Use Cases
5. GraphQL’s Sweet Spots
GraphQL really shines in scenarios where you need to fetch data from multiple sources and combine it into a single response. Imagine you’re building a social media application where you need to display a user’s profile information, their recent posts, and their friends list. With REST, you might need to make multiple requests to different endpoints. With GraphQL, you can fetch all the data you need in a single request, reducing the number of round trips and improving performance. This is where it really makes the most sense. The reduced data transfer for mobile applications, for example, can conserve battery life.
Another area where GraphQL excels is in applications that require flexible data fetching. For example, a dashboard application might need to display different data depending on the user’s role and preferences. With GraphQL, you can easily tailor the queries to fetch only the data that is needed, without having to create multiple endpoints. The flexibility GraphQL provides can also reduce API maintenance overhead.
Furthermore, GraphQL is a great choice for building public APIs. By providing a schema and allowing clients to specify exactly the data they need, you can create a more developer-friendly API that is easier to use and less prone to errors. The developer community can then contribute towards a better, more scalable product. Overall,GraphQL provides great efficiency.
GraphQL is also often touted as superior when changes occur frequently. With REST, changes can require additional versioning, but with GraphQL the API is more flexible and backwards compatible. The additional flexibility and easy maintenance of the GraphQL API mean that developers will love working with it.
6. REST’s Reliable Realm
REST remains a solid choice for simpler APIs that expose well-defined resources. For example, a simple blog API with endpoints for creating, reading, updating, and deleting posts can be easily implemented using REST. No need to bring out the heavy artillery for a small job. REST’s simple caching mechanisms are ideal for simple requests.
REST is also a good choice for applications that require high levels of caching. Because REST relies on standard HTTP caching mechanisms, it’s easy to cache responses at various levels — browser, CDN, server — to improve performance. GraphQL requires more sophisticated caching strategies.
Furthermore, REST is a good choice for teams that are already familiar with it. There’s no need to learn a new technology if REST already meets your needs. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” as they say.
Also, consider the number of requests, REST performs better on simple requests. This is because of the way GraphQL works; it requires additional logic to be performed on simple requests. The processing overhead can make REST a better choice in some instances. REST is also more easily compatible with older systems.