Demystifying GraphQL

or

Why I'm probably never making another REST API ever again

(yet another) Todo App

Data Models

A Simple GraphQL Server

Enough slides, show the GQL schema.

Takeaways

• Schema should reflect the mental model
• Bidirectional relationships encouraged
• Resolvers are not magic
  • small/medium learning curve
  • code generation for type safety helps
• Fully denormalized types are great
  • foreign keys are a red flag

Sure does seem like the client can ask for a lot....

Data Loaders

https://www.npmjs.com/package/dataloader

When should you use GraphQL?

• When you're building a server to power UI
  • especially if multiple UIs
• Consider using over a REST API
• Provide a single server for accessing data across microservices / legacy APIs / databases / etc...

When does GraphQL make less sense?

• Communication between backend services
• Data Science / Business Analysts

  • It can work, but you’re most likely forcing them to do their own ETL

  • Probably better off giving them access to DBs (if possible)

• Public facing APIs (although this is changing...)

Example Repo

https://github.com/Khelldar/todo-gql