Quick Answer: Apache Camel is an open-source integration framework for Java developed by the Apache Software Foundation. It connects applications, services, APIs, and data sources by providing over 350 pre-built connectors and implementing the Enterprise Integration Patterns described by Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf. Developers define integration routes — describing where to read data, how to transform it, and where to send it — using domain-specific languages in Java, XML, or YAML. Each connector is a pluggable component identified by a URI, giving a uniform programming model across message brokers, REST and SOAP APIs, databases, file protocols, cloud services, and enterprise applications such as SAP and Salesforce. Routes can also be designed visually using the open-source tools Kaoto and Apache Camel Karavan. Camel is an embeddable library rather than a standalone server.