Schema-first development in GraphQL - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is Schema-first development in GraphQL?

Schema-first development means you start by writing the GraphQL schema first. This schema defines the types and operations your API will support before writing any code.

beginner

Why is schema-first development helpful?

It helps teams agree on the API design early. The schema acts like a contract between frontend and backend, making development clearer and faster.

beginner

In schema-first development, what do you write after the schema?

After the schema, you write resolvers. Resolvers are functions that tell the server how to get the data for each field in the schema.

intermediate

How does schema-first development compare to code-first?

Schema-first means writing the schema first, then code. Code-first means writing code first and generating the schema from it. Schema-first focuses on design upfront.

beginner

Give an example of a simple GraphQL schema definition in schema-first development.

type Query { greeting: String } defines a Query type with a greeting field that returns a String.

What is the first step in schema-first development?

A Write resolver functions

B Set up the database

C Write frontend code

D Write the GraphQL schema

Schema-first development starts by writing the GraphQL schema first.

What does the schema act as in schema-first development?

A A database

B A contract between frontend and backend

C A frontend component

D A testing tool

The schema defines the API contract that frontend and backend agree on.

What do resolvers do in schema-first development?

A Fetch or compute data for schema fields

B Create frontend UI

C Define the schema types

D Manage database migrations

Resolvers provide the data for each field defined in the schema.

Which is true about schema-first vs code-first?

A Code-first does not generate schema

B Schema-first skips schema

C Schema-first writes schema before code; code-first writes code before schema

D They are the same

Schema-first means schema first, code-first means code first.

Which GraphQL type is usually defined first in schema-first development?

A Query

B Mutation

C Subscription

D Scalar

The Query type is usually defined first as it is the entry point for reading data.

Explain the main idea of schema-first development in GraphQL.

Think about what you create before any code.

Describe the difference between schema-first and code-first development approaches.

Focus on what comes first in each approach.