be sure to read the previous editions to catch up on all the exciting updates and insights in Q1, Q2, Q3 of 2024.
Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.8
The Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.8 introduces contract-first API development with automatic OpenAPI mapping, enhanced OpenShift-based development workflows, and extended support for secret managers, vaults, and new components, complemented by updated best practices for Camel on OpenShift. The Kaoto integration designer now includes a new Data Mapper, enabling the mapping of Camel variables and exchange bodies to XML destination formats using XSLT.
For more details, visit the What’s new in Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.8 article.
Camel at Digital Days 2024 in Vienna
At Digital Days 2024, hosted in the world's most livable city—Vienna—Red Hat was proud to play a key role in this inspiring multi-day event. With 1,250 attendees—around 600 industry professionals and 650 enthusiastic students—the event was buzzing with energy, ideas, and innovation. Red Hat’s presence, through expert talks, workshops, panels, and discussions, helped shape the event into something truly memorable. The AI workshops with students stood out, earning heartfelt praise for their creativity and impact.
In these workshops, Mahmuthan Bastug and David Hanacek introduced the students to the Red Hat AI toolkit, using various Camel components. The foundation of the solution, crafted by Bruno Meseguer and meticulously documented here, set the stage for something extraordinary:
With the groundwork laid, we dove into interactive sessions where students used their own mobile devices to train an AI model with a fun and relatable goal—identifying different chocolate bars. The excitement was palpable as students snapped photos, uploaded them, and saw their contributions shape the training of the AI model.
Once we had collected enough training data, the model was ready to shine. Students eagerly tested it using their devices, marveling as it successfully identified the chocolate bars they had worked so hard to train it on. It was a playful, eye-opening experience that left both the students and Red Hat volunteers energized and inspired.
Here are some moments that capture the excitement and joy of these sessions.
Articles
Dive into the latest developments within Apache Camel 4 through our curated selection of articles.
Try Apache Camel: From concept to deployment on OpenShift
Explore how the Red Hat build of Apache Camel in the free Developer Sandbox for OpenShift enables rapid prototyping. Bruno Meseguer shows how to use low-code tools, pre-built components, and streamlined development workflows to create and deploy integration applications with ease.
Making Camel upgrades as light as a breeze
Jiri Ondrusek and Federico Mariani explore tools and strategies for simplifying Apache Camel migrations using automated recipes powered by OpenRewrite. Learn how the Quarkus CLI and Maven plugins streamline upgrades for Camel Quarkus and Spring Boot projects, minimizing manual effort while ensuring smooth transitions across versions.
Migrating from Camel Karaf to Camel Spring Boot or Quarkus
Claus Ibsen continues the migration blog series with a focus on transitioning from Apache Karaf OSGi Blueprint to Camel 4. Learn how to use Camel JBang for converting legacy projects, including Blueprint XML to modern DSL formats, and exporting to Spring Boot or Quarkus for a streamlined migration experience.
Modernizing Camel's Test Support Code: How To
Otavio Piske details updates to Camel 4.9 test support, including new ConfigurableTest and ConfigurableContext interfaces. These stable APIs streamline test configuration while simplifying future maintenance. Learn how to adjust your tests and explore updated JUnit 5 documentation for migration guidance.
The Kaoto team introduces version 2.3, packed with exciting updates! Highlights include a tech preview of the drag-and-drop Visual Data Mapping Editor, a new action toolbar and quick actions for step management. Discover enhanced usability, improved route visualization, and more in this release.
Apache Camel achieved significant milestones in 2024. Claus Ibsen summarizes the year in numbers, highlighting releases, contributions, and community growth across the ecosystem.
Apache Camel 4.9 introduces features like startup condition checks, enhanced DSL support, and a new camel-observability-services component. Claus Ibsen, Pasquale Congiusti, and Tadayoshi Sato detail these updates and more.
Resolving LangChain4j AI services by interface
Resolving AI services in Camel Quarkus LangChain4j is now simpler than ever. Alexandre Gallice explains how this update eliminates manual bean injection, enhancing code focus and usability.
Avoiding model lock in while building an AI Camel route
Alexandre Gallice demonstrates the flexibility of Camel Quarkus LangChain4j by switching LLMs in a data extraction example, highlighting the ease of configuration and the advantages of model abstraction.
Using Camel annotations with LangChain4j high level api available in next Camel Quarkus release
Alexandre Gallice introduces enhanced customization in Camel Quarkus LangChain4j. Using Camel parameter binding annotations like @Body, @Header, and @Bean, developers can inject dynamic values into LLM prompts effortlessly.
Demos and Presentations
See Apache Camel 4 in action in the following new demos and presentations:
- Try Apache Camel: From Concept to Deployment on OpenShift by Bruno Meseguer
- Empowering apps with natural language processing using Apache Camel and LLM tools by Bruno Meseguer
Upcoming
You may meet us at the upcoming conferences:
February
- Feb 3 - Blabla conf (virtual)
- Zineb Benhiba will present “Leading Beyond Code: My Journey as a Staff Engineer”
March
- March 6 - AI themed Cybersecurity Forum 2025 in Czechia (Prague)
April
- April 5 - Warsaw IT Days
- Otavio Piske will present "Streamlining Intelligence: The Open Source Path to Smarter Systems" (to be confirmed)
- April 16 - Devoxx France
- Zineb Bendhiba and Clement Escoffier will present “Créer des Applications Intelligentes avec Quarkus et LangChain4j” (to be confirmed)
May
- May 19-22 - Red Hat Summit
- May 27 - JNation
- Otavio Piske will present “Streamlining Intelligence: The Open Source the Path to Smarter Systems” (to be confirmed)
June
- June 5 - KCD Czech and Slovak
- June 12-14 - DevConf.CZ in Czechia (Brno)
