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What is GraphQL: Best Practices
- 2. 2 Content What we’ll be covering What is GraphQL Why we need to adhere to best practices Importance of Schema design Security and Versioning Documentation
- 3. 3 What is GraphQL The what and the why? GraphQLis a query language and runtime forAPIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that was developed by Facebook in 2012 and later open-sourced in 2015. It provides a more efficient, flexible, and powerful way to interact withAPIs compared to traditional REST(Representational StateTransfer)APIs. Instead of having multiple endpoints for different types of data, a GraphQLAPI exposes a single endpoint where clients can send queries that specify the shape and structure of the response they expect.This query is essentially a JSON object describing the data requirements.
- 4. 4 REST vs GraphQL In traditional RESTAPIs, the client typically has to make multiple requests to different endpoints to gather all the required data. GraphQLaddresses these issues by allowing the client to specify exactly what data it needs and in what format.
- 5. 5 Issues with RESTAPIs Addressing bottlenecks In REST, endpoints often return fixed data structures, which can result in clients receiving more data than needed (over-fetching) or making multiple requests to different endpoints to gather required data (under-fetching).This leads to increased latency and inefficient use of network resources. In RESTAPIs, when changes are made to the data structure or behaviour of an endpoint, it often requires creating a new version of theAPI to avoid breaking existing clients.This can lead to maintenance challenges and confusion for bothAPI providers and consumers. GraphQLsolves this by allowing clients to request only the specific fields they need, eliminating over-fetching and under-fetching. Clients define their data requirements in the query, ensuring that they receive precisely the data they expect, without unnecessary additional information. GraphQLreduces versioning challenges by introducing a strongly-typed schema.The schema serves as a contract between the client and the server, defining the types of data that can be queried and the relationships between them.
- 6. 6 How to make the most out of GraphQL What are the different practices that can give you superpowers Following best practices when working with GraphQLis crucial to ensure the efficiency, maintainability, and scalability of yourAPI and the applications that interact with it. Here are some reasons why adhering to best practices is important • Efficiency • Data Security • Scalability • Developer Collaboration • Future-proofing
- 7. 7 Importance of Schema Design How you should design your schema and why doing it right matters The schema acts as a contract between the client and the server, defining the types of data that can be queried, the relationships between them, and the operations that can be performed. It matters because a well-designed schema ensures clarity, efficiency, and flexibility in yourAPI. • Use clear and meaningful type names • Hierarchical Structure • Use Interfaces and Union for Polymorphic types • Use @deprecated directive • Add support for pagination and filtering
- 8. 8 Importance of meaningful errors Why you should care about the error messages as much as the returned data Meaningful error messages provide clear insights into what went wrong, making it easier for developers to identify and fix issues in their queries or mutations. • PromotesAdoption • Encourages Proper Usage • Supports Client-Side Development • Saves NetworkTraffic
- 9. 9 Some other best practices What can help you make the most of your GraphQLAPIs Caching and Performance Utilize caching mechanisms likeApollo Client's cache or Dataloader caching.These mechanisms store frequently accessed data in memory, reducing the need for repeated database queries. Implement server-side caching with tools like Redis for queries that are common and resource-intensive. Minimize the data returned in each request to reduce payload size and improve performance, especially for mobile clients. Security Protect sensitive data with authentication and authorization mechanisms. Ensure that only authorized users can access certain queries and mutations. Implement field-level permissions to restrict access to specific fields based on the user's role or permissions. Be cautious with the introspection query, which can expose your schema structure; disable it in production to mitigate potential security risks.
- 10. 10 Some other best practices What can help you make the most of your GraphQLAPIs Versioning Plan for schema changes and versioning to prevent breaking changes for clients. GraphQLschemas can evolve over time, and it's important to provide backward compatibility for existing clients. Use features like unions and interfaces to maintain compatibility even as you introduce new types. Provide clear deprecation notices for fields or types that will be removed in the future. Tooling Leverage tools likeApollo Server, GraphQLYoga, or Express GraphQLfor setting up your GraphQLserver.These tools simplify server creation and provide useful features out of the box. Use GraphQLtools like GraphiQLor GraphQLPlayground for query exploration and debugging. Incorporate linting and code generators to maintain code quality, consistency, and to automate repetitive tasks.
- 11. 11 Key Takeaways What we learned What is GraphQL Bottlenecks with RESTAPIs Best practices when using GraphQL
- 12. Thank you for your time wednesday.is