GraphConnect

Despite what the name may imply, GraphQL is not a query language for graph databases. Instead it is a new way of building APIs, treating application data as a graph in the client. GraphQL has been called "REST 2.0" as it offers many advantages over REST.

Although GraphQL can be used with any database or backend service, it becomes even more powerful when combined with a graph database such as Neo4j. Using graphs on the backend as well as the frontend allows for removing the mapping and translation layer, simplifying development. Translating GraphQL to a single graph database query offers performance benefits. Further, we can enhance the expressivity of GraphQL by exposing Cypher, the query language for graphs, in our GraphQL schema.

This talk will start with a brief overview of GraphQL and graph databases then dive into why they are awesome when used together! We will talk about how we can use GraphQL with Neo4j and walk through the code to build a full stack application. No experience with GraphQL is necessary to benefit from this talk.