This document summarizes a presentation about using GraphQL at LeanIX. It introduces the two presenters, Patrick Surrey and Dr. Niklas Henrich, both frontend developers at LeanIX. It then demonstrates LeanIX's tool for documenting complex IT landscapes using GraphQL and discusses how LeanIX has implemented GraphQL in their applications and services architecture. Key points covered include benefits of GraphQL over REST APIs, how queries are built in Angular, and lessons learned in implementing GraphQL.

1. GraphQL @ LeanIX
Patrick Surrey & Dr. Niklas Henrich

2. 2
Patrick Surrey
• At LeanIX for about a year
• Frontend Developer

3. 3
Niklas Henrich
• At LeanIX for about half a year
• Frontend Developer

4. Namhafte Unternehmen vertrauen bei ihren
Herausforderungen in der IT bereits auf LeanIX
4
Merger & Acquisition
Risiko-Management
IT Komplexitätsreduktion
Digitale Transformation
Energie
Versicherung
Industrie
E-Commerce
Gesundheit
Logistik
Chemie & Pharma
Medien

5. TOOL DEMO
5

6. Document IT
Architecture
Collaborate within
IT Community
Analyze, Design and
Execute Roadmaps

7. Key Focus: Document complex IT Landscapes
7

8. LEANIX 4.0:
“PATHFINDER”
8

9. LeanIX Data Model – Overview
9
Interface
Application
Provider
IT
Component
Project
User
Group
Data
Object
Tech.
Stack
Business
Capability
Process

10. LeanIX Data Model – Overview
10
IT
Component
Custom Fact Sheets
Custom Relations
Custom AttributesA
B
C
LeanIX EAM Data Model Levels of Flexibility
A

11. LeanIX Data Model – Overview
11
IT
Component
Custom Fact Sheets
Custom Relations
Custom AttributesA
B
C
LeanIX EAM Data Model Levels of Flexibility
Project
B

12. LeanIX Data Model – Overview
12
Custom Fact Sheets
Custom Relations
Custom AttributesA
B
C
LeanIX EAM Data Model Levels of Flexibility
Product
C

13. 13

14. Pathfinder is a complete rewrite of the LeanIX Core
14
Elastic &
Graph
View
Controller
Model
DB
Single Page App
API
DB
API
Frontend
Services
Backend
Micro Services
Infrastructure
Services

15. REST APIs are great – but have limitations
15
/capabilities /applications
GET GET

16. 16
“A query language for your API”
http://graphql.org/

17. 17
History
• 2012 native mobile client for News Feed
• Early 2015 announced publicly
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sc8Pyc51uU)
• Sep. 2015 officially open sourced
• Nov. 2016: Many more users

18. 18
Basic idea
Server
WHAT is available
Client
WHICH data is
needed
1. Schema
2. Data requirements
Java, Node, Ruby, PHP,
Go, Scala, .NET …
Simple HTTP-Client
http://graphql.org/code/

19. LIVE DEMO
19

20. 20
Angular 2 architecture
HttpService
AuthHttpService
GraphqlService
CommentsServiceCommentsComponent
http req.
WriteComment CommentsList
UserInfo UserInfo Comment
loadComments()
toJSON & check
for errors
Build GraphQL
query

21. 21
Angular 2: Improvements
• String concatenation for query building
• Hard to unit test
• Hard to manipulate and combine
è Abstraction: Query, Fields, Parameters (utilize TypeScript)

22. Backend Architecture -
Read Data
22
Arbiter
(Domain-Level)
(Request parsing)
Transitive Queries SearchRetrieval

23. Backend Architecture -
Write Data
23
Arbiter
(Domain-Level)
(Request parsing)

24. Backend Architecture -
Write Data
24
Arbiter
(Domain-Level)
(Request parsing)

25. Backend Architecture -
Write Data
25
Arbiter
(Domain-Level)
(Request parsing)
Event Bus

26. Lessons learned
26
• Use GraphiQL early on (no need for cURL or Postman)
• No dead ends – it’s all a graph
• Be prepared to redesign
• Be prepared to discuss (generic vs. specific)
• No best practices / patterns available yet

27. Summary
27

28. Summary
28
Thanks!
Questions?