Languages Supported Appendix

To support flexible and powerful Enterprise Integration Patterns Camel supports various Languages to create an Expression or Predicate within either the Routing Domain Specific Language or the Xml Configuration. The following languages are supported

Bean Language

The purpose of the Bean Language is to be able to implement an Expression or Predicate using a simple method on a bean.

So the idea is you specify a bean name which will then be resolved in the Registry such as the Spring ApplicationContext then a method is invoked to evaluate the Expression or Predicate.

If no method name is provided then one is attempted to be chosen using the rules for Bean Binding; using the type of the message body and using any annotations on the bean methods.

The Bean Binding rules are used to bind the Message Exchange to the method parameters; so you can annotate the bean to extract headers or other expressions such as XPath or XQuery from the message.

Using Bean Expressions from the Java DSL

from("activemq:topic:OrdersTopic").
  filter().method("myBean", "isGoldCustomer").
    to("activemq:BigSpendersQueue");

Using Bean Expressions from XML

<route>
  <from uri="activemq:topic:OrdersTopic"/>
  <filter>
    <method ref="myBean" method="isGoldCustomer"/>
    <to uri="activemq:BigSpendersQueue"/>
  </filter>
</route>

Bean attribute now deprecated Note, the bean attribute of the method expression element is now deprecated. You should now make use of ref attribute instead.

Writing the expression bean

The bean in the above examples is just any old Java Bean with a method called isGoldCustomer() that returns some object that is easily converted to a boolean value in this case, as its used as a predicate.

So we could implement it like this...

public class MyBean {
  public boolean isGoldCustomer(Exchange exchange) {
  	...
  }
}

We can also use the Bean Integration annotations. For example you could do...

public boolean isGoldCustomer(String body) {...}

or

public boolean isGoldCustomer(@Header(name = "foo") Integer fooHeader) {...}

So you can bind parameters of the method to the Exchange, the Message or individual headers, properties, the body or other expressions.

Non registry beans

The Bean Language also supports invoking beans that isn't registered in the Registry. This is usable for quickly to invoke a bean from Java DSL where you don't need to register the bean in the Registry such as the Spring ApplicationContext.

Camel can instantiate the bean and invoke the method if given a class or invoke an already existing instance. This is illustrated from the example below:

        from("activemq:topic:OrdersTopic").
                filter().expression(BeanLanguage(MyBean.class, "isGoldCustomer")).
                to("activemq:BigSpendersQueue");

The 2nd parameter isGoldCustomer is an optional parameter to explicit set the method name to invoke. If not provided Camel will try to invoke the best suited method. If case of ambiguity Camel will thrown an Exception. In these situations the 2nd parameter can solve this problem. Also the code is more readable if the method name is provided. The 1st parameter can also be an existing instance of a Bean such as:

   private MyBean my;

        from("activemq:topic:OrdersTopic").
                filter().expression(BeanLanguage.bean(my, "isGoldCustomer")).
                to("activemq:BigSpendersQueue");

In Camel 2.2 onwards you can avoid the BeanLanguage and have it just as:

   private MyBean my;

        from("activemq:topic:OrdersTopic").
                filter().expression(bean(my, "isGoldCustomer")).
                to("activemq:BigSpendersQueue");

Which also can be done in a bit shorter and nice way:

   private MyBean my;

        from("activemq:topic:OrdersTopic").
                filter().method(my, "isGoldCustomer").
                to("activemq:BigSpendersQueue");

Other examples

We have some test cases you can look at if it'll help

• MethodFilterTest is a JUnit test case showing the Java DSL use of the bean expression being used in a filter
• aggregator.xml is a Spring XML test case for the Aggregator which uses a bean method call to test for the completion of the aggregation.

Dependencies

The Bean language is part of camel-core.

Constant Expression Language

The Constant Expression Language is really just a way to specify constant strings as a type of expression.

Example usage

The setHeader element of the Spring DSL can utilize a constant expression like:

<route>
  <from uri="seda:a"/>
  <setHeader headerName="theHeader">
    <constant>the value</constant>        
  </setHeader>
  <to uri="mock:b"/>     
</route>

in this case, the Message coming from the seda:a Endpoint will have 'theHeader' header set to the constant value 'the value'.

And the same example using Java DSL:

from("seda:a").setHeader("theHeader", constant("the value")).to("mock:b");

Dependencies

The Constant language is part of camel-core.

EL

Camel supports the unified JSP and JSF Expression Language via the JUEL to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

For example you could use EL inside a Message Filter in XML

<route>
  <from uri="seda:foo"/>
  <filter>
    <el>${in.headers.foo == 'bar'}</el>
    <to uri="seda:bar"/>
  </filter>
</route>

You could also use slightly different syntax, e.g. if the header name is not a valid identifier:

<route>
  <from uri="seda:foo"/>
  <filter>
    <el>${in.headers['My Header'] == 'bar'}</el>
    <to uri="seda:bar"/>
  </filter>
</route>

You could use EL to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

Variables

Samples

You can use EL dot notation to invoke operations. If you for instance have a body that contains a POJO that has a getFamiliyName method then you can construct the syntax as follows:

"$in.body.familyName"

Dependencies

To use EL in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-juel which implements the EL language.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-juel</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Otherwise you'll also need to include JUEL.

Header Expression Language

The Header Expression Language allows you to extract values of named headers.

Example usage

The recipientList element of the Spring DSL can utilize a header expression like:

<route>
  <from uri="direct:a" />
  <!-- use comma as a delimiter for String based values -->
  <recipientList delimiter=",">
    <header>myHeader</header>
  </recipientList>
</route>

In this case, the list of recipients are contained in the header 'myHeader'.

And the same example in Java DSL:

from("direct:a").recipientList(header("myHeader"));

And with a slightly different syntax where you use the builder to the fullest (i.e. avoid using parameters but using stacked operations, notice that header is not a parameter but a stacked method call)

  from("direct:a").recipientList().header("myHeader");

Dependencies

The Header language is part of camel-core.

JXPath

Camel supports JXPath to allow XPath expressions to be used on beans in an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration. For example you could use JXPath to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List.

You can use XPath expressions directly using smart completion in your IDE as follows

from("queue:foo").filter().
  jxpath("/in/body/foo").
  to("queue:bar")

Variables

Options

Using XML configuration

If you prefer to configure your routes in your Spring XML file then you can use JXPath expressions as follows

<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
       http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring/camel-spring.xsd">

  <camelContext id="camel" xmlns="http://activemq.apache.org/camel/schema/spring">
    <route>
      <from uri="activemq:MyQueue"/>
      <filter>
        <jxpath>in/body/name = 'James'</xpath>
        <to uri="mqseries:SomeOtherQueue"/>
      </filter>
    </route>
  </camelContext>
</beans>

Examples

Here is a simple example using a JXPath expression as a predicate in a Message Filter

from("direct:start").
        filter().jxpath("in/body/name='James'").
        to("mock:result");

JXPath injection

You can use Bean Integration to invoke a method on a bean and use various languages such as JXPath to extract a value from the message and bind it to a method parameter.

For example

public class Foo {
	
    @MessageDriven(uri = "activemq:my.queue")
    public void doSomething(@JXPath("in/body/foo") String correlationID, @Body String body) {
		// process the inbound message here
    }
}

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").jxpath("resource:classpath:myjxpath.txt")

Dependencies

To use JXpath in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-jxpath which implements the JXpath language.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-jxpath</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Otherwise, you'll also need Commons JXPath.

Mvel

Camel allows Mvel to be used as an Expression or Predicate the DSL or Xml Configuration.

You could use Mvel to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

You can use Mvel dot notation to invoke operations. If you for instance have a body that contains a POJO that has a getFamiliyName method then you can construct the syntax as follows:

"request.body.familyName"
   // or 
"getRequest().getBody().getFamilyName()"

Variables

Samples

For example you could use Mvel inside a Message Filter in XML

<route>
  <from uri="seda:foo"/>
  <filter>
    <mvel>request.headers.foo == 'bar'</mvel>
    <to uri="seda:bar"/>
  </filter>
</route>

And the sample using Java DSL:

   from("seda:foo").filter().mvel("request.headers.foo == 'bar'").to("seda:bar");

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").mvel("resource:classpath:script.mvel")

Dependencies

To use Mvel in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-mvel which implements the Mvel language.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-mvel</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Otherwise, you'll also need MVEL

OGNL

Camel allows OGNL to be used as an Expression or Predicate the DSL or Xml Configuration.

You could use OGNL to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

You can use OGNL dot notation to invoke operations. If you for instance have a body that contains a POJO that has a getFamiliyName method then you can construct the syntax as follows:

"request.body.familyName"
   // or 
"getRequest().getBody().getFamilyName()"

Variables

Samples

For example you could use OGNL inside a Message Filter in XML

<route>
  <from uri="seda:foo"/>
  <filter>
    <ognl>request.headers.foo == 'bar'</ognl>
    <to uri="seda:bar"/>
  </filter>
</route>

And the sample using Java DSL:

   from("seda:foo").filter().ognl("request.headers.foo == 'bar'").to("seda:bar");

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").ognl("resource:classpath:myognl.txt")

Dependencies

To use OGNL in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-ognl which implements the OGNL language.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-ognl</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Otherwise, you'll also need OGNL

Property Expression Language

The Property Expression Language allows you to extract values of named exchange properties.

Example usage

The recipientList element of the Spring DSL can utilize a property expression like:

<route>
  <from uri="direct:a" />
  <recipientList>
    <property>myProperty</property>
  </recipientList>
</route>

In this case, the list of recipients are contained in the property 'myProperty'.

And the same example in Java DSL:

from("direct:a").recipientList(property("myProperty"));

And with a slightly different syntax where you use the builder to the fullest (i.e. avoid using parameters but using stacked operations, notice that property is not a parameter but a stacked method call)

  from("direct:a").recipientList().property("myProperty");

Dependencies

The Property language is part of camel-core.

Scripting Languages

Camel supports a number of scripting languages which can be used to create an Expression or Predicate via the standard JSR 223 which is a standard part of Java 6.

The following scripting languages are integrated into the DSL:

However any JSR 223 scripting language can be used using the generic DSL methods.

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

See Also

• Languages
• DSL
• Xml Configuration

BeanShell

Camel supports BeanShell among other Scripting Languages to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

To use a BeanShell expression use the following Java code:

...choice()
    .when(script("beanshell", "request.getHeaders().get(\"foo\").equals(\"bar\")"))
       .to("...")

Or the something like this in your Spring XML:

<filter>
  <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo") == null</language>
  ...

BeanShell Issues You must use BeanShell 2.0b5 or greater. Note that as of 2.0b5 BeanShell cannot compile scripts, which causes Camel releases before 2.6 to fail when configured with BeanShell expressions.

You could follow the examples above to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

JavaScript

Camel supports JavaScript/ECMAScript among other Scripting Languages to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

To use a JavaScript expression use the following Java code

... javaScript("someJavaScriptExpression") ... 

For example you could use the javaScript function to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

Example

In the sample below we use JavaScript to create a Predicate use in the route path, to route exchanges from admin users to a special queue.

    from("direct:start")
        .choice()
            .when().javaScript("request.headers.get('user') == 'admin'").to("seda:adminQueue")
        .otherwise()
            .to("seda:regularQueue");

And a Spring DSL sample as well:

    <route>
        <from uri="direct:start"/>
        <choice>
            <when>
                <javaScript>request.headers.get('user') == 'admin'</javaScript>
                <to uri="seda:adminQueue"/>
            </when>
            <otherwise>
                <to uri="seda:regularQueue"/>
            </otherwise>
        </choice>
    </route>

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Groovy

Camel supports Groovy among other Scripting Languages to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

To use a Groovy expression use the following Java code

... groovy("someGroovyExpression") ... 

For example you could use the groovy function to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

Example

// lets route if a line item is over $100
from("queue:foo").filter(groovy("request.lineItems.any { i -> i.value > 100 }")).to("queue:bar")

And the Spring DSL:

        <route>
            <from uri="queue:foo"/>
            <filter>
                <groovy>request.lineItems.any { i -> i.value > 100 }</groovy>
                <to uri="queue:bar"/>
            </filter>
        </route>

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Python

Camel supports Python among other Scripting Languages to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

To use a Python expression use the following Java code

... python("somePythonExpression") ... 

For example you could use the python function to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

Example

In the sample below we use Python to create a Predicate use in the route path, to route exchanges from admin users to a special queue.

    from("direct:start")
        .choice()
            .when().python("request.headers['user'] == 'admin'").to("seda:adminQueue")
        .otherwise()
            .to("seda:regularQueue");

And a Spring DSL sample as well:

    <route>
        <from uri="direct:start"/>
        <choice>
            <when>
                <python>request.headers['user'] == 'admin'</python>
                <to uri="seda:adminQueue"/>
            </when>
            <otherwise>
                <to uri="seda:regularQueue"/>
            </otherwise>
        </choice>
    </route>

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

PHP

Camel supports PHP among other Scripting Languages to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

To use a PHP expression use the following Java code

... php("somePHPExpression") ... 

For example you could use the php function to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Ruby

Camel supports Ruby among other Scripting Languages to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration.

To use a Ruby expression use the following Java code

... ruby("someRubyExpression") ... 

For example you could use the ruby function to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List

Example

In the sample below we use Ruby to create a Predicate use in the route path, to route exchanges from admin users to a special queue.

    from("direct:start")
        .choice()
            .when().ruby("$request.headers['user'] == 'admin'").to("seda:adminQueue")
        .otherwise()
            .to("seda:regularQueue");

And a Spring DSL sample as well:

    <route>
        <from uri="direct:start"/>
        <choice>
            <when>
                <ruby>$request.headers['user'] == 'admin'</ruby>
                <to uri="seda:adminQueue"/>
            </when>
            <otherwise>
                <to uri="seda:regularQueue"/>
            </otherwise>
        </choice>
    </route>

ScriptContext

The JSR-223 scripting languages ScriptContext is pre configured with the following attributes all set at ENGINE_SCOPE:

Attributes

You can add your own attributes with the attribute(name, value) DSL method, such as:

In the sample below we add an attribute user that is an object we already have instantiated as myUser. This object has a getFirstName() method that we want to set as header on the message. We use the groovy language to concat the first and last name into a single string that is returned.

from("direct:in").setHeader("name").groovy("'$user.firstName $user.lastName'").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

Any scripting language

Camel can run any JSR-223 scripting languages using the script DSL method such as:

from("direct:in").setHeader("firstName").script("jaskel", "user.firstName").attribute("user", myUser).to("seda:users");

This is a bit different using the Spring DSL where you use the expression element that doesn't support setting attributes (yet):

    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <setHeader headerName="firstName">
        <expression language="jaskel">user.firstName</expression>
    </setHeader>
    <to uri="seda:users"/>

You can also use predicates e.g. in a Filter:

    <filter>
        <language language="beanshell">request.getHeaders().get("Foo").equals("Bar")</language>
        <to uri="direct:next" />
    </filter>

See Scripting Languages for the list of languages with explicit DSL support.

Some languages without specific DSL support but known to work with these generic methods include:

Additional arguments to ScriptingEngine

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can provide additional arguments to the ScriptingEngine using a header on the Camel message with the key CamelScriptArguments.
See this example:

public void testArgumentsExample() throws Exception {
    if (!ScriptTestHelper.canRunTestOnThisPlatform()) {
        return;
    }

    getMockEndpoint("mock:result").expectedMessageCount(0);
    getMockEndpoint("mock:unmatched").expectedMessageCount(1);

    // additional arguments to ScriptEngine
    Map<String, Object> arguments = new HashMap<String, Object>();
    arguments.put("foo", "bar");
    arguments.put("baz", 7);

    // those additional arguments is provided as a header on the Camel Message
    template.sendBodyAndHeader("direct:start", "hello", ScriptBuilder.ARGUMENTS, arguments);

    assertMockEndpointsSatisfied();
}

Using properties function

Available as of Camel 2.9

If you need to use the Properties component from a script to lookup property placeholders, then its a bit cumbersome to do so.
For example to set a header name myHeader with a value from a property placeholder, which key is provided in a header named "foo".

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("context.resolvePropertyPlaceholders('{{' + request.headers.get('foo') + '}}')")

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can now use the properties function and the same example is simpler:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("properties.resolve(request.headers.get('foo'))")

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").groovy("resource:classpath:mygroovy.groovy")

Dependencies

To use scripting languages in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-script which integrates the JSR-223 scripting engine.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-script</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>

Simple Expression Language

The Simple Expression Language was a really simple language you can use, but has since grown more powerful. Its primarily intended for being a really small and simple language for evaluating Expression and Predicate without requiring any new dependencies or knowledge of XPath; so its ideal for testing in camel-core. Its ideal to cover 95% of the common use cases when you need a little bit of expression based script in your Camel routes.

However for much more complex use cases you are generally recommended to choose a more expressive and powerful language such as:

• SpEL
• Mvel
• Groovy
• JavaScript
• EL
• OGNL
• one of the supported Scripting Languages

The simple language uses ${body} placeholders for complex expressions where the expression contains constant literals. The ${ } placeholders can be omitted if the expression is only the token itself.

Alternative syntax From Camel 2.5 onwards you can also use the alternative syntax which uses $simple{ } as placeholders. This can be used in situations to avoid clashes when using for example Spring property placeholder together with Camel.

Configuring result type From Camel 2.8 onwards you can configure the result type of the Simple expression. For example to set the type as a java.lang.Boolean or a java.lang.Integer etc.

File language is now merged with Simple language From Camel 2.2 onwards, the File Language is now merged with Simple language which means you can use all the file syntax directly within the simple language.

Simple Language Changes in Camel 2.9 onwards The Simple language have been improved from Camel 2.9 onwards to use a better syntax parser, which can do index precise error messages, so you know exactly what is wrong and where the problem is. For example if you have made a typo in one of the operators, then previously the parser would not be able to detect this, and cause the evaluation to be true. There is a few changes in the syntax which are no longer backwards compatible. When using Simple language as a Predicate then the literal text must be enclosed in either single or double quotes. For example: "${body} == 'Camel'". Notice how we have single quotes around the literal. The old style of using "body" and "header.foo" to refer to the message body and header is @deprecated, and its encouraged to always use ${ } tokens for the built-in functions. The range operator now requires the range to be in single quote as well as shown: "${header.zip} between '30000..39999'".

To get the body of the in message: "body", or "in.body" or "${body}".

A complex expression must use ${ } placeholders, such as: "Hello ${in.header.name} how are you?".

You can have multiple functions in the same expression: "Hello ${in.header.name} this is ${in.header.me} speaking".
However you can not nest functions in Camel 2.8.x or older (i.e. having another ${ } placeholder in an existing, is not allowed).
From Camel 2.9 onwards you can nest functions.

Variables

OGNL expression support

Available as of Camel 2.3

The Simple and Bean language now supports a Camel OGNL notation for invoking beans in a chain like fashion.
Suppose the Message IN body contains a POJO which has a getAddress() method.

Then you can use Camel OGNL notation to access the address object:

simple("${body.address}")
simple("${body.address.street}")
simple("${body.address.zip}")

Camel understands the shorthand names for getters, but you can invoke any method or use the real name such as:

simple("${body.address}")
simple("${body.getAddress.getStreet}")
simple("${body.address.getZip}")
simple("${body.doSomething}")

You can also use the null safe operator (?.) to avoid NPE if for example the body does NOT have an address

simple("${body?.address?.street}")

Its also possible to index in Map or List types, so you can do:

simple("${body[foo].name}")

To assume the body is Map based and lookup the value with foo as key, and invoke the getName method on that value.

If the key has space, then you must enclose the key with quotes, for example 'foo bar': simple("${body['foo bar'].name}")

You can access the Map or List objects directly using their key name (with or without dots) :

simple("${body[foo]}")
simple("${body[this.is.foo]}")

Suppose there was no value with the key foo then you can use the null safe operator to avoid the NPE as shown:

simple("${body[foo]?.name}")

You can also access List types, for example to get lines from the address you can do:

simple("${body.address.lines[0]}")
simple("${body.address.lines[1]}")
simple("${body.address.lines[2]}")

There is a special last keyword which can be used to get the last value from a list.

simple("${body.address.lines[last]}")

And to get the 2nd last you can subtract a number, so we can use last-1 to indicate this:

simple("${body.address.lines[last-1]}")

And the 3rd last is of course:

simple("${body.address.lines[last-2]}")

And yes you can combine this with the operator support as shown below:

simple("${body.address.zip} > 1000")

Operator support

The parser is limited to only support a single operator.

To enable it the left value must be enclosed in ${ }. The syntax is:

${leftValue} OP rightValue

Where the rightValue can be a String literal enclosed in ' ', null, a constant value or another expression enclosed in ${ }.

Important There must be spaces around the operator.

Camel will automatically type convert the rightValue type to the leftValue type, so its able to eg. convert a string into a numeric so you can use > comparison for numeric values.

The following operators are supported:

And the following unary operators can be used:

And the following logical operators can be used to group expressions:

Using and,or operators In Camel 2.4 or older the and or or can only be used once in a simple language expression. From Camel 2.5 onwards you can use these operators multiple times.

The syntax for AND is:

${leftValue} OP rightValue and ${leftValue} OP rightValue 

And the syntax for OR is:

${leftValue} OP rightValue or ${leftValue} OP rightValue 

Some examples:

simple("${in.header.foo} == 'foo'")

// here Camel will type convert '100' into the type of in.header.bar and if its an Integer '100' will also be converter to an Integer
simple("${in.header.bar} == '100'")

simple("${in.header.bar} == 100")

// 100 will be converter to the type of in.header.bar so we can do > comparison
simple("${in.header.bar} > 100")

Comparing with different types When you compare with different types such as String and int, then you have to take a bit care. Camel will use the type from the left hand side as 1st priority. And fallback to the right hand side type if both values couldn't be compared based on that type. This means you can flip the values to enforce a specific type. Suppose the bar value above is a String. Then you can flip the equation: simple("100 < ${in.header.bar}") which then ensures the int type is used as 1st priority. This may change in the future if the Camel team improves the binary comparison operations to prefer numeric types over String based. It's most often the String type which causes problem when comparing with numbers.

// testing for null
simple("${in.header.baz} == null")

// testing for not null
simple("${in.header.baz} != null")

And a bit more advanced example where the right value is another expression

simple("${in.header.date} == ${date:now:yyyyMMdd}")

simple("${in.header.type} == ${bean:orderService?method=getOrderType}")

And an example with contains, testing if the title contains the word Camel

simple("${in.header.title} contains 'Camel'")

And an example with regex, testing if the number header is a 4 digit value:

simple("${in.header.number} regex '\\d{4}'")

And finally an example if the header equals any of the values in the list. Each element must be separated by comma, and no space around.
This also works for numbers etc, as Camel will convert each element into the type of the left hand side.

simple("${in.header.type} in 'gold,silver'")

And for all the last 3 we also support the negate test using not:

simple("${in.header.type} not in 'gold,silver'")

And you can test if the type is a certain instance, eg for instance a String

simple("${in.header.type} is 'java.lang.String'")

We have added a shorthand for all java.lang types so you can write it as:

simple("${in.header.type} is 'String'")

Ranges are also supported. The range interval requires numbers and both from and end are inclusive. For instance to test whether a value is between 100 and 199:

simple("${in.header.number} range 100..199")

Notice we use .. in the range without spaces. Its based on the same syntax as Groovy.

From Camel 2.9 onwards the range value must be in single quotes

simple("${in.header.number} range '100..199'")

Can be used in Spring XML As the Spring XML does not have all the power as the Java DSL with all its various builder methods, you have to resort to use some other languages for testing with simple operators. Now you can do this with the simple language. In the sample below we want to test if the header is a widget order: <from uri="seda:orders"> <filter> <simple>${in.header.type} == 'widget'</simple> <to uri="bean:orderService?method=handleWidget"/> </filter> </from>

Using and / or

If you have two expressions you can combine them with the and or or operator.

Camel 2.9 onwards Use && or || from Camel 2.9 onwards.

For instance:

simple("${in.header.title} contains 'Camel' and ${in.header.type'} == 'gold'")

And of course the or is also supported. The sample would be:

simple("${in.header.title} contains 'Camel' or ${in.header.type'} == 'gold'")

Notice: Currently and or or can only be used once in a simple language expression. This might change in the future.
So you cannot do:

simple("${in.header.title} contains 'Camel' and ${in.header.type'} == 'gold' and ${in.header.number} range 100..200")

Samples

In the Spring XML sample below we filter based on a header value:

    <from uri="seda:orders">
       <filter>
           <simple>${in.header.foo}</simple>
           <to uri="mock:fooOrders"/>
       </filter>
    </from>

The Simple language can be used for the predicate test above in the Message Filter pattern, where we test if the in message has a foo header (a header with the key foo exists). If the expression evaluates to true then the message is routed to the mock:fooOrders endpoint, otherwise its lost in the deep blue sea .

The same example in Java DSL:

    from("seda:orders")
        .filter().simple("${in.header.foo}").to("seda:fooOrders");

You can also use the simple language for simple text concatenations such as:

   from("direct:hello").transform().simple("Hello ${in.header.user} how are you?").to("mock:reply");

Notice that we must use ${ } placeholders in the expression now to allow Camel to parse it correctly.

And this sample uses the date command to output current date.

   from("direct:hello").transform().simple("The today is ${date:now:yyyyMMdd} and its a great day.").to("mock:reply");

And in the sample below we invoke the bean language to invoke a method on a bean to be included in the returned string:

   from("direct:order").transform().simple("OrderId: ${bean:orderIdGenerator}").to("mock:reply");

Where orderIdGenerator is the id of the bean registered in the Registry. If using Spring then its the Spring bean id.

If we want to declare which method to invoke on the order id generator bean we must prepend .method name such as below where we invoke the generateId method.

   from("direct:order").transform().simple("OrderId: ${bean:orderIdGenerator.generateId}").to("mock:reply");

We can use the ?method=methodname option that we are familiar with the Bean component itself:

   from("direct:order").transform().simple("OrderId: ${bean:orderIdGenerator?method=generateId}").to("mock:reply");

And from Camel 2.3 onwards you can also convert the body to a given type, for example to ensure its a String you can do:

  <transform>
    <simple>Hello ${bodyAs(String)} how are you?</simple>
  </transform>

There are a few types which have a shorthand notation, so we can use String instead of java.lang.String. These are: byte[], String, Integer, Long. All other types must use their FQN name, e.g. org.w3c.dom.Document.

Its also possible to lookup a value from a header Map in Camel 2.3 onwards:

  <transform>
    <simple>The gold value is ${header.type[gold]}</simple>
  </transform>

In the code above we lookup the header with name type and regard it as a java.util.Map and we then lookup with the key gold and return the value.
If the header is not convertible to Map an exception is thrown. If the header with name type does not exist null is returned.

From Camel 2.9 onwards you can nest functions, such as shown below:

<setHeader headerName="myHeader">
  <simple>${properties:${header.someKey}}</simple>
</setHeader>

Referring to constants or enums

Available as of Camel 2.11

Suppose you have an enum for customers

public enum Customer {

    GOLD, SILVER, BRONZE
}

And in a Content Based Router we can use the Simple language to refer to this enum, to check the message which enum it matches.

from("direct:start")
    .choice()
        .when().simple("${header.customer} == ${type:org.apache.camel.processor.Customer.GOLD}")
            .to("mock:gold")
        .when().simple("${header.customer} == ${type:org.apache.camel.processor.Customer.SILVER}")
            .to("mock:silver")
        .otherwise()
            .to("mock:other");

Using new lines or tabs in XML DSLs

Available as of Camel 2.9.3

From Camel 2.9.3 onwards its easier to specify new lines or tabs in XML DSLs as you can escape the value now

<transform>
  <simple>The following text\nis on a new line</simple>
</transform>

Setting result type

Available as of Camel 2.8

You can now provide a result type to the Simple expression, which means the result of the evaluation will be converted to the desired type. This is most useable to define types such as booleans, integers, etc.

For example to set a header as a boolean type you can do:

.setHeader("cool", simple("true", Boolean.class))

And in XML DSL

      <setHeader headerName="cool">
        <!-- use resultType to indicate that the type should be a java.lang.Boolean -->
        <simple resultType="java.lang.Boolean">true</simple>
      </setHeader>

Changing function start and end tokens

Available as of Camel 2.9.1

You can configure the function start and end tokens - ${ } using the setters changeFunctionStartToken and changeFunctionEndToken on SimpleLanguage, using Java code. From Spring XML you can define a <bean> tag with the new changed tokens in the properties as shown below:

    <!-- configure Simple to use custom prefix/suffix tokens -->
    <bean id="simple" class="org.apache.camel.language.simple.SimpleLanguage">
      <property name="functionStartToken" value="["/>
      <property name="functionEndToken" value="]"/>
    </bean>

In the example above we use [ ] as the changed tokens.

Notice by changing the start/end token you change those in all the Camel applications which share the same camel-core on their classpath.
For example in an OSGi server this may affect many applications, where as a Web Application as a WAR file it only affects the Web Application.

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").simple("resource:classpath:mysimple.txt")

Dependencies

The Simple language is part of camel-core.

File Expression Language

File language is now merged with Simple language From Camel 2.2 onwards, the file language is now merged with Simple language which means you can use all the file syntax directly within the simple language.

The File Expression Language is an extension to the Simple language, adding file related capabilities. These capabilities are related to common use cases working with file path and names. The goal is to allow expressions to be used with the File and FTP components for setting dynamic file patterns for both consumer and producer.

Syntax

This language is an extension to the Simple language so the Simple syntax applies also. So the table below only lists the additional.
As opposed to Simple language File Language also supports Constant expressions so you can enter a fixed filename.

All the file tokens use the same expression name as the method on the java.io.File object, for instance file:absolute refers to the java.io.File.getAbsolute() method. Notice that not all expressions are supported by the current Exchange. For instance the FTP component supports some of the options, where as the File component supports all of them.

File token example

Relative paths

We have a java.io.File handle for the file hello.txt in the following relative directory: .\filelanguage\test. And we configure our endpoint to use this starting directory .\filelanguage. The file tokens will return as:

Absolute paths

We have a java.io.File handle for the file hello.txt in the following absolute directory: \workspace\camel\camel-core\target\filelanguage\test. And we configure out endpoint to use the absolute starting directory \workspace\camel\camel-core\target\filelanguage. The file tokens will return as:

Samples

You can enter a fixed Constant expression such as myfile.txt:

fileName="myfile.txt"

Lets assume we use the file consumer to read files and want to move the read files to backup folder with the current date as a sub folder. This can be archieved using an expression like:

fileName="backup/${date:now:yyyyMMdd}/${file:name.noext}.bak"

relative folder names are also supported so suppose the backup folder should be a sibling folder then you can append .. as:

fileName="../backup/${date:now:yyyyMMdd}/${file:name.noext}.bak"

As this is an extension to the Simple language we have access to all the goodies from this language also, so in this use case we want to use the in.header.type as a parameter in the dynamic expression:

fileName="../backup/${date:now:yyyyMMdd}/type-${in.header.type}/backup-of-${file:name.noext}.bak"

If you have a custom Date you want to use in the expression then Camel supports retrieving dates from the message header.

fileName="orders/order-${in.header.customerId}-${date:in.header.orderDate:yyyyMMdd}.xml"

And finally we can also use a bean expression to invoke a POJO class that generates some String output (or convertible to String) to be used:

fileName="uniquefile-${bean:myguidgenerator.generateid}.txt"

And of course all this can be combined in one expression where you can use the File Language, Simple and the Bean language in one combined expression. This is pretty powerful for those common file path patterns.

Using Spring PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer together with the File component

In Camel you can use the File Language directly from the Simple language which makes a Content Based Router easier to do in Spring XML, where we can route based on file extensions as shown below:

  <from uri="file://input/orders"/>
     <choice>
       <when>
           <simple>${file:ext} == 'txt'</simple>
           <to uri="bean:orderService?method=handleTextFiles"/>
       </when>
       <when>
           <simple>${file:ext} == 'xml'</simple>
           <to uri="bean:orderService?method=handleXmlFiles"/>
       </when>
       <otherwise>
           <to uri="bean:orderService?method=handleOtherFiles"/>
       </otherwise>
    </choice>

If you use the fileName option on the File endpoint to set a dynamic filename using the File Language then make sure you
use the alternative syntax (available from Camel 2.5 onwards) to avoid clashing with Springs PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer.

<bean id="propertyPlaceholder" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer">
    <property name="location" value="classpath:bundle-context.cfg" />
</bean>

<bean id="sampleRoute" class="SampleRoute">
    <property name="fromEndpoint" value="${fromEndpoint}" />
    <property name="toEndpoint" value="${toEndpoint}" />
</bean>

fromEndpoint=activemq:queue:test
toEndpoint=file://fileRoute/out?fileName=test-$simple{date:now:yyyyMMdd}.txt

Notice how we use the $simple{ } syntax in the toEndpoint above.
If you don't do this, there is a clash and Spring will throw an exception like

org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanDefinitionStoreException:
Invalid bean definition with name 'sampleRoute' defined in class path resource [bundle-context.xml]:
Could not resolve placeholder 'date:now:yyyyMMdd'

Dependencies

The File language is part of camel-core.

SQL Language

The SQL support is added by JoSQL and is primarily used for performing SQL queries on in-memory objects. If you prefer to perform actual database queries then check out the JPA component.

Looking for the SQL component Camel has both a SQL language and a SQL Component. This page is about the SQL language. Click on SQL Component if you are looking for the component instead.

To use SQL in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-josql which implements the SQL language.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-josql</artifactId>
  <version>2.5.0</version>
</dependency>

Camel supports SQL to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration. For example you could use SQL to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List.

from("queue:foo").setBody().sql("select * from MyType").to("queue:bar")

And the spring DSL:

   <from uri="queue:foo"/>
   <setBody>
       <sql>select * from MyType</sql>
   </setBody>
   <to uri="queue:bar"/>

Variables

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").sql("resource:classpath:mysql.sql")

XPath

Camel supports XPath to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration. For example you could use XPath to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List.

from("queue:foo").
  filter().xpath("//foo")).
  to("queue:bar")

from("queue:foo").
  choice().xpath("//foo")).to("queue:bar").
  otherwise().to("queue:others");

Namespaces

You can easily use namespaces with XPath expressions using the Namespaces helper class.

Namespaces ns = new Namespaces("c", "http://acme.com/cheese");

from("direct:start").filter().
        xpath("/c:person[@name='James']", ns).
        to("mock:result");

Variables

Variables in XPath is defined in different namespaces. The default namespace is http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring.

Camel will resolve variables according to either:

• namespace given
• no namespace given

Namespace given

If the namespace is given then Camel is instructed exactly what to return. However when resolving either in or out Camel will try to resolve a header with the given local part first, and return it. If the local part has the value body then the body is returned instead.

No namespace given

If there is no namespace given then Camel resolves only based on the local part. Camel will try to resolve a variable in the following steps:

• from variables that has been set using the variable(name, value) fluent builder
• from message.in.header if there is a header with the given key
• from exchange.properties if there is a property with the given key

Functions

Camel adds the following XPath functions that can be used to access the exchange:

Notice: function:properties and function:simple is not supported when the return type is a NodeSet, such as when using with a Splitter EIP.

Here's an example showing some of these functions in use.

from("direct:start").choice()
  .when().xpath("in:header('foo') = 'bar'").to("mock:x")
  .when().xpath("in:body() = '<two/>'").to("mock:y")
  .otherwise().to("mock:z");

And the new functions introduced in Camel 2.5:

// setup properties component
PropertiesComponent properties = new PropertiesComponent();
properties.setLocation("classpath:org/apache/camel/builder/xml/myprop.properties");
context.addComponent("properties", properties);

// myprop.properties contains the following properties
// foo=Camel
// bar=Kong

from("direct:in").choice()
    // $type is a variable for the header with key type
    // here we use the properties function to lookup foo from the properties files
    // which at runtime will be evaluted to 'Camel'
    .when().xpath("$type = function:properties('foo')")
        .to("mock:camel")
    // here we use the simple language to evaluate the expression
    // which at runtime will be evaluated to 'Donkey Kong'
    .when().xpath("//name = function:simple('Donkey ${properties:bar}')")
        .to("mock:donkey")
    .otherwise()
        .to("mock:other")
    .end();

Using XML configuration

If you prefer to configure your routes in your Spring XML file then you can use XPath expressions as follows

<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
       http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring/camel-spring.xsd">

  <camelContext id="camel" xmlns="http://activemq.apache.org/camel/schema/spring" xmlns:foo="http://example.com/person">
    <route>
      <from uri="activemq:MyQueue"/>
      <filter>
        <xpath>/foo:person[@name='James']</xpath>
        <to uri="mqseries:SomeOtherQueue"/>
      </filter>
    </route>
  </camelContext>
</beans>

Notice how we can reuse the namespace prefixes, foo in this case, in the XPath expression for easier namespace based XPath expressions!

See also this discussion on the mailinglist about using your own namespaces with xpath

Setting result type

The XPath expression will return a result type using native XML objects such as org.w3c.dom.NodeList. But many times you want a result type to be a String. To do this you have to instruct the XPath which result type to use.

In Java DSL:

xpath("/foo:person/@id", String.class)

In Spring DSL you use the resultType attribute to provide a fully qualified classname:

<xpath resultType="java.lang.String">/foo:person/@id</xpath>

In @XPath:
Available as of Camel 2.1

@XPath(value = "concat('foo-',//order/name/)", resultType = String.class) String name)

Where we use the xpath function concat to prefix the order name with foo-. In this case we have to specify that we want a String as result type so the concat function works.

Using XPath on Headers

Available as of Camel 2.11

Some users may have XML stored in a header. To apply an XPath to a header's value you can do this by defining the 'headerName' attribute.

In XML DSL:

<camelContext id="xpathHeaderNameTest" xmlns="http://camel.apache.org/schema/blueprint">
  <route>
    <from uri="direct:in"/>
    <choice>
      <when>
        <!-- use headerName attribute to refer to a header -->
        <xpath headerName="invoiceDetails">/invoice/@orderType = 'premium'</xpath>
        <to uri="mock:premium"/>
      </when>
      <when>
        <!-- use headerName attribute to refer to a header -->
        <xpath headerName="invoiceDetails">/invoice/@orderType = 'standard'</xpath>
        <to uri="mock:standard"/>
      </when>
      <otherwise>
        <to uri="mock:unknown"/>
      </otherwise>
    </choice>
  </route>
</camelContext>

Examples

Here is a simple example using an XPath expression as a predicate in a Message Filter

from("direct:start").
        filter().xpath("/person[@name='James']").
        to("mock:result");

If you have a standard set of namespaces you wish to work with and wish to share them across many different XPath expressions you can use the NamespaceBuilder as shown in this example

// lets define the namespaces we'll need in our filters
Namespaces ns = new Namespaces("c", "http://acme.com/cheese")
        .add("xsd", "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema");

// now lets create an xpath based Message Filter
from("direct:start").
        filter(ns.xpath("/c:person[@name='James']")).
        to("mock:result");

In this sample we have a choice construct. The first choice evaulates if the message has a header key type that has the value Camel.
The 2nd choice evaluates if the message body has a name tag <name> which values is Kong.
If neither is true the message is routed in the otherwise block:

from("direct:in").choice()
    // using $headerName is special notation in Camel to get the header key
    .when().xpath("$type = 'Camel'")
        .to("mock:camel")
    // here we test for the body name tag
    .when().xpath("//name = 'Kong'")
        .to("mock:donkey")
    .otherwise()
        .to("mock:other")
    .end();

And the spring XML equivalent of the route:

<camelContext xmlns="http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring">
    <route>
        <from uri="direct:in"/>
        <choice>
            <when>
                <xpath>$type = 'Camel'</xpath>
                <to uri="mock:camel"/>
            </when>
            <when>
                <xpath>//name = 'Kong'</xpath>
                <to uri="mock:donkey"/>
            </when>
            <otherwise>
                <to uri="mock:other"/>
            </otherwise>
        </choice>
    </route>
</camelContext>

XPath injection

You can use Bean Integration to invoke a method on a bean and use various languages such as XPath to extract a value from the message and bind it to a method parameter.

The default XPath annotation has SOAP and XML namespaces available. If you want to use your own namespace URIs in an XPath expression you can use your own copy of the XPath annotation to create whatever namespace prefixes you want to use.

import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

import org.w3c.dom.NodeList;

import org.apache.camel.component.bean.XPathAnnotationExpressionFactory;
import org.apache.camel.language.LanguageAnnotation;
import org.apache.camel.language.NamespacePrefix;

@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target({ElementType.FIELD, ElementType.METHOD, ElementType.PARAMETER})
@LanguageAnnotation(language = "xpath", factory = XPathAnnotationExpressionFactory.class)
public @interface MyXPath {
    String value();

    // You can add the namespaces as the default value of the annotation
    NamespacePrefix[] namespaces() default {
    @NamespacePrefix(prefix = "n1", uri = "http://example.org/ns1"),
    @NamespacePrefix(prefix = "n2", uri = "http://example.org/ns2")};

    Class<?> resultType() default NodeList.class;
}

i.e. cut and paste upper code to your own project in a different package and/or annotation name then add whatever namespace prefix/uris you want in scope when you use your annotation on a method parameter. Then when you use your annotation on a method parameter all the namespaces you want will be available for use in your XPath expression.

For example

public class Foo {
	
    @MessageDriven(uri = "activemq:my.queue")
    public void doSomething(@MyXPath("/ns1:foo/ns2:bar/text()") String correlationID, @Body String body) {
		// process the inbound message here
    }
}

Using XPathBuilder without an Exchange

Available as of Camel 2.3

You can now use the org.apache.camel.builder.XPathBuilder without the need for an Exchange. This comes handy if you want to use it as a helper to do custom xpath evaluations.

It requires that you pass in a CamelContext since a lot of the moving parts inside the XPathBuilder requires access to the Camel Type Converter and hence why CamelContext is needed.

For example you can do something like this:

boolean matches = XPathBuilder.xpath("/foo/bar/@xyz").matches(context, "<foo><bar xyz='cheese'/></foo>"));

This will match the given predicate.

You can also evaluate for example as shown in the following three examples:

    String name = XPathBuilder.xpath("foo/bar").evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>cheese</bar></foo>", String.class);
    Integer number = XPathBuilder.xpath("foo/bar").evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>123</bar></foo>", Integer.class);
    Boolean bool = XPathBuilder.xpath("foo/bar").evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>true</bar></foo>", Boolean.class);

Evaluating with a String result is a common requirement and thus you can do it a bit simpler:

    String name = XPathBuilder.xpath("foo/bar").evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>cheese</bar></foo>");

Using Saxon with XPathBuilder

Available as of Camel 2.3

You need to add camel-saxon as dependency to your project.

Its now easier to use Saxon with the XPathBuilder which can be done in several ways as shown below.
Where as the latter ones are the easiest ones.

Using a factory

// create a Saxon factory
XPathFactory fac = new net.sf.saxon.xpath.XPathFactoryImpl();

// create a builder to evaluate the xpath using the saxon factory
XPathBuilder builder = XPathBuilder.xpath("tokenize(/foo/bar, '_')[2]").factory(fac);

// evaluate as a String result
String result = builder.evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>abc_def_ghi</bar></foo>");
assertEquals("def", result);

Using ObjectModel

// create a builder to evaluate the xpath using saxon based on its object model uri
XPathBuilder builder = XPathBuilder.xpath("tokenize(/foo/bar, '_')[2]").objectModel("http://saxon.sf.net/jaxp/xpath/om");

// evaluate as a String result
String result = builder.evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>abc_def_ghi</bar></foo>");
assertEquals("def", result);

The easy one

// create a builder to evaluate the xpath using saxon
XPathBuilder builder = XPathBuilder.xpath("tokenize(/foo/bar, '_')[2]").saxon();

// evaluate as a String result
String result = builder.evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>abc_def_ghi</bar></foo>");
assertEquals("def", result);

Setting a custom XPathFactory using System Property

Available as of Camel 2.3

Camel now supports reading the JVM system property javax.xml.xpath.XPathFactory that can be used to set a custom XPathFactory to use.

This unit test shows how this can be done to use Saxon instead:

// set system property with the XPath factory to use which is Saxon 
System.setProperty(XPathFactory.DEFAULT_PROPERTY_NAME + ":" + "http://saxon.sf.net/jaxp/xpath/om", "net.sf.saxon.xpath.XPathFactoryImpl");

// create a builder to evaluate the xpath using saxon
XPathBuilder builder = XPathBuilder.xpath("tokenize(/foo/bar, '_')[2]");

// evaluate as a String result
String result = builder.evaluate(context, "<foo><bar>abc_def_ghi</bar></foo>");
assertEquals("def", result);

Camel will log at INFO level if it uses a non default XPathFactory such as:

XPathBuilder  INFO  Using system property javax.xml.xpath.XPathFactory:http://saxon.sf.net/jaxp/xpath/om with value:
                    net.sf.saxon.xpath.XPathFactoryImpl when creating XPathFactory

To use Apache Xerces you can configure the system property

-Djavax.xml.xpath.XPathFactory=org.apache.xpath.jaxp.XPathFactoryImpl

Enabling Saxon from Spring DSL

Available as of Camel 2.10

Similarly to Java DSL, to enable Saxon from Spring DSL you have three options:

Specifying the factory

<xpath factoryRef="saxonFactory" resultType="java.lang.String">current-dateTime()</xpath>

Specifying the object model

<xpath objectModel="http://saxon.sf.net/jaxp/xpath/om" resultType="java.lang.String">current-dateTime()</xpath>

Shortcut

<xpath saxon="true" resultType="java.lang.String">current-dateTime()</xpath>

Namespace auditing to aid debugging

Available as of Camel 2.10

A large number of XPath-related issues that users frequently face are linked to the usage of namespaces. You may have some misalignment between the namespaces present in your message and those that your XPath expression is aware of or referencing. XPath predicates or expressions that are unable to locate the XML elements and attributes due to namespaces issues may simply look like "they are not working", when in reality all there is to it is a lack of namespace definition.

Namespaces in XML are completely necessary, and while we would love to simplify their usage by implementing some magic or voodoo to wire namespaces automatically, truth is that any action down this path would disagree with the standards and would greatly hinder interoperability.

Therefore, the utmost we can do is assist you in debugging such issues by adding two new features to the XPath Expression Language and are thus accesible from both predicates and expressions.

Logging the Namespace Context of your XPath expression/predicate

Every time a new XPath expression is created in the internal pool, Camel will log the namespace context of the expression under the org.apache.camel.builder.xml.XPathBuilder logger. Since Camel represents Namespace Contexts in a hierarchical fashion (parent-child relationships), the entire tree is output in a recursive manner with the following format:

[me: {prefix -> namespace}, {prefix -> namespace}], [parent: [me: {prefix -> namespace}, {prefix -> namespace}], [parent: [me: {prefix -> namespace}]]]

Any of these options can be used to activate this logging:

1. Enable TRACE logging on the org.apache.camel.builder.xml.XPathBuilder logger, or some parent logger such as org.apache.camel or the root logger
2. Enable the logNamespaces option as indicated in Auditing Namespaces, in which case the logging will occur on the INFO level

Auditing namespaces

Camel is able to discover and dump all namespaces present on every incoming message before evaluating an XPath expression, providing all the richness of information you need to help you analyse and pinpoint possible namespace issues.

To achieve this, it in turn internally uses another specially tailored XPath expression to extract all namespace mappings that appear in the message, displaying the prefix and the full namespace URI(s) for each individual mapping.

Some points to take into account:

• The implicit XML namespace (xmlns:xml="http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace") is suppressed from the output because it adds no value
• Default namespaces are listed under the DEFAULT keyword in the output
• Keep in mind that namespaces can be remapped under different scopes. Think of a top-level 'a' prefix which in inner elements can be assigned a different namespace, or the default namespace changing in inner scopes. For each discovered prefix, all associated URIs are listed.

You can enable this option in Java DSL and Spring DSL.

Java DSL:

XPathBuilder.xpath("/foo:person/@id", String.class).logNamespaces()

Spring DSL:

<xpath logNamespaces="true" resultType="String">/foo:person/@id</xpath>

The result of the auditing will be appear at the INFO level under the org.apache.camel.builder.xml.XPathBuilder logger and will look like the following:

2012-01-16 13:23:45,878 [stSaxonWithFlag] INFO  XPathBuilder  - Namespaces discovered in message: 
{xmlns:a=[http://apache.org/camel], DEFAULT=[http://apache.org/default], 
xmlns:b=[http://apache.org/camelA, http://apache.org/camelB]}

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").xpath("resource:classpath:myxpath.txt", String.class)

Dependencies

The XPath language is part of camel-core.

XQuery

Camel supports XQuery to allow an Expression or Predicate to be used in the DSL or Xml Configuration. For example you could use XQuery to create an Predicate in a Message Filter or as an Expression for a Recipient List.

Options

Examples

from("queue:foo").filter().
  xquery("//foo").
  to("queue:bar")

You can also use functions inside your query, in which case you need an explicit type conversion (or you will get a org.w3c.dom.DOMException: HIERARCHY_REQUEST_ERR) by passing the Class as a second argument to the xquery() method.

from("direct:start").
  recipientList().xquery("concat('mock:foo.', /person/@city)", String.class);

Variables

The IN message body will be set as the contextItem. Besides this these Variables is also added as parameters:

Using XML configuration

If you prefer to configure your routes in your Spring XML file then you can use XPath expressions as follows

<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xmlns:foo="http://example.com/person"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
       http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
       http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring/camel-spring.xsd">

  <camelContext id="camel" xmlns="http://activemq.apache.org/camel/schema/spring">
    <route>
      <from uri="activemq:MyQueue"/>
      <filter>
        <xquery>/foo:person[@name='James']</xquery>
        <to uri="mqseries:SomeOtherQueue"/>
      </filter>
    </route>
  </camelContext>
</beans>

Notice how we can reuse the namespace prefixes, foo in this case, in the XPath expression for easier namespace based XQuery expressions!

When you use functions in your XQuery expression you need an explicit type conversion which is done in the xml configuration via the @type attribute:

    <xquery type="java.lang.String">concat('mock:foo.', /person/@city)</xquery>

Using XQuery as an endpoint

Sometimes an XQuery expression can be quite large; it can essentally be used for Templating. So you may want to use an XQuery Endpoint so you can route using XQuery templates.

The following example shows how to take a message of an ActiveMQ queue (MyQueue) and transform it using XQuery and send it to MQSeries.

  <camelContext id="camel" xmlns="http://camel.apache.org/schema/spring">
    <route>
      <from uri="activemq:MyQueue"/>
      <to uri="xquery:com/acme/someTransform.xquery"/>
      <to uri="mqseries:SomeOtherQueue"/>
    </route>
  </camelContext>

Examples

Here is a simple example using an XQuery expression as a predicate in a Message Filter

from("direct:start").filter().xquery("/person[@name='James']").to("mock:result");

This example uses XQuery with namespaces as a predicate in a Message Filter

Namespaces ns = new Namespaces("c", "http://acme.com/cheese");

from("direct:start").
        filter().xquery("/c:person[@name='James']", ns).
        to("mock:result");

Learning XQuery

XQuery is a very powerful language for querying, searching, sorting and returning XML. For help learning XQuery try these tutorials

• Mike Kay's XQuery Primer
• the W3Schools XQuery Tutorial

You might also find the XQuery function reference useful

Loading script from external resource

Available as of Camel 2.11

You can externalize the script and have Camel load it from a resource such as "classpath:", "file:", or "http:".
This is done using the following syntax: "resource:scheme:location", eg to refer to a file on the classpath you can do:

.setHeader("myHeader").xquery("resource:classpath:myxquery.txt", String.class)

Dependencies

To use XQuery in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on camel-saxon which implements the XQuery language.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml, substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see the download page for the latest versions).

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-saxon</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>