README

A GraphQL client written in PHP which provides very simple, yet powerful, query generator classes that make the process of interacting with a GraphQL server a very simple one.

Usage

There are 3 primary ways to use this package to generate your GraphQL queries:

1. Query Class: Simple class that maps to GraphQL queries. It's designed to manipulate queries with ease and speed.
2. QueryBuilder Class: Builder class that can be used to generate Query objects dynamically. It's design to be used in cases where a query is being build in a dynamic fashion.
3. PHP GraphQL-OQM: An extension to this package. It Eliminates the need to write any GraphQL queries or refer to the API documentation or syntax. It generates query objects from the API schema, declaration exposed through GraphQL's introspection, which can then be simply interacted with.

Installation

Run the following command to install the package using composer:

$ composer require gmostafa/php-graphql-client

Object-to-Query-Mapper Extension

To avoid the hassle of having to write any queries and just interact with PHP objects generated from your API schema visit PHP GraphQL OQM repository

Query Examples

Simple Query

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );

This simple query will retrieve all companies displaying their names and serial numbers.

The Full Form

The query provided in the previous example is represented in the "shorthand form". The shorthand form involves writing a reduced number of code lines which speeds up the process of wriing querries. Below is an example of the full form for the exact same query written in the previous example.

$gql = (new Query())
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            (new Query('companies'))
                ->setSelectionSet(
                    [
                        'name',
                        'serialNumber'
                    ]
                )
        ]
    );

As seen in the example, the shorthand form is simpler to read and write, it's generally preferred to use compared to the full form.

The full form shouldn't be used unless the query can't be represented in the shorthand form, which has only one case, when we want to run multiple queries in the same object.

Multiple Queries

$gql = (new Query())
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            (new Query('companies'))
            ->setSelectionSet(
                [
                    'name',
                    'serialNumber'
                ]
            ),
            (new Query('countries'))
            ->setSelectionSet(
                [
                    'name',
                    'code',
                ]
            )
        ]
    );

This query retrieves all companies and countries displaying some data fields for each. It basically runs two (or more if needed) independent queries in one query object envelop.

Writing multiple queries requires writing the query object in the full form to represent each query as a subfield under the parent query object.

Nested Queries

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber',
            (new Query('branches'))
                ->setSelectionSet(
                    [
                        'address',
                        (new Query('contracts'))
                            ->setSelectionSet(['date'])
                    ]
                )
        ]
    );

This query is a more complex one, retrieving not just scalar fields, but object fields as well. This query returns all companies, displaying their names, serial numbers, and for each company, all its branches, displaying the branch address, and for each address, it retrieves all contracts bound to this address, displaying their dates.

Query With Arguments

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setArguments(['name' => 'Tech Co.', 'first' => 3])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );

This query does not retrieve all companies by adding arguments. This query will retrieve the first 3 companies with the name "Tech Co.", displaying their names and serial numbers.

Query With Array Argument

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setArguments(['serialNumbers' => [159, 260, 371]])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );

This query is a special case of the arguments query. In this example, the query will retrieve only the companies with serial number in one of 159, 260, and 371, displaying the name and serial number.

Query With Input Object Argument

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setArguments(['filter' => new RawObject('{name_starts_with: "Face"}')])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );

This query is another special case of the arguments query. In this example, we're setting a custom input object "filter" with some values to limit the companies being returned. We're setting the filter "name_starts_with" with value "Face". This query will retrieve only the companies whose names start with the phrase "Face".

The RawObject class being constructed is used for injecting the string into the query as it is. Whatever string is input into the RawObject constructor will be put in the query as it is without any custom formatting normally done by the query class.

Query With Variables

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setVariables(
        [
            new Variable('name', 'String', true),
            new Variable('limit', 'Int', false, 5)
        ]
    )
    ->setArguments(['name' => '$name', 'first' => '$limit'])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );

This query shows how variables can be used in this package to allow for dynamic requests enabled by GraphQL standards.

The Variable Class

The Variable class is an immutable class that represents a variable in GraphQL standards. Its constructor receives 4 arguments:

• name: Represents the variable name
• type: Represents the variable type according to the GraphQL server schema
• isRequired (Optional): Represents if the variable is required or not, it's false by default
• defaultValue (Optional): Represents the default value to be assigned to the variable. The default value will only be considered if the isRequired argument is set to false.

Using an alias

$gql = (new Query())
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            (new Query('companies', 'TechCo'))
                ->setArguments(['name' => 'Tech Co.'])
                ->setSelectionSet(
                    [
                        'name',
                        'serialNumber'
                    ]
                ),
            (new Query('companies', 'AnotherTechCo'))
                ->setArguments(['name' => 'A.N. Other Tech Co.'])
                ->setSelectionSet(
                    [
                        'name',
                        'serialNumber'
                    ]
                )
        ]
    );

An alias can be set in the second argument of the Query constructor for occasions when the same object needs to be retrieved multiple times with different arguments.

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setAlias('CompanyAlias')
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );

The alias can also be set via the setter method.

Using Interfaces: Query With Inline Fragments

When querying a field that returns an interface type, you might need to use inline fragments to access data on the underlying concrete type.

This example show how to generate inline fragments using this package:

$gql = new Query('companies');
$gql->setSelectionSet(
    [
        'serialNumber',
        'name',
        (new InlineFragment('PrivateCompany'))
            ->setSelectionSet(
                [
                    'boardMembers',
                    'shareholders',
                ]
            ),
    ]
);

The Query Builder

The QueryBuilder class can be used to construct Query objects dynamically, which can be useful in some cases. It works very similarly to the Query class, but the Query building is divided into steps.

That's how the "Query With Input Object Argument" example can be created using the QueryBuilder:

$builder = (new QueryBuilder('companies'))
    ->setVariable('namePrefix', 'String', true)
    ->setArgument('filter', new RawObject('{name_starts_with: $namePrefix}'))
    ->selectField('name')
    ->selectField('serialNumber');
$gql = $builder->getQuery();

As with the Query class, an alias can be set using the second constructor argument.

$builder = (new QueryBuilder('companies', 'CompanyAlias'))
    ->selectField('name')
    ->selectField('serialNumber');

$gql = $builder->getQuery();

Or via the setter method

$builder = (new QueryBuilder('companies'))
    ->setAlias('CompanyAlias')
    ->selectField('name')
    ->selectField('serialNumber');

$gql = $builder->getQuery();

The Full Form

Just like the Query class, the QueryBuilder class can be written in full form to enable writing multiple queries under one query builder object. Below is an example for how the full form can be used with the QueryBuilder:

$builder = (new QueryBuilder())
    ->setVariable('namePrefix', 'String', true)
    ->selectField(
        (new QueryBuilder('companies'))
            ->setArgument('filter', new RawObject('{name_starts_with: $namePrefix}'))
            ->selectField('name')
            ->selectField('serialNumber')
    )
    ->selectField(
        (new QueryBuilder('company'))
            ->setArgument('serialNumber', 123)
            ->selectField('name')
    );
$gql = $builder->getQuery();

This query is an extension to the query in the previous example. It returns all companies starting with a name prefix and returns the company with the serialNumber of value 123, both in the same response.

Constructing The Client

A Client object can easily be instantiated by providing the GraphQL endpoint URL.

The Client constructor also receives an optional "authorizationHeaders" array, which can be used to add authorization headers to all requests being sent to the GraphQL server.

Example:

$client = new Client(
    'http://api.graphql.com',
    ['Authorization' => 'Basic xyz']
);

The Client constructor also receives an optional "httpOptions" array, which overrides the "authorizationHeaders" and can be used to add custom Guzzle HTTP Client request options.

Example:

$client = new Client(
    'http://api.graphql.com',
    [],
    [ 
        'connect_timeout' => 5,
        'timeout' => 5,
        'headers' => [
            'Authorization' => 'Basic xyz'
            'User-Agent' => 'testing/1.0',
        ],
        'proxy' => [
                'http'  => 'tcp://localhost:8125', // Use this proxy with "http"
                'https' => 'tcp://localhost:9124', // Use this proxy with "https",
                'no' => ['.mit.edu', 'foo.com']    // Don't use a proxy with these
        ],
        'cert' => ['/path/server.pem', 'password']
        ...
    ]
);

It is possible to use your own preconfigured HTTP client that implements the PSR-18 interface.

Example:

$client = new Client(
    'http://api.graphql.com',
    [],
    [],
    $myHttpClient
);

Running Queries

Result Formatting

Running query with the GraphQL client and getting the results in object structure:

$results = $client->runQuery($gql);
$results->getData()->companies[0]->branches;

Or getting results in array structure:

$results = $client->runQuery($gql, true);
$results->getData()['companies'][1]['branches']['address'];

Passing Variables to Queries

Running queries containing variables requires passing an associative array which maps variable names (keys) to variable values (values) to the runQuery method. Here's an example:

$gql = (new Query('companies'))
    ->setVariables(
        [
            new Variable('name', 'String', true),
            new Variable('limit', 'Int', false, 5)
        ]
    )
    ->setArguments(['name' => '$name', 'first' => '$limit'])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'name',
            'serialNumber'
        ]
    );
$variablesArray = ['name' => 'Tech Co.', 'first' => 5];
$results = $client->runQuery($gql, true, $variablesArray);

Mutations

Mutations follow the same rules of queries in GraphQL, they select fields on returned objects, receive arguments, and can have sub-fields.

Here's a sample example on how to construct and run mutations:

$mutation = (new Mutation('createCompany'))
    ->setArguments(['companyObject' => new RawObject('{name: "Trial Company", employees: 200}')])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            '_id',
            'name',
            'serialNumber',
        ]
    );
$results = $client->runQuery($mutation);

Mutations can be run by the client the same way queries are run.

Mutations With Variables Example

Mutations can utilize the variables in the same way Queries can. Here's an example on how to use the variables to pass input objects to the GraphQL server dynamically:

$mutation = (new Mutation('createCompany'))
    ->setVariables([new Variable('company', 'CompanyInputObject', true)])
    ->setArguments(['companyObject' => '$company']);

$variables = ['company' => ['name' => 'Tech Company', 'type' => 'Testing', 'size' => 'Medium']];
$client->runQuery(
    $mutation, true, $variables
);

These are the resulting mutation and the variables passed with it:

mutation($company: CompanyInputObject!) {
  createCompany(companyObject: $company)
}
{"company":{"name":"Tech Company","type":"Testing","size":"Medium"}}

Live API Example

GraphQL Pokemon is a very cool public GraphQL API available to retrieve Pokemon data. The API is available publicly on the web, we'll use it to demo the capabilities of this client.

Github Repo link: https://github.com/lucasbento/graphql-pokemon

API link: https://graphql-pokemon.now.sh/

This query retrieves any pokemon's evolutions and their attacks:

query($name: String!) {
  pokemon(name: $name) {
    id
    number
    name
    evolutions {
      id
      number
      name
      weight {
        minimum
        maximum
      }
      attacks {
        fast {
          name
          type
          damage
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

That's how this query can be written using the query class and run using the client:

$client = new Client(
    'https://graphql-pokemon.now.sh/'
);
$gql = (new Query('pokemon'))
    ->setVariables([new Variable('name', 'String', true)])
    ->setArguments(['name' => '$name'])
    ->setSelectionSet(
        [
            'id',
            'number',
            'name',
            (new Query('evolutions'))
                ->setSelectionSet(
                    [
                        'id',
                        'number',
                        'name',
                        (new Query('attacks'))
                            ->setSelectionSet(
                                [
                                    (new Query('fast'))
                                        ->setSelectionSet(
                                            [
                                                'name',
                                                'type',
                                                'damage',
                                            ]
                                        )
                                ]
                            )
                    ]
                )
        ]
    );
try {
    $name = readline('Enter pokemon name: ');
    $results = $client->runQuery($gql, true, ['name' => $name]);
}
catch (QueryError $exception) {
    print_r($exception->getErrorDetails());
    exit;
}
print_r($results->getData()['pokemon']);

Or alternatively, That's how this query can be generated using the QueryBuilder class:

$client = new Client(
    'https://graphql-pokemon.now.sh/'
);
$builder = (new QueryBuilder('pokemon'))
    ->setVariable('name', 'String', true)
    ->setArgument('name', '$name')
    ->selectField('id')
    ->selectField('number')
    ->selectField('name')
    ->selectField(
        (new QueryBuilder('evolutions'))
            ->selectField('id')
            ->selectField('name')
            ->selectField('number')
            ->selectField(
                (new QueryBuilder('attacks'))
                    ->selectField(
                        (new QueryBuilder('fast'))
                            ->selectField('name')
                            ->selectField('type')
                            ->selectField('damage')
                    )
            )
    );
try {
    $name = readline('Enter pokemon name: ');
    $results = $client->runQuery($builder, true, ['name' => $name]);
}
catch (QueryError $exception) {
    print_r($exception->getErrorDetails());
    exit;
}
print_r($results->getData()['pokemon']);

Running Raw Queries

Although not the primary goal of this package, but it supports running raw string queries, just like any other client using the runRawQuery method in the Client class. Here's an example on how to use it:

$gql = <<<QUERY
query {
    pokemon(name: "Pikachu") {
        id
        number
        name
        attacks {
            special {
                name
                type
                damage
            }
        }
    }
}
QUERY;

$results = $client->runRawQuery($gql);