Why Facebook created GraphQL

episode 21 — GraphQL and Rust with Tom Houlé.

In this episode of Netstack.fm, Glen and Tom Houlé discuss GraphQL's transition from a high-hype mobile data solution at Facebook to a mature enterprise technology. They explore technical challenges like the N+1 problem and persisted queries, as well as the rise of GraphQL Federation for unifying microservices in Rust-based gateways. Tom also highlights GraphQL’s future potential as a self-documenting interface for LLMs and its healthy, community-driven development.

Learn more:

• https://www.tomhoule.com — Personal website of Tom Houlé
• https://graphql.org/learn/ — Learn GraphQL
• https://www.jovidecroock.com/blog/graphql-myths/ — GraphQL Myths (about trusted documents — Jovi De Croock)
• https://benjie.dev/graphql/trusted-documents — Another great blog post about trusted documents, by Benjie
• https://www.apollographql.com/docs/graphos/schema-design/federated-schemas/federation — Introduction to GraphQL Federation (Apollo)
• https://github.com/graphql/composite-schemas-spec/ — The Composite Schemas specification, the vendor neutral next iteration of federation
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RETbpPogw — Transforming Capital One’s Data Marketplace with Embedded Governance and a Product Mindset (enterprise adoption)
• https://relay.dev/docs/ — Relay docs
• Rust Crates:
  • https://github.com/async-graphql/async-graphql — async-graphql, the server framework
  • https://github.com/graphql-rust/graphql-client/ — graphql-client
  • https://github.com/obmarg/cynic — cynic
• https://www.youtube.com/@GraphQLFoundation — @GraphQLFoundation on YouTube
• https://www.youtube.com/@graphqltv — @GraphQL TV on YouTube
• https://grafbase.com/blog/seamless-grpc-subgraphs-with-extensions-and-composite-schemas — Seamless gRPC subgraphs with extensions and composite schemas

Rama

If you like this podcast you might also like our modular network framework in Rust: https://ramaproxy.org

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:39 Meet Tom Houlé
• 03:24 Origins of GraphQL
• 10:05 The Shift to Persistent Queries in GraphQL
• 18:09 GraphQL's Role in Frontend and Backend Development
• 21:11 Challenges and Criticisms of GraphQL
• 24:07 Optimizing GraphQL for Performance
• 35:06 Schema first vs Code first
• 40:44 Optimizing GraphQL Server Query Implementations
• 44:39 GraphQL Federation: A Unified Approach
• 51:08 Authentication in GraphQL: Challenges and Solutions
• 01:05:23 The Future of GraphQL: Trends and Innovations
• 01:16:03 Outro

Netstack.FM

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Music for this episode was composed by Dj Mailbox. Listen to his music at https://on.soundcloud.com/4MRyPSNj8FZoVGpytj