The Vertalo GraphQL API is derived from a collection of PostgreSQL databases that underpin our platform. We also use an open-source framework called PostGraphile, which is able to interpret a PostgreSQL schema and then auto-generate a GraphQL schema from it. It is recommended that you gain some familiarity with PostGraphile in order to understand how the Vertalo API is created. The PostGraphile documentation provides a roadmap to what you’ll see in the Vertalo API. In particular, the following concepts are important to your understanding of how to interact with our API:
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Nodes
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Connections
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Edges
This nomenclature is borrowed from discrete mathematics and applies to graphs. This makes sense when you consider that Facebook (the creator of GraphQL) is a social graph company and, therefore, thinks of data in terms of graphs; specifically, how different entities relate to one another and the connections between them. GraphQL is an expression of this approach, but can actually be applied to any dataset.
Recommended reading:
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Introduction to PostGraphile: https://www.graphile.org/postgraphile/introduction
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GraphQL Cursor Connection Specification: https://relay.dev/graphql/connections.htm