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Multiple processing steps in a Pipes and Filters chain are connected by Message Channels.

How can you decouple individual processing steps so that messages can be passed to different filters depending on a set of conditions?

Insert a special filter, a Message Router, which consumes a Message from one Message Channel and republishes it to a different Message Channel channel depending on a set of conditions.

The Message Router differs from the most basic notion of Pipes and Filters in that it connects to multiple output channels. Thanks to the Pipes and Filters architecture the components surrounding the Message Router are completely unaware of the existence of a Message Router. A key property of the Message Router is that it does not modify the message contents. It only concerns itself with the destination of the message.

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Find the full description of this pattern in: Enterprise Integration Patterns Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf ISBN 0321200683 650 pages Addison-Wesley

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