GraphQL vs GraphQL Mesh

Overview

GraphQL

Stacks34.9K

Followers28.1K

Votes309

GraphQL Mesh

Stacks8

Followers22

Votes0

GraphQL vs GraphQL Mesh: What are the differences?

Introduction: GraphQL and GraphQL Mesh are both frameworks used for building and querying APIs. While they share some similarities, there are key differences between the two that make them unique in their own ways.

TypeDef Language Support: GraphQL supports defining the schema and types using its own type definition language (SDL). On the other hand, GraphQL Mesh allows the use of multiple type definition languages, such as GraphQL SDL, Protobuf, OpenAPI, and Thrift, providing greater flexibility and interoperability.
Schema Stitching: GraphQL Mesh enables schema stitching, which allows combining multiple GraphQL schemas into a single unified schema. This allows developers to integrate existing GraphQL APIs and meshes together seamlessly, providing a unified interface to clients. GraphQL, on the other hand, does not have built-in support for schema stitching and requires additional tooling for this functionality.
Data Sources Integration: GraphQL Mesh provides a built-in way to integrate and connect data sources with various protocols into the GraphQL schema. This includes REST APIs, gRPC, SOAP, and more. GraphQL, however, requires the use of resolvers to connect to data sources, which needs to be implemented manually or using third-party libraries.
Automatic Proxy Generation: GraphQL Mesh can automatically generate proxies for external schema endpoints, including GraphQL APIs, REST APIs, and other supported protocols. This simplifies the process of connecting to external data sources and eliminates the need for manual proxy implementation. GraphQL does not have this built-in functionality and requires developers to manually create proxies.
Plugin System: GraphQL Mesh has a powerful plugin system that allows developers to extend its functionalities and customize the behavior of the generated schemas and resolvers. This helps in integrating additional features and handling complex scenarios with ease. GraphQL, on the other hand, does not have a built-in plugin system and relies on external libraries or custom code for extending its functionalities.
Code Generation and Language Support: GraphQL Mesh provides extensive code generation capabilities, allowing developers to generate client SDKs, type definitions, and resolvers for different programming languages. It also supports various query and code generation tools like GraphQL Code Generator. GraphQL, on the other hand, does not have built-in code generation capabilities and requires the use of external tools and libraries for code generation.

In summary, GraphQL Mesh offers more flexibility in terms of schema definition, data source integration, and schema stitching, while also providing features like automatic proxy generation, plugin system, and code generation capabilities. GraphQL, on the other hand, is focused on providing a powerful and efficient query language for APIs with the need for additional tooling for advanced features.

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CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Detailed Comparison

GraphQL	GraphQL Mesh
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.	It allows you to use GraphQL query language to access data in remote APIs that don't run GraphQL (and also ones that do run GraphQL). It can be used as a gateway to other services, or run as a local GraphQL schema that aggregates data from remote APIs.
Hierarchical;Product-centric;Client-specified queries;Backwards Compatible;Structured, Arbitrary Code;Application-Layer Protocol;Strongly-typed;Introspective	Use GraphQL query language to fetch data from your data-sources directly, without the need for a running gateway server, or any other bottleneck; Use GraphQL query language to fetch from (almost) any data source, without changing the source or modify it's code; Free and open-source, and been built with the community
Statistics
Stacks 34.9K	Stacks 8
Followers 28.1K	Followers 22
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
Integrations
No integrations available	TypeScript

What are some alternatives to GraphQL, GraphQL Mesh?

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

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

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.

Firecamp

Firecamp is a centralized platform to test/manage/collaborate on HTTP, GraphQL, WS and other forms of APIs in a Team.

GraphQL Editor

Visual GraphQL Editor is a visual backend editor that speed's up software development and improve's communication with non-tech people. It's a is a bridge between tech and non-tech users. Professionals can import their previously written code and visualize it on diagram while newbies can link visual blocks and editor will transform them into code. Our tool makes understanding GraphQL schema a lot easier.

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.

Altair GraphQL

A beautiful feature-rich GraphQL Client IDE for all platforms. Enables you interact with any GraphQL server you are authorized to access from any platform you are on. Much like Postman for GraphQL, you can easily test and optimize your Grap

graphql-yoga

Easiest way to run a GraphQL server: Sensible defaults & includes everything you need with minimal setup.;Includes Subscriptions: Built-in support for GraphQL subscriptions using WebSockets.;Compatible: Works with all GraphQL clients (Apollo, Relay...) and fits seamless in your GraphQL workflow.

GraphQL Nexus

It is a declarative, code-first and strongly typed GraphQL schema construction for TypeScript & JavaScript.

Cruddl

It is a library that creates an executable GraphQL schema from a model definition and provides queries and mutations to access a database. Currently, it supports the multi-model database ArangoDB. The concept being inspired by existing projects like prisma and join-monster, it exploits the expressiveness of the Arango Query Language (AQL) to generate one tailored query for each GraphQL request.

Related Comparisons

GraphQL vs GraphQL Mesh: What are the differences?

TypeDef Language Support: GraphQL supports defining the schema and types using its own type definition language (SDL). On the other hand, GraphQL Mesh allows the use of multiple type definition languages, such as GraphQL SDL, Protobuf, OpenAPI, and Thrift, providing greater flexibility and interoperability.
Schema Stitching: GraphQL Mesh enables schema stitching, which allows combining multiple GraphQL schemas into a single unified schema. This allows developers to integrate existing GraphQL APIs and meshes together seamlessly, providing a unified interface to clients. GraphQL, on the other hand, does not have built-in support for schema stitching and requires additional tooling for this functionality.
Data Sources Integration: GraphQL Mesh provides a built-in way to integrate and connect data sources with various protocols into the GraphQL schema. This includes REST APIs, gRPC, SOAP, and more. GraphQL, however, requires the use of resolvers to connect to data sources, which needs to be implemented manually or using third-party libraries.
Automatic Proxy Generation: GraphQL Mesh can automatically generate proxies for external schema endpoints, including GraphQL APIs, REST APIs, and other supported protocols. This simplifies the process of connecting to external data sources and eliminates the need for manual proxy implementation. GraphQL does not have this built-in functionality and requires developers to manually create proxies.
Plugin System: GraphQL Mesh has a powerful plugin system that allows developers to extend its functionalities and customize the behavior of the generated schemas and resolvers. This helps in integrating additional features and handling complex scenarios with ease. GraphQL, on the other hand, does not have a built-in plugin system and relies on external libraries or custom code for extending its functionalities.
Code Generation and Language Support: GraphQL Mesh provides extensive code generation capabilities, allowing developers to generate client SDKs, type definitions, and resolvers for different programming languages. It also supports various query and code generation tools like GraphQL Code Generator. GraphQL, on the other hand, does not have built-in code generation capabilities and requires the use of external tools and libraries for code generation.

GraphQL vs GraphQL Mesh

Overview