February 2022 Summaries

Apollo Server 3.6 introduces new features and configuration to improve usage reporting to Apollo Studio, including operation shape-based usage reporting that provides a clearer picture of graph usage with less impact on performance. This feature is companioned with Inline Tracing for federated GraphQL APIs and OpenTelemetry support. The release addresses the limitations of Inline Tracing while allowing users to capture detailed field usage information without the significant performance penalty. Apollo Server 3.6 also includes a new option, `fieldLevelInstrumentation`, that enables Inline Tracing for a small percentage of requests, providing a balance between data collection and performance considerations.

Contract Launches` in Apollo Studio provide better visibility into the lifecycle of contract schemas and help developers understand which contracts launched from a given source variant. When publishing updates to a source variant, it triggers downstream launches for any contract built from that source, with each launch resulting in either a successful core schema or failed contract schema output. The system allows users to review changes made to their graph by checking the `contracts changelog` and provides a link to `Launch Sequence` to debug failed launches. Additionally, a `changelog` page shows any types or fields from the contract schema that have been added, removed, or modified.

Apollo Federation is an open-source approach to application architecture created by Apollo, aiming to solve the problems associated with monolithic graphs as they grow and evolve. It's based on a design principle called separation of concerns, dividing the graph into smaller subgraphs that address specific functions or purposes. This modularization makes it easier for teams to work together, reduces breaking changes, and improves development speed. The architecture consists of subgraphs and a gateway that combines them using a supergraph schema. Apollo Federation benefits individual developers by organizing their code, making it easier to navigate and scale, while teams can increase productivity and collaboration. Client-side developers remain unaffected, with only one endpoint to access the data they need. To get started, check out the Apollo Federation specification, quickstart guide, and other resources provided.