There seems to be a common misconception about GraphQL Java: that you should not use it directly, but rather use another library build on top of it.
We think it is important to make it clear, that this is not the case: GraphQL Java aims to be a library used directly without any additionally abstraction on top. It was always build with this goal in mind.
To be fair: we didn't do a very good job so far to make that clear. For example up until recently we hosted several other projects which provided abstractions on top of GraphQL Java. This was because of historical reasons and we didn't give any guidance on when to use what. There are also currently more tutorials out there which don't use GraphQL Java directly compared to tutorials which do.
The other reason people might think that GraphQL Java is not suitable is because the core project doesn't provide any easy way to get a full service with HTTP endpoint up and running. And the existing third party projects providing for example Spring Boot support are adding abstractions.
The core project doesn't deal with any form of HTTP or JSON specific things and has on purpose basically no dependencies at all. This will not change, but we recognize the need for having an easy way to get a full service up and running. This is why we are currently working on first class Spring (Boot) support.
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Update: You can now use Spring for GraphQL, the official GraphQL integration. It's a collaboration between the Spring and GraphQL Java teams. See our quick start tutorial.
This is not done yet, but it will provide an easy way to integrate GraphQL Java in a Spring (Boot) application without adding any abstraction on top of GraphQL Java. It will also be extended over time with more advanced features like Apollo Defer support.
To recap:
- GraphQL Java aims to be a first class library used directly
- The GraphQL Java core project doesn't deal with HTTP/JSON and will continue not do it
- The GraphQL Java Spring project will complement the core project in providing comprehensive Spring (Boot) support
Cheers,
Andi