GraphQL

GraphQL is an open-source data query language and data manipulation language for APIs, and a query runtime engine.

GraphQL
Developer(s)Meta, and community
Initial releaseSeptember 14, 2015 (2015-09-14)
Stable release
October 2021 (2021-10)[1]
Repositorygithub.com/graphql/graphql-spec
Written inImplementations in Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Scala, others.
Websitegraphql.org

History

Facebook (now Meta) started GraphQL development in 2012 and released it in 2015.[2] GraphQL was moved on 7 November 2018 to the newly established GraphQL Foundation, hosted by the non-profit Linux Foundation.[3][4]

On 9 February 2018, the GraphQL Schema Definition Language (SDL) became part of the specification.[5]

Design

GraphQL provides a web API approach in which clients define the structure of the data to be returned by the server. This can impede web caching of query results. GraphQL does not provide a full-fledged graph query language such as SPARQL, or even in dialects of SQL that support transitive closure. For example, a GraphQL interface that reports the parents of an individual cannot return, in a single query, the set of all their ancestors.

GraphQL consists of a type system, query language and execution semantics, static validation, and type introspection. It supports reading, writing (mutating), and subscribing to changes to data (realtime updates – most commonly implemented using Websockets).[6] GraphQL servers are available for multiple languages. The result of a single query is returned in JSON format.

Example

POST request:

{
    orders {
        id
        productsList {
            product {
                name
                price
            }
            quantity
        }
        totalAmount
    }
}

Response:

{
    "data": {
        "orders": [
            {
                "id": 1,
                "productsList": [
                    {
                        "product": {
                            "name": "orange",
                            "price": 1.5
                        },
                        "quantity": 100
                    }
                ],
                "totalAmount": 150
            }
        ]
    }
}

Testing

GraphQL APIs can be tested manually or with automated tools issuing GraphQL requests and verifying the correctness of the results. Automatic test generation is also possible.[7] New requests may be produced through search-based techniques.[8]

Software for testing includes Step CI.[9]

See also

References
  1. "GraphQL October 2021 Release Notes". GitHub.
  2. "GraphQL: A data query language". 14 September 2015.
  3. "Facebook's GraphQL gets its own open-source foundation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  4. "The Linux Foundation Announces Intent to Form New Foundation to Support GraphQL - The Linux Foundation". The Linux Foundation. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  5. "GraphQL SDL included in Github repository". GitHub.
  6. "GraphQL". facebook.github.io. Facebook. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  7. Vargas, D. M.; Blanco, A. F.; Vidaurre, A. C.; Alcocer, J. P. S.; Torres, M. M.; Bergel, A.; Ducasse, S. (2018). "Deviation Testing: A Test Case Generation Technique for GraphQL APIs". 11th International Workshop on Smalltalk Technologies (IWST): 1–9.
  8. Karlsson, Stefan; Causevic, Adnan; Sundmark, Daniel (May 2021). "Automatic Property-based Testing of GraphQL APIs". 2021 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automation of Software Test (AST). Madrid, Spain: IEEE: 1–10. arXiv:2012.07380. doi:10.1109/AST52587.2021.00009. ISBN 978-1-6654-3567-3. S2CID 229156477.
  9. "Testing GraphQL APIs". Step CI Documentation. Retrieved 8 January 2023.

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