JSJ 416: GraphQL Developer Tools with Sean Grove

Jan 14, 2020

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In this episode of JavaScript Jabber the panel interviews Sean Grove from OneGraph; asking him questions about GraphQL tooling and common complaints about GraphQL. Sean starts by explaining what GraphQL is and how it benefits frontend developers. GraphiQL is a frontend open sourced tool produced by OneGraph, Sean explains how this handy tool simplifies GraphQL. Authentication and authorization are one of the biggest criticisms of GraphQL. Sean walks the panel through the solution, getting a schema definition language and adding directives to build a simple authentication and authorization. The panel defines authentication and authorization and explains the difference. The next issue common with GraphQL that the panel discusses is migration. Sean explains how OneGraph helps with migration using a Rust network layer and how it works. They also discuss how to migrate without this tool. Without the tool it is painful and he recommends incremental migration. Sean explains that another problem in GraphQL is poor documentation. He explains why the documentation is poor and explains how they hope to fix it at OneGraph. The last issue they cover is the length of queries. Sean tells the panel how they can handle this problem with depth analysis or persistent queries. The episode ends with an elevator pitch for Reason. Panelists

Aimee Knight
AJ O’Neal
Charles Max Wood
Dan Shappir

Guest

Sean Grove