Prepare Clients and Tools for Apache Kafka's Zookeeper Removal (KIP-500)

This post details the technical steps and rationale for preparing Kafka clients and tools for the removal of ZooKeeper dependency (KIP-500). It outlines how to migrate configurations from `zookeeper.connect` to `bootstrap.servers` for client applications, Confluent Platform components, and administrative tools. It also covers updating REST Proxy API calls from v1 to v2/v3 and methods for obtaining the Kafka cluster ID without relying on ZooKeeper. The post emphasizes the security benefits of connecting directly to brokers and the importance of proactive auditing and code upgrades.