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  1. Stackups
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  4. Query Languages
  5. GraphQL vs graphql.js

GraphQL vs graphql.js

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

GraphQL
GraphQL
Stacks34.9K
Followers28.1K
Votes309
graphql.js
graphql.js
Stacks93
Followers85
Votes0
GitHub Stars2.3K
Forks88

GraphQL vs graphql.js: What are the differences?

Introduction

GraphQL is a query language and runtime that enables clients to request and receive the data they need from servers in a flexible and efficient manner. On the other hand, graphql.js is a JavaScript library that provides a set of tools and utilities for building GraphQL schemas, resolvers, and servers. While both GraphQL and graphql.js are related to GraphQL technology, there are several key differences between them.

  1. Syntax and Usage: GraphQL is a language that has its own syntax and set of rules for defining and querying APIs. It allows clients to specify the data they need and receive that data in a structured format. On the other hand, graphql.js is a JavaScript library that is used to implement GraphQL functionality in server applications. It provides tools for defining schemas, resolvers, and executing queries.

  2. Server-Side Only: GraphQL is a language and specification that can be used in both client and server applications. It allows clients to query data from servers, but it can also be used to define and implement APIs on the server side. In contrast, graphql.js is specifically designed for server-side usage. It provides the necessary tools and utilities for building GraphQL servers in JavaScript.

  3. Functionality: GraphQL provides a complete set of features for querying and manipulating data. It supports features like query variables, mutations, subscriptions, and directives. It also has built-in support for introspection, allowing clients to discover the capabilities of a GraphQL API. On the other hand, graphql.js is primarily focused on providing the tools and utilities for implementing GraphQL servers. It does not have built-in support for all the features of GraphQL and may require additional libraries for certain functionality.

  4. Flexibility: GraphQL is designed to be a flexible and adaptable technology. It allows clients to specify the data they need in a declarative and precise manner. Clients can query for specific fields, specify arguments, and define complex nested structures. GraphQL also supports type introspection, enabling clients to dynamically discover the schema of a GraphQL API. GraphQL.js, while providing tools for building GraphQL servers, may not offer the same level of flexibility out of the box. Developers may need to write custom code to handle specific use cases or extend the functionality of graphql.js.

  5. Community and Ecosystem: GraphQL has a large and active community of developers and has gained significant popularity in recent years. It has a wide range of tooling, libraries, and frameworks built around it, making it easier to integrate and use GraphQL in various contexts. On the other hand, graphql.js, being a JavaScript library, also benefits from the vibrant JavaScript ecosystem. It can leverage existing JavaScript libraries and frameworks to build GraphQL servers and integrate with other technologies.

  6. Maturity and Adoption: GraphQL has been adopted by numerous companies and organizations for building APIs and client-server communication. It has proven to be a reliable and scalable technology, used by companies like Facebook, GitHub, and many others. GraphQL.js, being a library for implementing GraphQL servers, also benefits from the maturity and adoption of GraphQL itself. It is actively maintained and updated to align with the latest advancements and best practices in the GraphQL ecosystem.

In summary, GraphQL is a query language and specification that enables clients to request and receive the data they need from servers, while graphql.js is a JavaScript library that provides tools and utilities for building GraphQL servers. GraphQL is more focused on the language and specification aspects, providing a complete set of features and flexibility, while graphql.js is specific to server-side usage and may require additional customization for specific use cases. Both of them benefit from the strong community and adoption of GraphQL technology.

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Advice on GraphQL, graphql.js

Raj
Raj

Oct 10, 2020

Review

It purely depends on your app needs. Does it need to be scalable, do you have lots of features, OR it is a simple project with very simple needs - many of those parameters clarify which technologies will fit.

If you are looking for a quick solution, that reduces lot of development time, take a look at postgraphile (https://www.graphile.org/postgraphile/). You have to just define the schema and you get the entire graph-ql apis built for you and you can just focus on your frontend.

On frontend, React is good, but also need to remember that it is popular because it introduced one way data writes and in-built virtual dom + diffing to determine which dom to modify. Though personally I liked it, am recently more inclined to Svelte because its lightweightedness and absence of virtual dom and its simplicity compared to the huge ecosystem that React has surrounded itself with.

In all situations, frameworks keep changing over time. What is best today is not considered even good few years from now. What is important is to have the logic in a separate, clean manner void of too many framework related dependencies - that way you can switch one framework with another very easily.

3.76k views3.76k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

GraphQL
GraphQL
graphql.js
graphql.js

GraphQL is a data query language and runtime designed and used at Facebook to request and deliver data to mobile and web apps since 2012.

Lightest GraphQL client with intelligent features. You can download graphql.js directly, or you can use Bower or NPM.

Hierarchical;Product-centric;Client-specified queries;Backwards Compatible;Structured, Arbitrary Code;Application-Layer Protocol;Strongly-typed;Introspective
No dependencies, plain vanilla JavaScript.;Plug & Play.;Isomorphic.;Runs on most browsers.;You don't need to install Node.js ecosystem on your computer.
Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
2.3K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
88
Stacks
34.9K
Stacks
93
Followers
28.1K
Followers
85
Votes
309
Votes
0
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 75
    Schemas defined by the requests made by the user
  • 63
    Will replace RESTful interfaces
  • 62
    The future of API's
  • 49
    The future of databases
  • 12
    Get many resources in a single request
Cons
  • 4
    Hard to migrate from GraphQL to another technology
  • 4
    More code to type.
  • 2
    Takes longer to build compared to schemaless.
  • 1
    No support for caching
  • 1
    No built in security
No community feedback yet

What are some alternatives to GraphQL, graphql.js?

Prisma

Prisma

Prisma is an open-source database toolkit. It replaces traditional ORMs and makes database access easy with an auto-generated query builder for TypeScript & Node.js.

PostGraphile

PostGraphile

Execute one command (or mount one Node.js middleware) and get an instant high-performance GraphQL API for your PostgreSQL database

OData

OData

It is an ISO/IEC approved, OASIS standard that defines a set of best practices for building and consuming RESTful APIs. It helps you focus on your business logic while building RESTful APIs without having to worry about the various approaches to define request and response headers, status codes, HTTP methods, URL conventions, media types, payload formats, query options, etc.

Oracle PL/SQL

Oracle PL/SQL

It is a powerful, yet straightforward database programming language. It is easy to both write and read, and comes packed with lots of out-of-the-box optimizations and security features.

SQL

SQL

SQL is designed for managing data held in a relational database management system (RDBMS), or for stream processing in a relational data stream management system (RDSMS).

Graphene

Graphene

Graphene is a Python library for building GraphQL schemas/types fast and easily.

JSON API

JSON API

It is most widely used data format for data interchange on the web. This data interchange can happen between two computers applications at different geographical locations or running within same hardware machine.

JsonAPI

JsonAPI

t is a format that works with HTTP. A main goal of the specification is to optimize HTTP requests both in terms of the number of requests and the size of data packages exchanged between clients and servers.

GraphQL Ruby

GraphQL Ruby

Get going fast with the graphql gem, battle-tested and trusted by GitHub and Shopify.

Trino

Trino

It is a fast distributed SQL query engine for big data analytics that helps you explore your data universe. It is designed to query large data sets distributed over one or more heterogeneous data sources.

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