GraphQL & Vetspire

Modified on Tue, Jan 7 at 5:19 PM

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules and protocols for building and interacting with software applications. It defines the methods and data formats for requesting and exchanging information between different software applications, enabling them to communicate and share functions and data in a predefined way. APIs are crucial for developing software applications, integrating systems, and enabling third-party services to interact with each other efficiently and securely.

GraphQL: is a query language for APIs that allows clients to request exactly what they need and nothing more. It enables declarative data fetching where a client can specify exactly what data it needs from an API.
Unlike REST, where you would have to retrieve entire payloads from multiple endpoints, GraphQL lets you aggregate the data from multiple sources in a single query.
Basics include understanding schemas (which define the capabilities of the API including queries and mutations), types, and resolving functions that fetch the data. For a practical start, it's recommended to experiment with example queries on a GraphQL playground or look into tutorials that walk you through creating a simple GraphQL server.
Declarative Data Fetching: Clients specify exactly the data they require from an API.
Efficiency: Unlike REST, which may require fetching from multiple endpoints, GraphQL aggregates data from multiple sources in one query.
Schemas: Define the API's capabilities, including available queries and mutations.
Types and Resolving Functions: Essential for understanding the structure of data and how it's fetched.
Mutations: Mutations are for writing data (insertions, updates, deletions). They change data on the server and return the new state of the data you've mutated. Both queries and mutations are defined in a schema that describes the types of data that can be queried or mutated and how those operations can be carried out. This approach makes data retrieval and manipulation efficient and flexible.
An API endpoint is a specific URL or URI at which a web service listens for requests. It acts as a touchpoint for the API to communicate with the external software, where each endpoint is associated with a specific function. These functions can include retrieving data, making updates, or performing other operations. The endpoint defines the location on the server where these interactions occur, allowing developers to specify the exact operation they wish to perform through their API call.

https://api2.vetspire.com/graphql

Here's a simplified example of a GraphQL API request querying for a user's name and email:

query { user(id: "1") { name email } }

This request is structured to ask the API to return the name and email of the user with the ID "1". In GraphQL, you can specifically ask for the pieces of data you want, which allows for more efficient data retrieval compared to traditional REST APIs.