Beginners guide to Apache Camel with ServiceMix: Part1

This blog post gives beginners a detailed step-by-step guide on how to set up an environment, develop a simple route, deploy the route and run your first apache Camel example by first testing it in Eclipse and then deploying it on Apache ServiceMix. Part one in this series will only set up the environment.


Setting up the environment

Java

• Install the latest JDK\JRE (http://www.java.com/en/). Make sure you create the JAVA_HOME environment variable and point it to the JDK root directory. Also add JAVA_HOME\bin to your system path.

Maven

• Download and configure the latest Maven distribution (http://maven.apache.org/download.html).
• Make sure you create the M2_HOME environment variable and point it to the Maven root directory. Also add it to your system path. 
• Check the "installation instructions" section on the same page for more info.

Eclipse

• Download Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/eclipse-ide-java-developers/heliossr2)
• Simply extract the download and run the eclipse.exe

Fuse IDE for Camel & m2eclipse

• Prerequisite: It is best to uninstall m2eclipse before doing this installation. Some versions of m2eclipse are incompatible with Fuse for Camel. To uninstall:
• In Eclipse go to Help - About Eclipse - Installation Details
• choose Maven Integraiton for Eclipse
• uninstall
• Before you can install and use the Fuse IDE for Camel you have to register at https://fusesource.com/register 
• To install Fuse IDE for Camel go to Help - Install New Software in Eclipse.
• Paste the following link in the Work with section and hit enter: http://repo.fusesource.com/ide/ 
• Select Fuse IDE for Camel and follow instructions to Finish. This installation includes:
•  Fuse IDE for Camel
• JMX Console
• Maven Integration for Eclipse (m2eclipse) - This means no manual installation of m2eclipse is needed.
• For more info check http://fusesource.com/docs/ide/camel/beta/install_guide/index.html 
• Troubleshooting: After Eclipse has restarted, it may complain about "Eclipse is running in a JRE, but a JDK is required". This happens when trying to create a new Maven project. Follow this link for instructions to fix this: http://czetsuya-tech.blogspot.com/2011/02/maven-integration-requires-that-eclipse.html

ServiceMix (Fuse ESB)

• Download the binary distribution from http://fusesource.com/products/enterprise-servicemix/ and unpack it to the desired directory.
• For more info check http://fusesource.com/docs/esb/4.3.1/esb_install_guide/index.html 

Part 2 in this series will look at how to develop a simple route, test it and deploy it.