chapter two

2 Exploring GraphQL APIs

 

This chapter covers:

  • Using GraphQL’s in-browser IDE to test GraphQL requests
  • Exploring the fundamentals of sending GraphQL data requests
  • Exploring read and write example operations from the GitHub GraphQL API
  • Exploring GraphQL’s introspective features
  • Exploring auto-generated GraphQL APIs

The easiest way to start learning about the powerful features of the GraphQL language is to use its feature-rich interactive in-browser IDE. This IDE leverages GraphQL’s type system to give you features that you can use to explore what you can do with GraphQL and to write and test your GraphQL requests without leaving your browser. Using this IDE, we will continue to explore examples of GraphQL queries and mutations. We’ll look at the fundamental parts of a GraphQL request, we will test examples from the official GitHub GraphQL API, and we will also test a GraphQL backend-as-a-service tool.

2.1  The GraphiQL editor

2.2  The basics of the GraphQL language

2.2.1  Requests

2.2.2  Fields

2.3  Examples from the GitHub API

2.3.1  Reading data from GitHub

2.3.2  Updating data at GitHub

2.3.3  Introspective queries

2.4  Summary