Web Development
What is GraphQL?
Quick answer
GraphQL is a query language for APIs that lets the client ask for exactly the data it needs in a single request, no more and no less. Instead of calling several fixed endpoints, an app sends one query to a GraphQL API and gets back precisely the fields it asked for.
Developed at Facebook, GraphQL addresses two common REST frustrations: over-fetching, getting more data than you need, and under-fetching, having to make many calls to assemble one screen. A single flexible endpoint and a typed schema make it efficient for apps that combine data from many sources at once.
The trade-off is added complexity on the server and caching that's trickier than with plain REST. GraphQL shines for rich, data-heavy frontends and when many different clients consume the same API; for simple services, a straightforward REST API is often enough.
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