September 2023 Summaries

We've developed a new algorithm to solve the N+1 Problem in GraphQL by loading data breadth-first instead of depth-first. This approach allows us to batch together requests for sibling fields, reducing the number of concurrent operations and making the code more maintainable and efficient. The benefits include eliminating the need for concurrency synchronization, reducing performance overhead, and improving code understandability. By resolving fields breadth-first, we can automatically batch together requests for sibling fields, reducing the complexity of our code and improving performance by up to 5x compared to the traditional DataLoader pattern. This approach has significant implications for GraphQL servers, frameworks, and gateways, encouraging a reevaluation of the trade-offs involved in using the DataLoader pattern.

We're WunderGraph, a company building the next generation of API and Microservices infrastructure. We're hiring Golang developers, DevOps engineers, and solution architects to help shape the future of Microservices, distributed systems, and APIs. Our customer base ranges from small startups to well-known enterprises, allowing you to impact at scale and build a network of industry professionals. Recently, we announced our open-source Composition library for GraphQL Federation v1 and v2 in TypeScript, NodeJS, and Golang, which simplifies Subgraph composition and provides detailed error messages and advice on how to fix them. The library is Apache 2.0 licensed and available on GitHub, along with a wrapper for Golang, allowing you to use it in Go as well. We're using tsup to bundle the TypeScript code into a single JavaScript file compatible with goja and V8 runtime, enabling better performance considerations for Golang users.

The Cosmo Analytics Stack is an open-source drop-in replacement for Apollo Federation / Apollo GraphOS, offering self-hosting and deployment on any infrastructure without exceptions. It's designed to provide analytics, monitoring, and tracing for federated GraphQL APIs, using PostgreSQL as the main system of record, Clickhouse for analytics, and Prometheus for metrics and monitoring. The stack is built in a standardized way to ensure ease of use, with support for Docker and Kubernetes deployment. Cosmo also uses OpenTelemetry (OTEL) for distributed tracing and metrics collection, providing a vendor-neutral standard and allowing users to generate traces across all services.

Cosmo Router is a high-performance GraphQL API Gateway / Router compatible with Apollo Federation v1 and v2, designed to be an open-source drop-in replacement for Apollo Gateway and Apollo Router. It features a new Dataloader implementation that provides a 3.3x performance improvement over the previous implementation, making it more efficient and resource-friendly. Additionally, Cosmo Router introduces Ludicrous Mode, which allows it to send origin requests that are read-only using single-flight, reducing the load on the origin. The router also supports Open Federation and is compatible with Apollo Federation v1 and v2 as well as Open Federation. It includes Open Telemetry (OTEL) instrumentation for monitoring API traffic, allowing users to identify bottlenecks and optimize their system.

The WunderGraph team is announcing Open Federation, an open-source specification for building federated GraphQL APIs without relying on proprietary technology. This initiative aims to enable the GraphQL ecosystem to build federated APIs in a more accessible and attractive way, leading to increased adoption of GraphQL and innovation in the industry. Open Federation builds upon Apollo Federation's directives, providing a more detailed and specific specification for composing subgraphs and resolving federated GraphQL queries. The project is a collaboration between multiple vendors, including WunderGraph, Grafbase, Escape Tech, Neo4j, TailorTech, Sibipro, Soundtrack Your Brand, Travelpasses, and others. Open Federation has the potential to replace Apollo Federation as the de facto standard for federated GraphQL APIs, offering a more open and flexible approach to API composition.