Write a GraphQL API with Ballerina

This guide walks you through writing a simple GraphQL service to serve a dummy dataset related to COVID-19.

Info: Due to the batteries included nature of the Ballerina language, there is no need to add any third-party libraries to implement the GraphQL API. The Ballerina library itself is adequate.

Set up the prerequisites

To complete this tutorial, you need:

Ballerina 2201.0.0 (Swan Lake) or greater
A text editor

Tip: Preferably, Visual Studio Code with the Ballerina extension installed.
A command terminal

Design the GraphQL endpoint

Usually, a GraphQL endpoint is defined using a GraphQL schema. Some languages require the GraphQL schema to create a GraphQL service (schema-first approach) while others do not need the schema to create the service (code-first approach). Ballerina GraphQL package uses the latter. Therefore, you do not need the schema file to create your service, and instead, once you write the Ballerina service, the Ballerina GraphQL package will generate the schema.

The GraphQL endpoint you will create in this guide will have two main operations, Query and Mutation. The Query type will be used to read the data in the data source, and the Mutation operation will be used to update the data in the data source.

The `Query` type

The Query type has two fields.

The all field - This field will return all the data in the data source as an array.
The filter field - This field will return the data filtered by the ISO Code of a country(isoCode).

The `Mutation` type

The Mutation type has a single field.

The add field - This field will add a given entry to the data source.

Create the service package

Ballerina uses packages to group code. You need to create a Ballerina package, generate the service code in the package, and write the business logic.

Info: For more information on Ballerina packages, see Organize Ballerina code.

In the terminal, execute the command below to create the Ballerina package for the API implementation.


$ bal new covid19 -t service

You view the output below.


Created new package 'covid19' at covid19.

This creates a directory named covid19 with the default module along with a sample code for the service as shown below.


.
├── covid19
│   ├── tests
│   │   └── service_test.bal
│   ├── Ballerina.toml
│   └── service.bal

Create the data source

Before writing the GraphQL service, let's create a data source for the project. This will mimic a database that stores the data for the service using an in-memory table in Ballerina as the data source.

Define the types for the data source

To define the data type to use in the table, replace the service.bal file with the code below.


public type CovidEntry record {|
    readonly string isoCode;
    string country;
    decimal cases?;
    decimal deaths?;
    decimal recovered?;
    decimal active?;
|};

In this code:

The record type CovidEntry is defined.
A single entry will include the ISO code for the location (isoCode), name of the country (country), number of cases (cases), number of deaths (deaths), number of recovered cases (recovered), and the number of active cases (active).

Add data to the data source

To define the data table, add the code below to the service.bal file.


table<CovidEntry> key(isoCode) covidEntriesTable = table [
    {isoCode: "AFG", country: "Afghanistan", cases: 159303, deaths: 7386, recovered: 146084, active: 5833},
    {isoCode: "SL", country: "Sri Lanka", cases: 598536, deaths: 15243, recovered: 568637, active: 14656},
    {isoCode: "US", country: "USA", cases: 69808350, deaths: 880976, recovered: 43892277, active: 25035097}
];

Create the object types

Since the data used in this guide map to a GraphQL Object, you first have to define this object type. In Ballerina, a GraphQL output object can be defined using either a service type or a record type.

Note: Since the GraphQL spec does not allow using an input object as an output object, the same record type cannot be used as the input type of a method and the output type of a method.

To add the definition of the CovidData object type, add the code below to the service.bal file.


public distinct service class CovidData {
    private final readonly & CovidEntry entryRecord;

    function init(CovidEntry entryRecord) {
        self.entryRecord = entryRecord.cloneReadOnly();
    }

    resource function get isoCode() returns string {
        return self.entryRecord.isoCode;
    }

    resource function get country() returns string {
        return self.entryRecord.country;
    }

    resource function get cases() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.cases is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.cases / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }

    resource function get deaths() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.deaths is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.deaths / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }

    resource function get recovered() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.recovered is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.recovered / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }

    resource function get active() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.active is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.active / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }
}

In this code:

The endpoint returns the number of cases in thousands. Therefore, a service type is used to define the output object type, and inside the service type, each resource method will return the original value divided by 1000.
The CovidData service type represents the GraphQL Object type, which represents an entry in the data set.
Each resource method in this service represents a field of the GraphQL object type. The return type of the resource method is the type of the field.
The resource methods returning isoCode and the country have the return type string, which means these fields cannot be null in the GraphQL response. In other words, these fields have NON_NULL types. (In GraphQL, these are represented by the exclamation mark !. E.g., String!). However, the resource methods returning numbers can return null values. Therefore, the type of fields represented by those resource methods is nullable.
The decimal type is used as a return type. This will add a Scalar type named Decimal to the GraphQL schema, which will be generated by the Ballerina GraphQL package.

Create the service

Now, you are all set to write the GraphQL service. To write the service, add the code below to the service.bal file.


import ballerina/graphql;

service /covid19 on new graphql:Listener(9000) {

}

Info: The path of this service is defined as /covid19. If you want to host the service on the root, you can remove the path as the follows:


import ballerina/graphql;

service on new graphql:Listener(9000) {

}

Info: When creating the graphql:Listener object, you need to provide the port to which it is listening. Alternatively, to use an existing http:Listener object, for initializing the graphql:Listener, add the code below to the service.bal file.


import ballerina/graphql;
import ballerina/http;

listener http:Listener httpListener = check new(9000);

service /covid19 on new graphql:Listener(httpListener) {

}

Info: The above is as same as the first code snippet above, which will listen on the port 9000 and serve on /covid19.

Implement the service methods

As per the design, there are two fields in the Query type and one field in the Mutation type in your GraphQL service. The fields of the Query type are represented by the resource methods with the get accessor in Ballerina, while the fields of the Mutation type are represented by the remote methods in Ballerina.

Create `Query` type

Create the `all` field resource method

To create the all field, which returns an array of CovidData type, add the code below to the service.bal file.


resource function get all() returns CovidData[] {
    CovidEntry[] covidEntries = covidEntriesTable.toArray().cloneReadOnly();
    return covidEntries.map(entry => new CovidData(entry));
}

Note: A Ballerina GraphQL resource or remote method can return a table as well. When a method is returning a table, the corresponding GraphQL field type is a LIST type.

In this code:

The resource method definition has the accessor get, which is used to identify the resource methods as a field of the Query type.
Then comes the name of the field. The return type is the type of the field.
The above resource method first retrieves the array of CovidEntry records from the data source as an array, and then, returns an array of CovidData service type array as the result using the built-in map function.

Create the `filter` field resource method

To add the filter field, which is another resource method with an input isoCode to filter the data, add the code below to the service.bal file.


resource function get filter(string isoCode) returns CovidData? {
    CovidEntry? covidEntry = covidEntriesTable[isoCode];
    if covidEntry is CovidEntry {
        return new (covidEntry);
    }
    return;
}

In this code:

The filter field is defined in the root Query type. Since this field has an input parameter isoCode, you have to add an input parameter to the resource method.
This method returns the corresponding data for the given isoCode if such data is available in the data set, and it returns null otherwise.

Create `Mutation` type

Create the `add` field remote method

As the Query type is completed now, define the Mutation type using remote methods.

To define a remote method to add an entry to the data source, add the code below to the service.bal file.


remote function add(CovidEntry entry) returns CovidData {
    covidEntriesTable.add(entry);
    return new CovidData(entry);
}

In this code:

This method requires a CovidEntry record as the input.
When a remote or resource method has a record type as an input, it will be mapped to a GraphQL input object type. Therefore, this cannot be used as an output type.

The complete code

Below is the complete code for the Ballerina GraphQL service.


import ballerina/graphql;

public type CovidEntry record {|
    readonly string isoCode;
    string country;
    decimal cases?;
    decimal deaths?;
    decimal recovered?;
    decimal active?;
|};

table<CovidEntry> key(isoCode) covidEntriesTable = table [
    {isoCode: "AFG", country: "Afghanistan", cases: 159303, deaths: 7386, recovered: 146084, active: 5833},
    {isoCode: "SL", country: "Sri Lanka", cases: 598536, deaths: 15243, recovered: 568637, active: 14656},
    {isoCode: "US", country: "USA", cases: 69808350, deaths: 880976, recovered: 43892277, active: 25035097}
];

public distinct service class CovidData {
    private final readonly & CovidEntry entryRecord;

    function init(CovidEntry entryRecord) {
        self.entryRecord = entryRecord.cloneReadOnly();
    }

    resource function get isoCode() returns string {
        return self.entryRecord.isoCode;
    }

    resource function get country() returns string {
        return self.entryRecord.country;
    }

    resource function get cases() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.cases is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.cases / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }

    resource function get deaths() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.deaths is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.deaths / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }

    resource function get recovered() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.recovered is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.recovered / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }

    resource function get active() returns decimal? {
        if self.entryRecord.active is decimal {
            return self.entryRecord.active / 1000;
        }
        return;
    }
}

service /covid19 on new graphql:Listener(9000) {
    resource function get all() returns CovidData[] {
        CovidEntry[] covidEntries = covidEntriesTable.toArray().cloneReadOnly();
        return covidEntries.map(entry => new CovidData(entry));
    }

    resource function get filter(string isoCode) returns CovidData? {
        CovidEntry? covidEntry = covidEntriesTable[isoCode];
        if covidEntry is CovidEntry {
            return new (covidEntry);
        }
        return;
    }

    remote function add(CovidEntry entry) returns CovidData {
        covidEntriesTable.add(entry);
        return new CovidData(entry);
    }
}

Run the service

Execute the command below to run this service to serve a GraphQL API to the data source.


$ bal run

You view the output below.

Info: The console has warning logs related to the isolatedness of resources. It is a built-in service concurrency safety feature of Ballerina.


Compiling source
	user/graphql:0.1.0
WARNING [service.bal:(25:5,25:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the service and the method are not 'isolated'
WARNING [service.bal:(29:5,29:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the service and the method are not 'isolated'
WARNING [service.bal:(33:5,33:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the service and the method are not 'isolated'
WARNING [service.bal:(40:5,40:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the service and the method are not 'isolated'
WARNING [service.bal:(47:5,47:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the service and the method are not 'isolated'
WARNING [service.bal:(54:5,54:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the service and the method are not 'isolated'
WARNING [service.bal:(63:5,63:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the method is not an 'isolated' method
WARNING [service.bal:(68:5,68:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the method is not an 'isolated' method
WARNING [service.bal:(76:5,76:5)] concurrent calls will not be made to this method since the method is not an 'isolated' method

Running executable

View the generated schema

If you connect to this service using any GraphQL client tools, it will show the schema below.


type CovidData {
    isoCode: String!
    country: String!
    cases: Decimal
    recovered: Decimal
    active: Decimal
    deaths: Decimal
}

input CovidEntry {
    isoCode: String!
    country: String!
    cases: Decimal
    recovered: Decimal
    active: Decimal
    deaths: Decimal
}

scalar Decimal

type Query {
    all: [CovidData!]!
    filter(isoCode: String!): CovidData
}

type Mutation {
    add(entry: CovidEntry!): CovidData!
}

Try the service

Info: To access the endpoint, use cURL or a GraphQL client such as GraphiQL.

Execute the cURL command below to retrieve all the data from the endpoint.


$ curl -X POST -H "Content-type: application/json" -H "scope: unknown" -d "{ \"query\": \"query { all { country cases active} }\" }" http://localhost:9000/covid19

In this request:

An HTTP POST request is sent to the GraphQL endpoint.
The request body contains the GraphQL query.

You view the JSON below as the result of this request.


{
  "data": {
    "all": [
      {
        "country": "Afghanistan",
        "cases": 159.303,
        "active": 5.833
      },
      {
        "country": "Sri Lanka",
        "cases": 598.536,
        "active": 14.656
      },
      {
        "country": "USA",
        "cases": 69808.35,
        "active": 25035.097
      }
    ]
  }
}

Learn more

To learn more about GraphQL services in Ballerina, see the following.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe via RSS

In the creation of Ballerina, we were inspired by many technologies. Thank you to all that have come before us (and forgive us if we missed one): Java, Go, C, C++, D, Rust, Haskell, Kotlin, Dart, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Perl, Flow, Swift, Elm, RelaxNG, NPM, Crates, Maven, Gradle, Kubernetes, Docker, Envoy, Markdown, GitHub, and WSO2.

Why Ballerina

Get started with integration

Integration tools

References

Development tutorials

Build and run

Source code & dependencies

Style guide

Test, debug & document the code

Test Ballerina code

Bal persist

Run in the cloud

Configurability

Observability

Java interoperability

Build a GraalVM executable

Reuse code with Ballerina Central

Troubleshoot the runtime

Resources

Featured scenarios

Learn the language

Write a GraphQL API with Ballerina

Set up the prerequisites

Design the GraphQL endpoint

The Query type

The Mutation type

Create the service package

Create the data source

Define the types for the data source

Add data to the data source

Create the object types

Create the service

Implement the service methods

Create Query type

Create the all field resource method

Create the filter field resource method

Create Mutation type

Create the add field remote method

The complete code

Run the service

View the generated schema

Try the service

Learn more

The `Query` type

The `Mutation` type

Create `Query` type

Create the `all` field resource method

Create the `filter` field resource method

Create `Mutation` type

Create the `add` field remote method