Thread by @davert

My experience of #GraphQL #API consumer

Previously I built integrations via #REST client but the current service provided only GraphQL so I had to learn that.

I felt that the usage of GraphQL was a great excuse for not writing API documentation at all.

2/6 Instead of well-organized documentation pages with request/response examples, which could be built with @Redocly or various open-source libraries, GraphQL provider throws you into their Schema

It's like a 'good dad' throws you into the sea to teach you how to swim

3/6 When I learned how to breathe and got the surface, I found myself looking into all possible queries & mutations looking for the right one. But I liked that API scheme and playground were built into via Apollo Studio so I could try queries without switching context

4/6 But the complexity of the interface and the vast number of available terms (payloads, objects, scalars, directives, aaaaaa!) were not user-friendly to me.

It seems like GraphQL was designed ChatGPT-first. So #AI would analyze that and build you a query on your request.

5/6 That's a wise move, as ChatGPT didn't even exist at the time. And even now ChatGPT can't read information from internet so on APIs its information is outdated.

But I think it's a matter of time we would translate "create me a comment" would transform into a valid mutation

6/6 So my conclusion: GraphQL is not for humans, its for robots. And the faster robots will take that burden out of me the better it is.

That was my very biased opinion.

Also I admit that my APIs are may not be so user-friendly (but at least they have examples).