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GraphQL

Official Website

GraphQL is a query language for APIs and a runtime for fulfilling those queries with your existing data. GraphQL provides a complete and understandable description of the data in your API, gives clients the power to ask for exactly what they need and nothing more, makes it easier to evolve APIs over time, and enables powerful developer tools.

Tools​

  • Apollo
    • The most popular GraphQL framework that supports both frontend and backend.
  • Codegen
    • Generate all kinds of code based on GraphQL schema, such as TypeScript, MongoDB Schema, introspection, and shortcuts for React, Vue, etc. with combinations of plugins.
    • This largely facilitates the development process, avoid rewriting code when GraphQL schema changes.
  • GraphQL-Shield

Testing​

  • Apollo has notes for testing Apollo Server
  • Postman also supports developing and testing GraphQL
    • It's a good choice if you want to integrate other tests with GraphQL tests.
    • See Postman Notes for more details.

Common Problems​

  • Always get INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR when using shield no matter what Error you are throwing
    • This is because all catched thrown errors are caught by shield and translated to INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR to avoid exposing internal code
    • See Custom Errors.
    • Short Answer: Return Error instead of throwing it

Common Usage​