Core concepts

rust-camel builds every route from three abstractions. An Exchange carries the data. A Route chains the processors that transform it. A Component owns a URI scheme and connects the route to the outside world. This section defines that model. Every pattern in the guide assumes it.

Read the pages in this order:

1. Exchange and Message - the envelope that carries the body, headers, properties, and error state. Every pattern mutates it.
2. Routes and pipelines - how a source and an ordered step list form a Tower service chain. This is where you compose patterns.
3. Components and endpoints - how a Component turns a URI into the consumers and producers that do real I/O.
4. Error handling - how faults propagate through a route, and how handlers control recovery.
5. Data plane vs control plane - why message flow and route lifecycle run on separate trait hierarchies.
6. Glossary - the canonical name for every term. Open it when a word needs a precise definition.

When the model is clear, the EIP patterns show how to compose these concepts into routing, transformation, and messaging solutions.