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GraphQL is for the client to efficiently query data, it is not supposed to be used as a SQL replacement on the server side. If people are using it for a server

GraphQL is for the client to efficiently query data, it is not supposed to be used as a SQL replacement on the server side. If people are using it for a server side query language, that is not what its benefit is.

rob-olmos 4y ago
IIRC in the Gatsby framework it has a built-in GraphQL parser for server-side developers to query data from Gatsby plugins, which can be things like data stores, other APIs, or even a mixture and blended together.
- cercatrova 4y ago
  In a way, that's using the server as a client for other servers, ie it would be the same as a server sending a REST request to another server asking for data. What I mean is nowhere should there be GraphQL between a server and a database, because that doesn't make any sense, just use an ORM.
edgyquant 4y ago
How can the client most efficiently query data from a sql database without joins? Surely there are cases this would be needed to speedup grabbing of data?
- cercatrova 4y ago
  Any ORM will handle getting data with joins just fine when it constructs the SQL. Or you can write your own SQL with joins to pass along to the query. If you mean GraphQL doesn't have joins, I'm not sure in what use case that would matter when you're declaratively asking the server for some data, not hand constructing SQL. What would you need joins in? You mean like this example [0]? [0] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51805890/how-to-do-a-simple-join-in-graphql https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51805890/how-to-do-a-sim...
  - edgyquant 4y ago
    Right so, again, what exactly is the purpose of graphql? It seems to be a replacement for an ORM that then needs an ORM. So it’s a replacement for passing JSON objects around except it’s just doing that with a dash of esotericism. What can graphql do that an ORM can’t?
    - cercatrova 4y ago
      You're mixing up server side and client side. The point of GraphQL is to make a client request only what data it needs rather than making X different REST calls then combining and filtering them in the client side. That's it, that's the entire purpose. (If you then ask, why not have REST calls that give specific pieces of information, ie have sorts and filters within the query parameters, and be able to take a table and ask for specific columns in that table, then congratulations, you've reinvented GraphQL.) You can then implement a server which, given a GraphQL query, turns it into the data that's expected. The client doesn't care how you implement that. You can write raw SQL, use an ORM, whatever. Since people don't want to reinvent the wheel they use libraries like Apollo Server, but again you can do it all by hand if you really want to. Have you actually used GraphQL? This is all explained within the first 15 minutes of any GraphQL tutorial.
      - halfjoking 4y ago
        So if front-end devs get everything they need client side, what’s the point of having backend devs? https://imgflip.com/i/6u4obk https://imgflip.com/i/6u4obk
        aastronaut 4y ago
        SPAs and REST APIs moved a lot of the complexity around data to the client side. GraphQL moved it back to the server side. I think that's a reasonable decision, as the client - compared to the server - runs in a much more unpredictable environment. Of course some backend devs complain about more work, especially work that could be moved to the client side at first. Making things the proper way is hard, yes.

rob-olmos 4y ago

IIRC in the Gatsby framework it has a built-in GraphQL parser for server-side developers to query data from Gatsby plugins, which can be things like data stores, other APIs, or even a mixture and blended together.

cercatrova 4y ago
In a way, that's using the server as a client for other servers, ie it would be the same as a server sending a REST request to another server asking for data. What I mean is nowhere should there be GraphQL between a server and a database, because that doesn't make any sense, just use an ORM.

edgyquant 4y ago

How can the client most efficiently query data from a sql database without joins? Surely there are cases this would be needed to speedup grabbing of data?

cercatrova 4y ago
Any ORM will handle getting data with joins just fine when it constructs the SQL. Or you can write your own SQL with joins to pass along to the query. If you mean GraphQL doesn't have joins, I'm not sure in what use case that would matter when you're declaratively asking the server for some data, not hand constructing SQL. What would you need joins in? You mean like this example [0]? [0] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51805890/how-to-do-a-simple-join-in-graphql https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51805890/how-to-do-a-sim...
- edgyquant 4y ago
  Right so, again, what exactly is the purpose of graphql? It seems to be a replacement for an ORM that then needs an ORM. So it’s a replacement for passing JSON objects around except it’s just doing that with a dash of esotericism. What can graphql do that an ORM can’t?
  - cercatrova 4y ago
    You're mixing up server side and client side. The point of GraphQL is to make a client request only what data it needs rather than making X different REST calls then combining and filtering them in the client side. That's it, that's the entire purpose. (If you then ask, why not have REST calls that give specific pieces of information, ie have sorts and filters within the query parameters, and be able to take a table and ask for specific columns in that table, then congratulations, you've reinvented GraphQL.) You can then implement a server which, given a GraphQL query, turns it into the data that's expected. The client doesn't care how you implement that. You can write raw SQL, use an ORM, whatever. Since people don't want to reinvent the wheel they use libraries like Apollo Server, but again you can do it all by hand if you really want to. Have you actually used GraphQL? This is all explained within the first 15 minutes of any GraphQL tutorial.
    - halfjoking 4y ago
      So if front-end devs get everything they need client side, what’s the point of having backend devs? https://imgflip.com/i/6u4obk https://imgflip.com/i/6u4obk
      - aastronaut 4y ago
        SPAs and REST APIs moved a lot of the complexity around data to the client side. GraphQL moved it back to the server side. I think that's a reasonable decision, as the client - compared to the server - runs in a much more unpredictable environment. Of course some backend devs complain about more work, especially work that could be moved to the client side at first. Making things the proper way is hard, yes.