This document discusses public GraphQL APIs, including challenges and opportunities. Some key challenges of public GraphQL APIs are unpredictable client usage, lack of common standards and conventions, and caching issues due to unknown query complexity. Opportunities include empowering developers through discovery and insights, enabling API integrations through data merging, and new monetization models like API aggregation. The document provides examples and references for learning more about public GraphQL APIs.

1. Tobias Meixner, Co-Founder & CTO @ BrikL
Public
GraphQL
APIs
GRAPHQLHONGKONG#1

2. Agenda
PUBLIC APIS GRAPHQL CHALLENGES OPPORTUNITIES

3. Open
API
SHARED FREELY /
PUBLISHED
Public
API
PUBLIC WITH RESTRICTION
SUCH AS MANDARTORY
AUTHN/Z

4. Public APIs
Publically accessible API for anyone but
usable only for certain users after
identification/authentication
IN THIS TALK

5. API Scope
INTERNAL SCHEMA
SHOULD EXTEND FROM
YOUR PUBLIC SCHEMA
PublicPreviewInternal

6. GraphQL

7. Examples

8. +
CLIENTS CAN DEFINE DATA
THEY WANT
-
CLIENTS CAN DEFINE DATA
THEY WANT

9. More clients & users
EXTERNAL USERS
Unpredictable
INTERNAL USERS
Predictable results and usage

10. Challenges

11. GraphQL
Clients
Use wrapper or CLIs to abstract away
GraphQL from your users e.g. for server-
to-server communication
ABSTRACT GRAPHQL

12. CACHING
Since we don't know what we can expect in
terms of query rate, size and complexity
caching has new challenges
UNPREDICTABLE USAGE

13. Control usage
REST APIs are more predictable with
resource-based calls in GraphQL you
unlikely to predict client behaviour
BEYOND NUMBER OF CALLS

14. Conventions
As new technology GraphQL has no
common standard or too many best
practises how to write good public APIs
e.g. naming
NO COMMON STANDARD

15. How to expose
3rd party data
Can be the same as in REST being part of
your service being exposed through your
API but can be actually interesting to do
NOT ONLY A CHALLENGE

16. Opportunities

17. Developer experience
GraphQL empowers frontend developers
but so does it empower your external or
partner service developers
EMPOWER DEVELOPERS
- Discovery
- Headless X

18. Tracing & Insights
Abilities to get:
- usage patterns
- performance metrics
- privacy controls / logging
INSIGHT DOWN TO FIELD
LEVEL AND FIELD
COMBINATION

19. Over-fetching
API INTEGRATIONS CAN
BENEFIT FROM GRAPHQL
BUT ARE BEHIND DUE TO
THE CURRENT ECOSYSTEM
E. G. WEBHOOKS

20. Monetization
API aggregation is a new business model /
opportunity
EXPOSE SINGLE API FOR
ALL SERVICES INCL.
EXTERNAL

21. Example
Try at:
https://www.onegraph.com/graphiql
API INTEGRATION (MERGE)

22. References & more to read:
https://medium.com/@__xuorig__/why-we-dont-see-many-public-graphql-apis-
ad972bcb201e

23. Thank you!
SEE YOU
NEXT TIME!
www.brikl.com@meixnertobias