GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language and runtime for APIs, created by Facebook. Instead of calling many fixed endpoints as in a REST API, the client sends one query to a single endpoint that describes exactly which fields it wants, and the server returns data in exactly that shape.

This avoids over-fetching (receiving fields you do not need) and under-fetching (making several requests to collect related data). A GraphQL API is described by a strongly typed schema; queries read data, mutations change it and subscriptions push live updates to the client.

query {
  user(id: "42") {
    name
    email
    orders(last: 3) {
      id
      total
    }
  }
}