Learning GraphQL by building real world APIs with GraphQL, NodeJs, MongoDB And Sequelize

GraphQL is a new API standard that provides a more efficient, robust and flexible alternative to REST. It was developed and open-sourced by Facebook and is now maintained by a large community of companies and individuals from all over the world.

APIs have become ubiquitous components of software infrastructures. In short, an API defines how a client can load data from a server.

At its core, GraphQL enables declarative data fetching where a client can specify exactly what data it needs from an API. Instead of multiple endpoints that return fixed data structures, a GraphQL server only exposes a single endpoint and responds with precisely the data a client asked for.

How GraphQL is better than REST

1. Increased mobile usage creates need for efficient data loading
Increased mobile usage, low-powered devices and sloppy networks were the initial reasons why Facebook developed GraphQL. GraphQL minimizes the amount of data that needs to be transferred over the network and thus majorly improves applications operating under these conditions.

2. Variety of different frontend frameworks and platforms
The heterogeneous landscape of frontend frameworks and platforms that run client applications makes it difficult to build and maintain one API that would fit the requirements of all. With GraphQL, each client can access precisely the data it needs.

3. Fast development & expectation for rapid feature development
Continuous deployment has become a standard for many companies, rapid iterations and frequent product updates are indispensable. With REST APIs, the way data is exposed by the server often needs to be modified to account for specific requirements and design changes on the client-side. This hinders fast development practices and product iterations.