Brian Kimokoti - Beginning GraphQL: Fetch data faster and more efficiently whilst improving the overall performance of your web application

Copyright 2018 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Acquisitions Editor: Koushik Sen
Content Development Editors: Murtaza Haamid, Rutuja Yerunkar
Production Coordinator: Ratan Pote

First published: July 2018

Production reference: 1260718

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham
B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78961-054-3

www.packtpub.com

Mapt is an online digital library that gives you full access to over 5,000 books and videos, as well as industry leading tools to help you plan your personal development and advance your career. For more information, please visit our website.

• Spend less time learning and more time coding with practical eBooks and Videos from over 4,000 industry professionals
• Improve your learning with Skill Plans built especially for you
• Get a free eBook or video every month
• Mapt is fully searchable
• Copy and paste, print, and bookmark content

Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com and as a print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us at service@packtpub.com for more details.

At www.PacktPub.com , you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign up for a range of free newsletters, and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt books and eBooks.

Brian Kimokoti is a software developer with Andela. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the Multimedia University of Kenya. For the last 5 years, he has been developing applications in PHP, JavaScript, and Python. Brian is a regular tech blogger on different online platforms and aspires to gain more experience and skills to an engineering and architect level.

Sam Anderson is currently working as a web developer at Joi Polloi. He gained experience working his way up the ladder, having progressed from being a summer intern to a web developer at ARM.

He completed his Master of Engineering degree at the University of Southampton. You can find out more about Sam on his LinkedIn profile: samanderson-00aa7222/.

If you're interested in becoming an author for Packt, please visit authors.packtpub.com and apply today. We have worked with thousands of developers and tech professionals, just like you, to help them share their insight with the global tech community. You can make a general application, apply for a specific hot topic that we are recruiting an author for, or submit your own idea.

Over-fetching and under-fetching data can negatively impact the performance of your web application. Future-proof your API structure and handle key development requirements by correctly defining types and schemas in GraphQL.

Though fairly new, GraphQL is quickly rising in popularity when it comes to API development. This book will teach you everything you need to know to start building efficient APIs with GraphQL. You'll begin by learning to create a simple scaffold application using Node.js and Express. Then, you'll explore core GraphQL concepts and study how GraphQL integrates with other frameworks in real-life business applications. By the end of the book, you will be able to successfully create efficient client-server REST-like applications.

This book is ideal for developers who want to broaden their understanding of API development. Prior experience to JavaScript is required, with any prior work with React or Node.js being beneficial.

, Understanding GraphQL Concepts , covers an introduction to GraphQL and its advantages over REST, key concepts of GraphQL, and the construction of queries based on the structure of the data. It also teaches us how to create a simple GraphQL application and test the functionalities of our server using GraphiQL.

, Querying Real-Time Data , deals with real-time server response using GraphQL subscriptions. It also covers using Graphcool to implement GraphQL queries with ease. Finally, it explores the different entities of a GraphQL application and the fundamental concepts of writing queries and mutations in different ways.

, Integrating GraphQL with Server-Side Applications Using the Apollo Client , demonstrates the creation of interactive UIs and the integration of GraphQL functionality into a React application using Apollo Client, react-apollo, and other packages. It also covers working of the client cache, connecting components to retrieve data from the cache, updating the cache, and including optimistic UI.

For successful completion of this book, you will require a computer with at least 64-bit operating system, 4 GB RAM (minimum), and a stable internet connection.

The software required are macOS / Linux (Preferably Ubuntu 16.04) / Windows OS (Windows 7 minimum) and Visual Studio Code IDE.

You can download the example code files for this book from your account at www.packtpub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files emailed directly to you.

You can download the code files by following these steps:

1. Log in or register at www.packtpub.com.
2. Select the SUPPORT tab.
3. Click on Code Downloads & Errata .
4. Enter the name of the book in the Search box and follow the onscreen instructions.

Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the latest version of:

• WinRAR/7-Zip for Windows
• Zipeg/iZip/UnRarX for Mac
• 7-Zip/PeaZip for Linux

The code bundle for the book is also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/TrainingByPackt/Beginning-GraphQL . In case there's an update to the code, it will be updated on the existing GitHub repository.