Build a Scalable GraphQL API with Serverless and React

Unlock the Power of Serverless Architecture

As software projects grow in complexity, choosing the right architecture is crucial. Breaking down your project into smaller, manageable components offers numerous benefits, including easier feature development, simplified codebase navigation, and faster testing. One architecture that can help you achieve these benefits is serverless architecture, also known as serverless computing or Function-as-a-Service (FaaS).

What is Serverless Architecture?

Serverless architectures incorporate third-party Backend as a Service (BaaS) services and/or custom code run in managed, ephemeral containers on a FaaS platform. This approach allows you to focus on writing code without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

The Serverless Framework

The Serverless Framework is an open-source project that helps developers deploy cloud applications on any FaaS provider. In this tutorial, we’ll use the Serverless Framework to deploy a sample serverless project to AWS with AWS AppSync, AWS Lambda, and DynamoDB integrations.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have:

• An AWS account
• Basic understanding of GraphQL
• Intermediate knowledge of DynamoDB and cloud formation templates

Setting Up Your Project

To set up your project, follow these steps:

1. Install the Serverless Framework CLI and register for a Serverless Dashboard account.
2. Set up your AWS CLI and create an IAM user with admin permissions.
3. Create a new Serverless project using the sample Node.js template.

Deploying Your Project

Once your project is set up, deploy it to the cloud using the Serverless Framework. This will create a new AppSync API and DynamoDB table.

Serverless Framework Core Concepts

The Serverless Framework consists of five core concepts:

1. Functions: Blocks of code that perform specific tasks.
2. Events: Triggers that execute AWS Lambda functions.
3. Resources: AWS infrastructure components used by your functions.
4. Services: Units of organization that define your functions, events, and resources.
5. Plugins: Libraries that extend or overwrite the functionality of your project.

Building a To-Do API

To demonstrate the power of serverless architecture, we’ll build a simple to-do API using AWS AppSync, AWS Lambda, and DynamoDB.

1. Create a new AppSync API and define your GraphQL schema.
2. Set up a DynamoDB table to store your to-do items.
3. Create mapping templates to map your payload to DynamoDB.
4. Deploy your API and test it using GraphQL Playground.

Frontend Development

Finally, let’s create a simple React app to interact with our API. We’ll use React Apollo to fetch and mutate data in our API.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve explored the benefits of serverless architecture and built a simple to-do API using the Serverless Framework, AWS AppSync, AWS Lambda, and DynamoDB. By following these steps, you can unlock the power of serverless architecture and focus on writing code without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.