January 2023 Summaries

Apollo has released a new changelog, highlighting several key updates and additions to its GraphOS, including improvements to federation testing, the ability to manage contracts programmatically with Rover, and updates to Apollo Router. The company also recreated the SpaceX GraphQL API, which was previously shut down due to retirement of an upstream data project, and is building a new course on GraphOS. Additionally, there are several upcoming events and community spotlights, including a livestream series in Discord and recognition of helpful resources from the Apollo community.

The Apollo Federation subgraph compatibility tools are designed to simplify the process of verifying compatibility between subgraphs and the Apollo Federation specification. The tools, which include an executable NPM script and a Github Action, allow developers to run compatibility tests on their local machine or within their CI/CD pipelines. This reduces the need for manual implementation and testing, streamlining the development process for subgraph authors. The tools are designed to be easy to use, with options for running tests locally or integrating them into existing workflows. Compatibility test results are displayed on a dedicated documentation page, making it easier for developers to verify their subgraphs' compatibility with the Apollo Federation specification.

Apollo has released several updates, including support for the `@defer` directive in GraphOS to improve app responsiveness, a new livestream series with library maintainers, an introduction video for GraphOS, and updates to various Apollo projects such as Apollo Server, Apollo Client, and Apollo Kotlin. These updates aim to help developers build better graph-based applications and provide additional resources and tools for learning and improving their skills.

The article introduces a new feature called `@defer` in GraphQL, which allows developers to decouple queries from the fields they contain. This enables faster loading of components and reduces spaghetti code. The feature is supported across the Apollo stack, including GraphOS, and can be used with existing GraphQL APIs without modifications. The router breaks down complex queries into multiple requests, allowing for more efficient data fetching and rendering of UI components. With `@defer`, developers can now easily optimize their queries to prioritize loading faster fields or reduce the response time for slow fields.

Happy New Year everyone. The author shares four tips and tricks for working with GraphQL in Kotlin apps, focusing on improving the developer experience. First, using SDL (Schema Definition Language) can make schema definitions more concise and easier to read. Second, updating schema in GitHub Actions can automate this process, reducing build time and improving reproducibility. Third, failing on deprecated fields usages can help ensure consistency and prevent unnecessary code changes. Fourth, the data builders introduced in Apollo Kotlin 3.6.0 provide a convenient way to test GraphQL APIs without having to manually manage complex network requests or model constructors.

The text discusses the use of GraphOS, a tool that enables building polyglot graphs by allowing new subgraphs to extend and override existing monoliths. The authors demonstrate how to add Rust to a GraphQL API using GraphOS, starting with creating a supergraph from an existing monolith, defining a new Rust subgraph, and overriding fields from the monolith using the `@override` directive. They also cover testing the entity resolver and deploying the subgraph to Apollo GraphOS, showcasing its benefits in enabling users to implement individual features in their preferred language without worrying about interoperability.