2. Journey through the supergraph
3m

Overview

What actually happens when we add a new subgraph to Poetic Plates?

In this lesson, we will:

  • Trace the journey of a client request through the supergraph
  • Describe how the router creates query plans to resolve GraphQL operations across multiple subgraphs

In the beginning...

We started off from humble cooking beginnings: a small subgraph called recipes. Clients sent queries to the , which routed the queries to the recipes subgraph. Simple! Because we only had one subgraph, that subgraph's and the were essentially one and the same.

Now that we want to add another subgraph to the mix, what happens?

First, we'll need to publish that subgraph to . This will trigger a launch.

Note: If you've completed GraphOS: Shipping your supergraph, the next section will feel familiar!

The launch process

A launch represents the complete process of making updates to a graph.

When the gets a new subgraph , or an updated version of an existing subgraph , it starts to build the supergraph schema. The attempts to combine all of the s from its registered subgraphs into a single . This process is also known as composition.

If composition fails, we'll see an error in Studio, and the process stops there. No stress: we can use the error messages to fix the issue in our subgraph, and then try publishing the subgraph again.

If composition succeeds and there are no validation errors, the produces a . (In the next section, we'll find out how the uses this .)

The automatically sends the to an internal service within called Apollo Uplink. Uplink is a server that stores the latest for each graph. The fetches the latest from Uplink and uses this new to respond to client requests.

With that, the launch completes successfully!

Exciting stuff! Now, let's revisit the experience of sending s to the , this time within the context of having multiple subgraphs.

The journey of a GraphQL operation through the supergraph

Let's start at the beginning: from the client request.

Step 1: The client request

First, the client sends a GraphQL to the . The client has no clue which s belong to which subgraphs—or even that there are subgraphs at all!

Client sends a GraphQL operation to the router

Step 2: Building a query plan

The looks at the s in the and uses the supergraph schema to figure out which subgraphs are responsible for resolving each .

Router uses the supergraph schema

It uses this information to build a query plan, a list of smaller GraphQL s to execute on the subgraphs. The query plan also specifies the order in which the subgraph s need to run.

Router builds a query plan

Step 3: Executing the query plan

Next, the carries out the query plan by sending the smaller GraphQL s to each of the subgraphs it needs data from.

Router sends operations to subgraphs

The subgraphs resolve the s the same way as any other GraphQL server: they use their s and s to retrieve and populate the requested data.

Subgraphs resolve data

Step 4: The subgraph responses

The subgraphs send back the requested data to the , and then the combines all those responses into a single JSON object.

Subgraphs return data

Step 5: Sending data back to the client

Finally, the sends the JSON object back to the client.

Subgraphs return data

And that's the end of our 's journey!

The full journey of an operation through the supergraph, in one diagram

Key takeaways

  • The router uses the supergraph schema to create a query plan for the incoming GraphQL operation. The query plan is a list of smaller operations the router can execute on different subgraphs to fully resolve the incoming operation.
  • The router carries out the query plan by executing the list of operations on the appropriate subgraphs.
  • The router combines all the responses from the subgraphs into a single JSON object, which it sends back to the client.

Up next

Let's see this process in action! In the next lesson, we'll add the kitchenware subgraph to our .

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