| copyright | lastupdated | ||
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2017-09-26 |
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{{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} implements publish/subscribe messaging using topics. Unlike other messaging systems, {{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} provides topics but not queues. {{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} also offers additional capabilities such as bridges to other systems.
{{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} is based on the open-source Apache Kafka project, a highly scalable, high-performing messaging backbone proven in many production environments. For more information, see {{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} and Apache Kafka. Apache Kafka tools usually work directly with {{site.data.keyword.messagehub}}, although you do need to provide additional configuration because connections to {{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} always authenticate using credentials.
{{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} has three APIs: the Kafka API, the Kafka REST API, and the {{site.data.keyword.mql}} API. In most cases, the Kafka API is the best choice. For more information about creating messaging applications using the APIs, see Using a Kafka client, Using the Kafka REST API, and Using an MQ Light API client.
{{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} also supports bridges to a selection of other systems. A bridge is a unidirectional link to another system. A bridge can take messages from the other system and publish them onto a topic, or consume messages from a topic and send them to the other system. In this way, you can use {{site.data.keyword.messagehub}} to integrate with other systems without writing code. For more information, see Linking to other services using bridges.