January 2020 Summaries

The Netlify Developer Relations Team has been publishing a series of articles on the JAMstack, exploring its benefits and applications. The first week's recap covered topics such as the eco-friendliness of the JAMstack, its compatibility with server-side rendering (SSR), and its potential for dynamic content. The second week delved deeper into the topic, discussing whether JAMstack sites can be dynamic, their compatibility with WordPress, and how they work for content authors. Additionally, Jason Lengstorf published a two-part series on getting started with serverless functions using Netlify Functions, covering topics such as writing JavaScript code, deploying the first function, and accepting user input. These articles aim to educate developers about the JAMstack and its related technologies, providing insights into their benefits and potential use cases.

Francesca Guiducci, who has years of experience with GraphQL at scale, shared her insights on designing a GraphQL schema during a NodeSF meetup. She emphasized the importance of involving others in the design process, especially those knowledgeable about the domain and data. She also stressed the need to start thinking in terms of graphs, rather than exposing methods or endpoints, and to carefully craft and nest data for better performance. Other key points include designing a schema that is easy to evolve, being intentional with nullability, implementing pagination, and addressing challenges such as versioning, performance, and testing. By following these guidelines, developers can create a robust and maintainable GraphQL schema that meets the needs of their application.

** The JAMstack is a web development architecture that allows for prebuilding and prerendering sites without the need for a server, enhancing dynamicism with microservices. Divya has been sharing daily insights about the JAMstack through her "JAMuary" series, covering topics such as what it is, why choose it, who uses it, and how to implement it. Her posts provide a great introduction to the concept and offer context on traditional approaches and motivations for selecting one stack over another. The JAMstack has been used successfully in enterprise settings, with companies like Loblaw Digital experiencing significant performance improvements and cost savings by shifting to the technology. Divya also addresses common misconceptions about the JAMstack, such as whether Single Page Applications can be considered JAMstack sites and how large sites can be handled at scale. The series is a valuable resource for developers looking to understand the benefits and caveats of the JAMstack ecosystem.