GraphQL

State Of GraphQL Wrap-up

Published Feb 8, 2022

Updated Feb 13, 2023

2 min read

This article was written over 18 months ago and may contain information that is out of date. Some content may be relevant but please refer to the relevant official documentation or available resources for the latest information.

One of the first events of 2022 wrapped up in a spectacular way. The State of GraphQL included many wonderful people and presented a number of interesting topics and questions.

Before we get into the key take-aways, I would highly suggest you watch the live stream for a more in-depth and highly entertaining experience.

Let's get started with introducing our hosts and panelists for The State Of GraphQL.

🗣 Hosts

👉 Dustin Goodman - @dustinsgoodman

👉 Eve Porcello - @eveporcello

🗣 Panelists

👉 Roy Derks - @gethackteam - Hackteam - StepZen

👉 Janessa Garrrow - @janessagarrow - Apollo

👉 Milecia McGregor - @flippedcoding - Iterative

👉 Jamie Barton - @notrab - Graphql Screencasts - Graph CMS: The GraphQL Headless CMS

Key Points

The State of GraphQL live-stream consisted of numerous questions, and discussions presented by our panelists and viewers on Youtube.

There are a lot of advantages when using GraphQL. Having one endpoint to dynamically and effectively gather different types of information is useful. However, one of the biggest obstacles for people switching from REST to GraphQL is the relatively complexity of setting up and using GraphQL. There are more and more tools coming to market that aim at easing that burden.

Some of the questions that were asked were:

If you could add one thing to the #graphql spec, what would it be?
With so many GraphQL tools and options out there, how do you choose which to use? Based on comfort? Requirements? Project scope?
Are there any community events that you’re excited about?
Is GraphQL a viable communication protocol for IoT devices?
Right now the hardest thing about implementing GraphQL is the scheming (coming from REST). Is there anything that has been a blocker for you in implementing GraphQL?
Where do you lie on the REST vs GraphQL scale?
What are you most excited about in the GraphQL space right now?

This Dot is a consultancy dedicated to guiding companies through their modernization and digital transformation journeys. Specializing in replatforming, modernizing, and launching new initiatives, we stand out by taking true ownership of your engineering projects.

We love helping teams with projects that have missed their deadlines or helping keep your strategic digital initiatives on course. Check out our case studies and our clients that trust us with their engineering.

Tyrel Chambers

Software Engineer passionate about developing cool ideas and pizza

@imtyrelchambers @tyrelchambers

Introducing the New Serverless, GraphQL, Apollo Server, and Contentful Starter kit

Introducing the new Serverless, GraphQL, Apollo Server, and Contentful Starter kit The team at This Dot Labs has released a brand new starter kit which includes the Serverless Framework, GraphQL, Apollo Server and Contentful configured and ready to go. This article will walk through how to set up the new kit, the key technologies used, and reasons why you would consider using this kit. Table of Contents - How to get started setting up the kit - Generate the project - Setup Contentful access - Setting up Docker - Starting the local server - How to Create the Technology Model in Contentful - How to seed the database with demo data - How to work with the migration scripts - Technologies included in this starter kit - Why use GraphQL? - Why use Contentful? - Why use Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)? - Why use Apollo Server? - Why use the Serverless Framework? - Why use Redis? - Why use the Jest testing framework? - Project structure - How to deploy your application - What can this starter kit be used for? - Conclusion How to get started setting up the kit Generate the project In the command line, you will need to start the starter.dev CLI by running the npx @this-dot/create-starter command. You can then select the Serverless Framework, Apollo Server, and Contentful CMS kit and name your new project. Then you will need to cd into your new project directory and install the dependencies using the tool of your choice (npm, yarn, or pnpm). Next, you will need to Run cp .env.example .env to copy the contents of the .env.example file into the .env file. Setup Contentful access You will first need to create an account on Contentful, if you don't have one already. Once you are logged in, you will need to create a new space. From there, go to Settings -> API keys and click on the Content Management Tokens tab. Next, click on the Generate personal token button and give your token a name. Copy your new Personal Access Token, and add it to the CONTENTFUL_CONTENT_MANAGEMENT_API_TOKEN variable. Then, go to Settings -> General settings to get the CONTENTFUL_SPACE_ID. The last step is to add those CONTENTFUL_CONTENT_MANAGEMENT_API_TOKEN and CONTENTFUL_SPACE_ID values to your .env file. Setting up Docker You will first need to install Docker Desktop if you don't have it installed already. Once installed, you can start up the Docker container with the npm run infrastructure:up command. Starting the local server While the Docker container is running, open up a new tab in the terminal and run npm run dev to start the development server. Open your browser to http://localhost:3000/dev/graphql to open up Apollo server. How to Create the Technology Model in Contentful To get started with the example model, you will first need to create the model in Contentful. 1. Log into your Contentful account 2. Click on the Content Model tab 3. Click on the Design your Content Modal button if this is your first modal 4. Create a new model called Technology 5. Add three new text fields called displayName, description and url 6. Save your new model How to seed the database with demo data This starter kit comes with a seeding script that pre-populates data for the Technology Content type. In the command line, run npm run db:seed which will add three new data entries into Contentful. If you want to see the results from seeding the database, you can execute a small GraphQL query using Apollo server. First, make sure Docker, and the local server(npm run dev) are running, and then navigate to http://localhost:3000/dev/graphql. Add the following query: ` When you run the query, you should see the following output. ` How to work with the migration scripts Migrations are a way to make changes to your content models and entries. This starter kit comes with a couple of migration scripts that you can study and run to make changes to the demo Technology model. These migration scripts are located in the scripts/migration directory. To get started, you will need to first install the contentful-cli. ` You can then login to Contentful using the contentful-cli. ` You will then need to choose the Contentful space where the Technology model is located. ` If you want to modify the existing demo content type, you can run the second migration script from the starter kit. ` If you want to build out more content models using the CLI, you can study the example code in the /scripts/migrations/01-create-technology-contentType.js file. From there, you can create a new migration file, and run the above contentful space migration command. If you want to learn more about migration in Contentful, then please check out the documentation. Technologies included in this starter kit Why use GraphQL? GraphQL is a query language for your API and it makes it easy to query all of the data you need in a single request. This starter kit uses GraphQL to query the data from our Contentful space. Why use Contentful? Contentful is a headless CMS that makes it easy to create and manage structured data. We have integrated Contentful into this starter kit to make it easy for you to create new entries in the database. Why use Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)? Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a queuing service that allows you to decouple your components and process and store messages in a scalable way. In this starter kit, an SQS message is sent by the APIGatewayProxyHandler using the sendMessage function, which is then stored in a queue called DemoJobQueue. The SQS handler sqs-handler polls this queue, and processes any message received. ` Why use Apollo Server? Apollo Server is a production-ready GraphQL server that works with any GraphQL client, and data source. When you run npm run dev and open the browser to http://localhost:3000/dev/graphql, you will be able to start querying your Contentful data in no time. Why use the Serverless Framework? The Serverless Framework is used to help auto-scale your application by using AWS Lambda functions. In the starter kit, you will find a serverless.yml file, which acts as a configuration for the CLI and allows you to deploy your code to your chosen provider. This starter kit also includes the following plugins: - serverless-offline - allows us to deploy our application locally to speed up development cycles. - serverless-plugin-typescript - allows the use of TypeScript with zero-config. - serverless-dotenv-plugin - preloads function environment variables into the Serverless Framework. Why use Redis? Redis is an open-source in-memory data store that stores data in the server memory. This starter kit uses Redis to cache the data to reduce the API response times and rate limiting. When you make a new request, those new requests will be retrieved from the Redis cache. Why use the Jest testing framework? Jest is a popular testing framework that works well for creating unit tests. You can see some example test files under the src/schema/technology directory. You can use the npm run test command to run all of the tests. Project structure Inside the src directory, you will find the following structure: ` This given structure makes it easy to find all of the code and tests related to that specific component. This structure also follows the single responsibility principle which means that each file has a single purpose. How to deploy your application The Serverless Framework needs access to your cloud provider account so that it can create and manage resources on your behalf. You can follow the guide to get started. Steps to get started: 1. Sign up for an AWS account 2. Create an IAM User and Access Key 3. Export your AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID & AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY credentials. ` 4. Deploy your application on AWS Lambda: ` 5. To deploy a single function, run: ` To stop your Serverless application, run: ` For more information on Serverless deployment, check out this article. What can this starter kit be used for? This starter kit is very versatile, and can be used with a front-end application for a variety of situations. Here are some examples: - personal developer blog - small e-commerce application Conclusion In this article, we looked at how we can get started using the Serverless, GraphQL, Apollo Server, and Contentful Starter kit. We also looked at the different technologies used in the kit, and why they were chosen. Lastly, we looked at how to deploy our application using AWS. I hope you enjoy working with our new starter kit!...

Jun 2, 2023

7 mins

GraphQL

Efficiently Extract Object References in Shopify Storefront GraphQL API

Efficiently Extract Object References in Shopify Storefront GraphQL API Introduction So, this blog post is born out of necessity and a bit of frustration. If you're diving into the world of Shopify's Storefront API, you've probably realized that while it's powerful, extracting data in the object reference from Metadata fields or Metaobjects (in the GraphQL query) can be a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. This complexity often arises not from the API's lack of capabilities but from the sparse and sometimes unclear documentation on this specific aspect. That's precisely why I decided to create this post. As a developer, I found myself in a situation where the documentation and community resources were either scarce or not detailed enough for the specific challenges I faced. This guide is the result of my journey - from confusion to clarity. The Situation To understand the crux of my challenge, it's essential to recognize that creating metafields and metaobjects is a common practice for those seeking a more customized and controlled experience with Shopify CMS. In my specific case, I wanted to enrich the information available for each product's vendor beyond what Shopify typically allows, which is just a single text box. I aimed to have each vendor display their name and two versions of their logo: a themed logo that aligns with my website's color scheme and an original logo for use on specific pages. The challenge emerged when I fetched a list of all vendors to display on a page. My GraphQL query for the Storefront API looked like this: ` This was when I hit a roadblock. How do I fetch a field with a more complex type than a simple text or number, like an image? To retrieve the correct data, what specific details must I include in the originalLogo and themedLogo fields? In my quest for a solution, I turned to every resource I could think of. I combed through the Storefront API documentation, searched endlessly on Stack Overflow, and browsed various tech forums. Despite all these efforts, I couldn’t find the clear, detailed answers I needed. It felt like I was looking for something that should be there but wasn’t. Solution Before diving into the solution, it's important to note that this is the method I discovered through trial and error. There might be other approaches, but I want to share the process that worked for me without clear documentation. My first step was to understand the nature of the data returned by the Storefront API. I inspected the value of a metaobject, which looked something like this: ` The key here was the gid, or global unique identifier. What stood out was that it always includes the object type, in this case, MediaImage. This was crucial because it indicated which union to use and what properties to query from this object in the Storefront API documentation. So, I modified my query to include a reference to this object type, focusing on the originalLogo field as an example: ` The next step was to consult the Storefront API documentation for MediaImage at Shopify API Documentation. Here, I discovered the image field within MediaImage, an object containing the url field. With this information, I updated my query: ` Finally, when executing this query, the output for a single object was as follows: ` Through this process, I successfully extracted the necessary data from the object references in the metafields, specifically handling more complex data types like images. Conclusion In wrapping up, it's vital to emphasize that while this guide focused on extracting MediaImage data from Shopify's Storefront API, the methodology I've outlined is broadly applicable. The key is understanding the structure of the gid (global unique identifier) and using it to identify the correct object types within your GraphQL queries. Whether you're dealing with images or any other data type defined in Shopify's Storefront API, this approach can be your compass. Dive into the API documentation, identify the object types relevant to your needs, and adapt your queries accordingly. It's a versatile strategy that can be tailored to suit many requirements. Remember, the world of APIs and e-commerce is constantly evolving, and staying adaptable and resourceful is crucial. This journey has been a testament to the power of perseverance and creative problem-solving in the face of technical challenges. May your ventures into Shopify's Storefront API be equally rewarding and insightful....

Mar 29, 2024

4 mins

GraphQLShopify

State of Vue Wrap-up

State of Vue recently wrapped up. Our Vue contributors and library authors gave us insights into some pretty large changes coming to Vue. There's a new state management player where Pinia will be taking over instead of VueX, a new way of writings scripts which seems to be picking up steam, and other changes we think are interesting. In this wrap-up, I'll summarize our State of Vue event with key takeaways and things to look forward to in the future. If you'd like to see the event in full, check it out on Youtube. Pinia replacing VueX 4 Pinia is VueX 4 successor. There won't be a VueX 5 because that's what Pinia is. It has a slightly different API, and works very well with Typescript. There are some arguments around whether useing VueX would be better for larger, complex projects, but Pinia is definitely becoming very popular in its own right. The main point for using Pinia over VueX 4 relates to Typescript users. VueX 4 does not work well with Typescript; Pinia aims to fix that. Keep an eye out for Pinia. There will also be documentation changes in VueX 4 to inform developers of this namechange, and that Pinia will be a VueX 4 upgrade. Volar Volar is being sponsored by Evan You for full-time work. Some of this works includes refactoring the internals of the language service. This refactor will help open the door for contributions in the near future. If you'd like to follow Johnson on Twitter as he works on Volar, you can follow him at @johnsoncodehk. Script Setup vs Composition API Script setup was hoping to became the “new way” of writing, and the community seems to be working in that direction. The State of Vue panelists agree that using script setup is more exciting to write with, and offers greater flexibility. Reactivity transform - Allows props to be destructured (with default values too) while still being reactive - Type-safe - Assignment based reactivity - Docs - Discussions Other interesting points - Vitest - Vitest Discord - swrv...

Mar 25, 2022

2 mins

Vue

Quick Guide to Playwright Fixtures: Enhancing Your Tests

Introduction Following our recent blog post on migrating E2E tests from Cypress to Playwright, we've identified opportunities to enhance our test scripts further. In this guide, we'll delve into the basics of Playwright fixtures, demonstrating their utility and flexibility in test environments. Playwright fixtures are reusable components that set up and tear down the environment or conditions necessary for tests. They are crucial for writing clean, maintainable, and scalable tests. Fixtures can handle tasks like opening a browser, initializing a database, or logging into an application—actions you might need before running your tests. As a practical example, we'll revisit one of the tests from our previous post, enhancing it with a new fixture to streamline the testing process and significantly improve maintainability. This post is designed to provide the foundational skills to integrate fixtures into your testing workflows effectively, giving you the confidence to manage and maintain your test scripts more efficiently. Creating Our First Fixture To illustrate the power of fixtures in Playwright, let’s consider a practical example from a test scenario in our project. Below is a snippet of a test case from our newsletter page: ` This test scenario navigates to the newsletter page, fills in an email, submits the form, and checks for a success message. To optimize our test suite, we'll refactor common actions like navigation, form completion, and submission into reusable fixtures. This approach makes our tests cleaner and more maintainable and reduces redundancy across similar test scenarios. Implementing the Fixture Here’s how the fixture looks: ` This fixture encapsulates the actions of navigating to the page, filling out the email field, and submitting the form. By abstracting these actions, we simplify and focus our test cases. Refactoring the Test With the fixture in place, let’s see how it changes our original test file: ` A beforeEach method to reset the state of the NewsletterPage fixture ensures a clean and consistent environment for each test scenario. This practice is crucial for maintaining the integrity and reliability of your tests. By leveraging the NewsletterPage fixture, each test within the "Newsletter page" suite starts with a clean and pre-configured environment. This setup improves test clarity and efficiency and aligns with best practices for scalable test architecture. Conclusion As we've seen, fixtures are powerful tools that help standardize test environments, reduce code redundancy, and ensure that each test operates in a clean state. By abstracting common setup and teardown tasks into fixtures, we can focus our testing efforts on what matters most, verifying the behavior and reliability of the software we're developing. Remember, the key to successful test management is choosing the right tools and using them wisely to create scalable, maintainable, and robust testing frameworks. Playwright fixtures offer a pathway towards achieving these goals, empowering teams to build better software faster and more confidently....

Jul 26, 2024

2 mins

Testing

State Of GraphQL Wrap-up

🗣 Hosts

🗣 Panelists

Key Points

Tyrel Chambers

You might also like

Introducing the New Serverless, GraphQL, Apollo Server, and Contentful Starter kit

Efficiently Extract Object References in Shopify Storefront GraphQL API

State of Vue Wrap-up

Quick Guide to Playwright Fixtures: Enhancing Your Tests

You might also like

Introducing the New Serverless, GraphQL, Apollo Server, and Contentful Starter kit

Efficiently Extract Object References in Shopify Storefront GraphQL API

State of Vue Wrap-up

Quick Guide to Playwright Fixtures: Enhancing Your Tests