Sorting arguments in GraphQL - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to sort users by their name in ascending order.

GraphQL

query { users(orderBy: [1]) { id name } }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aname_DESC

Bname_ASC

Cid_ASC

Did_DESC

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using DESC instead of ASC for ascending order.

Sorting by id instead of name.

The orderBy argument uses name_ASC to sort users by name in ascending order.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to sort products by price in descending order.

GraphQL

query { products(orderBy: [1]) { id price } }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aprice_DESC

Bid_DESC

Cname_ASC

Dprice_ASC

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using _ASC instead of _DESC for descending order.

Sorting by wrong field like id or name.

Using price_DESC sorts products by price from highest to lowest.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the sorting argument to sort posts by creation date ascending.

GraphQL

query { posts(orderBy: [1]) { id createdAt } }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AcreatedAt_DESC

Bdate_ASC

CcreatedAt_ASC

Dcreated_ASC

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using incorrect field names like date or created.

Using DESC instead of ASC.

The correct sorting argument is createdAt_ASC to sort by creation date ascending.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to sort comments by author name ascending and then by date descending.

GraphQL

query { comments(orderBy: [[1], [2]]) { id author date } }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aauthor_ASC

Bauthor_DESC

Cdate_DESC

Ddate_ASC

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Reversing the order of sorting arguments.

Using DESC for author instead of ASC.

The first sort is by author_ASC (author name ascending), then by date_DESC (date descending).

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to sort orders by status descending, then by total ascending, and finally by date descending.

GraphQL

query { orders(orderBy: [[1], [2], [3]]) { id status total date } }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Astatus_DESC

Btotal_ASC

Cdate_DESC

Dstatus_ASC

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing ascending and descending orders incorrectly.

Using wrong field names or order directions.

The orders are sorted first by status_DESC, then total_ASC, and finally date_DESC.

Practice

1. What does the orderBy argument do in a GraphQL query?

easy

A. It sorts the returned data by a specified field and direction.

B. It filters the data to only include certain fields.

C. It limits the number of results returned.

D. It groups the data by a specific field.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of orderBy

   The orderBy argument is used to arrange data in a specific order based on a field.

2. Step 2: Identify sorting behavior

   It sorts data either ascending (ASC) or descending (DESC) by the chosen field.

3. Final Answer:

   It sorts the returned data by a specified field and direction. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Sorting = orderBy usage [OK]

Hint: Remember: orderBy controls sorting order in queries [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing orderBy with filtering or limiting results
• Thinking orderBy groups data instead of sorting
• Assuming orderBy changes the data fields returned

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to sort users by their name in ascending order using orderBy?

easy

A. { users(orderBy: [name, ASC]) { id name } }

B. { users(orderBy: name ASC) { id name } }

C. { users(orderBy: { name: ASC }) { id name } }

D. { users(orderBy: { ASC: name }) { id name } }

Solution

1. Step 1: Review GraphQL orderBy syntax

   The correct syntax uses an object with the field as key and direction as value inside curly braces.

2. Step 2: Match syntax to options

   { users(orderBy: { name: ASC }) { id name } } matches this pattern: { name: ASC }. Others use incorrect formats.

3. Final Answer:

   { users(orderBy: { name: ASC }) { id name } } -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct orderBy syntax = { users(orderBy: { name: ASC }) { id name } } [OK]

Hint: Use curly braces with field: direction inside orderBy [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using parentheses or brackets incorrectly in orderBy
• Placing direction before field name
• Omitting curly braces around orderBy argument

3. Given this GraphQL query:

{ products(orderBy: { price: DESC }) { id name price } }

What will be the order of products in the result?

medium

A. Products sorted by price from highest to lowest.

B. Products sorted by price from lowest to highest.

C. Products sorted alphabetically by name.

D. Products returned in random order.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify sorting field and direction

   The query uses orderBy: { price: DESC }, meaning sort by price descending.

2. Step 2: Understand descending order

   Descending order means highest values come first, then lower values.

3. Final Answer:

   Products sorted by price from highest to lowest. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   DESC means highest to lowest [OK]

Hint: DESC means descending (high to low), ASC means ascending (low to high) [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing DESC with ascending order
• Assuming sorting is by name instead of price
• Thinking orderBy does not affect order

4. You wrote this query to sort posts by date ascending:

{ posts(orderBy: { date: ASC }) { id title date } }

But you get an error. What is the likely mistake?

medium

A. You must use sortBy instead of orderBy.

B. The orderBy argument should be a list, not an object.

C. The direction ASC is not valid in GraphQL.

D. The date field is missing from the schema.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check schema fields

   If date is not defined in the posts schema, sorting by it causes an error.

2. Step 2: Validate other options

   orderBy accepts an object, ASC is valid, and sortBy is not standard GraphQL.

3. Final Answer:

   The date field is missing from the schema. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Sorting field must exist in schema [OK]

Hint: Ensure sorting field exists in schema before using orderBy [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using invalid direction keywords
• Confusing orderBy with other arguments
• Assuming orderBy requires a list always

5. You want to fetch a list of employees sorted first by department ascending, then by salary descending. Which orderBy argument correctly achieves this?

hard

A. { employees(orderBy: { department: ASC, salary: DESC }) { id name department salary } }

B. { employees(orderBy: [{ department: ASC }, { salary: DESC }]) { id name department salary } }

C. { employees(orderBy: [department: ASC, salary: DESC]) { id name department salary } }

D. { employees(orderBy: { salary: DESC, department: ASC }) { id name department salary } }

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand multi-level sorting syntax

   To sort by multiple fields, orderBy usually takes a list of objects, each specifying a field and direction.

2. Step 2: Match correct syntax

   { employees(orderBy: [{ department: ASC }, { salary: DESC }]) { id name department salary } } uses a list with two objects: first { department: ASC }, then { salary: DESC }, which is correct.

3. Step 3: Check other options

   { employees(orderBy: { department: ASC, salary: DESC }) { id name department salary } } uses a single object with two keys, which may not guarantee order. { employees(orderBy: [department: ASC, salary: DESC]) { id name department salary } } has invalid syntax. { employees(orderBy: { salary: DESC, department: ASC }) { id name department salary } } reverses sorting priority.

4. Final Answer:

   { employees(orderBy: [{ department: ASC }, { salary: DESC }]) { id name department salary } } -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Multi-field orderBy = list of objects [OK]

Hint: Use a list of objects for multi-level sorting in orderBy [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using a single object for multiple sort fields
• Reversing the order of sorting priorities
• Incorrect syntax for list of sorting fields