GraphQL

Rationale

GraphQL  is the query language we use for our official API .

The main reasons why we chose it over other alternatives are:

• It is Open source .
• It provides a very flexible syntax that allows end users to fetch exactly the data they need.
• It allows front-ends to inherit all the API types by using its schema.
• It makes versioning way easier by allowing us to deprecate specific queries and mutations , which allows us to keep evolving our API without having to introduce major changes.
• It supports playgrounds , which are ideal for comfortably learning and interacting with the API.
• Although it is harder to protect a GraphQL API against DoS attacks due to its flexibility, it still supports validations like query breadth and depth.

Alternatives

The following alternative was considered but not chosen for these reasons:

REST

• It provides a much more limited syntax for end users.
• It makes versioning harder as entire endpoints must be deprecated, losing granularity and forcing us to introduce major changes to keep compatibility.
• Protecting it against DoS attacks is easier due to its limited flexibility.

Usage

We use GraphQL  as the query language for our official API .