What is GraphQL
GraphQL is a way to talk to a database or server and get only the data you need. It’s like ordering food in a restaurant:
Vivek Rastogi
8/1/20253 min read
GraphQL is a way to talk to a database or server and get only the data you need. It’s like ordering food in a restaurant:
🧑💻 You (the client) say: “I want 1 burger, 1 coke.”
🍽️ Instead of getting the whole menu (like in REST), the waiter (server) gives you just what you ordered.
Why Should You Learn GraphQL?
If you are a:
✅ Frontend Developer (React, Vue, etc.)
✅ Backend Developer building APIs
✅ Full Stack Developer
REST vs GraphQL — Easy Example:
Imagine you want this info from a social media site:
User's name
Their posts with only titles
REST (Traditional Way)
You might need to hit:
/users/1
/users/1/posts
Then filter unnecessary fields like email, timestamps, etc.
✅ Just one request
✅ Only the fields you want
🔥 Main Advantages of GraphQL
🧠 Smart: Only gets what you need
🚀 Fast: Fewer network calls
🔄 Easy to update frontend without backend changes
✅ Strongly typed: You know exactly what’s returned
🛠 One single endpoint (/graphql) for all operations
🎯 Real Life Use Cases
Facebook (they built it!)
GitHub GraphQL API
Shopify Storefront API
Instagram, Twitter-like apps
Dashboard apps, admin panels, etc.
🧱 Basic Building Blocks of GraphQL:
1. Query – Get data
Step 1: Create a data file
📄 data.js
Step 2: Setup GraphQL API
📄 index.js
const { createSchema, createYoga } = require('graphql-yoga');
const { createServer } = require('http');
const { products } = require('./data');
let nextId = 3;
const typeDefs = /* GraphQL */ `
type Product {
id: ID!
name: String!
price: Float!
}
type Query {
products: [Product!]!
}
type Mutation {
addProduct(name: String!, price: Float!): Product!
updateProduct(id: ID!, name: String, price: Float): Product
deleteProduct(id: ID!): Product
}
`;
const resolvers = {
Query: {
products: () => products
},
Mutation: {
addProduct: (_, { name, price }) => {
const newProduct = { id: String(nextId++), name, price };
products.push(newProduct);
return newProduct;
},
updateProduct: (_, { id, name, price }) => {
const product = products.find(p => p.id === id);
if (!product) return null;
if (name) product.name = name;
if (price !== undefined) product.price = price;
return product;
},
deleteProduct: (_, { id }) => {
const index = products.findIndex(p => p.id === id);
if (index === -1) return null;
const removed = products.splice(index, 1)[0];
return removed;
}
}
};
const yoga = createYoga({
schema: createSchema({ typeDefs, resolvers }),
});
const server = createServer(yoga);
server.listen(4000, () => {
console.log("GraphQL server running on http://localhost:4000/graphql");
});
Summary
You just built a mini GraphQL API to:
🔁 Query all products
➕ Add a new product
✏️ Update a product
❌ Delete a product