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Simpler GraphQL syntax? #4654

fregante posted onGitHub

Thinking out loud…

What if we went from:

repository() {
    ref(qualifiedName: "${branch}") {
        target {
            ... on Commit {
                history(first: 1, path: "${filePath}") {
                    nodes {
                        oid
                        commitDate
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

To:

repository()
ref(qualifiedName: "${branch}")
target
... on Commit
history(first: 1, path: "${filePath}")
nodes
oid commitDate

where every line break is a { and every missing } is appended.

Most of our queries are allowed with this syntax. Others can keep using the native syntax.

It would be its own helper like:

api.v4(ql`
      repository()
      ref(qualifiedName: "${branch}")
      target
      ... on Commit
      history(first: 1, path: "${filePath}")
      nodes
      oid commitDate
`)

and multiple queries can be concatenated as strings too:

api.v4(ql`
      repository()
      ref(qualifiedName: "${branch}")
      target
      ... on Commit
      history(first: 1, path: "${filePath}")
      nodes
      oid commitDate
` + ql`
      query2: repository()
      name
`)

Thoughts? Worth it? 😂

I think that kills the beauty of GraphQL. What I like it most is the way the call is made, that is what the response looks like.

It may take up more "lines" but I think the other way is clearer. JMHO

posted by yakov116 over 3 years ago

Is that affected though? The only problems I see are:

the query is less copypastable (it already isn't fully so)
it's not immediately understandable how it translates into GQL

that is what the response looks like.

Almost. The GQL "object" is imprecise:

nodes {} is an array
...on Commit {} doesn't appear

As a compromise I thought we could just automatically close any unmatched {, and that would already make it a little shorter:

repository() {
    ref(qualifiedName: "${branch}") {
        target {
            ... on Commit {
                history(first: 1, path: "${filePath}") {
                    nodes {
                        oid
                        commitDate

It'd be cool to make it indentation-based and drop the { as well, but it's too easy to mix spaces and tabs since the linter does not complain.

posted by fregante over 3 years ago

Is that affected though? The only problems I see are:

the query is less copypastable (it already isn't fully so)

it's not immediately understandable how it translates into GQL

For this we could set up:

console.debug for every call in api.v4 when installed locally
a micro service/REPL that compiles these queries into GQL so you can play with them online

posted by fregante over 3 years ago

console.debug for every call in api.v4 when installed locally

Big 👍

posted by yakov116 over 3 years ago

We can already do that, including the query {} part. PR welcome

posted by fregante over 3 years ago

I find the original syntax more readable.

posted by sindresorhus over 3 years ago

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