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JSON Server VS Explore GraphQL

Compare JSON Server VS Explore GraphQL and see what are their differences

JSON Server logo JSON Server

Get a full fake REST API with zero coding in less than 30 seconds. For front-end developers who need a quick back-end for prototyping and mocking

Explore GraphQL logo Explore GraphQL

GraphQL benefits, success stories, guides, and more
  • JSON Server Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-01
  • Explore GraphQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09

JSON Server features and specs

  • Ease of Setup
    JSON Server can be set up quickly with minimal configuration, making it ideal for prototyping and rapid development. It allows developers to have a fully functioning REST API within minutes.
  • RESTful API
    It provides a standard RESTful API out of the box, allowing developers to perform all CRUD operations. This is helpful for simulating a real-world server while testing client-side applications.
  • Customization
    JSON Server supports middlewares, routes, and custom rules, allowing developers to customize the behavior and structure of the API to better suit their needs.
  • Fakes Backend Data
    It's great for simulating backend responses without needing a real backend setup, useful in front-end development to test components and interactions.
  • Lightweight
    As a lightweight server, it requires fewer resources and is quite simple compared to setting up a full-fledged backend server.

Possible disadvantages of JSON Server

  • Not for Production
    JSON Server is designed for development and testing. It is not suitable for production use due to performance limits and lack of robust security features.
  • Limited Functionality
    While JSON Server is great for basic CRUD operations, it lacks advanced features like authentication, authorization, and complex querying.
  • Data Persistence
    Data is stored in a JSON file, and while this is convenient for testing, it is not suitable for applications that require persistent and scalable data storage.
  • In-memory Limitations
    Being an in-memory server, it may have issues with handling large datasets or complex data structures efficiently.
  • Manual Data Reset
    Any changes made to the JSON file while the server is running require manual resets or reloads to reflect in the API, which can be cumbersome during continuous development cycles.

Explore GraphQL features and specs

  • Efficient Data Fetching
    GraphQL allows clients to specify exactly what data they need, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching of data compared to traditional REST APIs.
  • Flexible Queries
    Clients have the power to request different data structures with GraphQL without changing the backend, allowing for greater flexibility in data retrieval.
  • Strongly Typed Schema
    GraphQL APIs are defined by a strongly typed schema, which can lead to greater consistency and predictability in API responses.
  • Single Endpoint
    All interactions with a GraphQL API happen through a single endpoint, which can simplify the API architecture and management.
  • Ecosystem and Tooling
    GraphQL has a rich ecosystem of tools and features, such as introspection for automatic documentation, which make development more efficient.

Possible disadvantages of Explore GraphQL

  • Complexity of Implementation
    Setting up a GraphQL server can be complex, and it requires changes in existing architecture, especially in transitioning from REST APIs.
  • Over-fetching at the Client
    If not managed properly, clients might request more data than needed, leading to performance issues, unlike REST where endpoint responses are fixed.
  • Caching Difficulties
    GraphQL’s flexibility can make caching responses challenging because the same endpoint can return vastly different responses based on the query.
  • Security Concerns
    GraphQL can be vulnerable to query complexities and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks because clients have the flexibility to craft expensive queries.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers familiar with REST may face a learning curve when adapting to GraphQL's concepts and paradigms.

JSON Server videos

Angular CRUD with Web API Tutorial Part #3 - Setup Local JSON Server and Mock API Endpoints

Explore GraphQL videos

No Explore GraphQL videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to JSON Server and Explore GraphQL)
Development
100 100%
0% 0
APIs
0 0%
100% 100
API Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
35 35%
65% 65

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, JSON Server seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 45 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

JSON Server mentions (45)

  • Building a CRUD app with React Query, TypeScript, and Axios
    We'll be using json-server to create the REST API that we'll fetch data from. In the root of the project, create a db.json file with the contents. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Full Stack To Do list, a step-by-step tutorial
    Our backend will be little more than a two-way translation layer between the database and the user interface (UI). Later in this post we will identify other responsibilities of a backend but our implementation will be kept simple to demonstrate the fundamental machinery and concepts. It is worth noting the backend comes in two parts, web server and application server. Both json-server and Express are able to... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Improve Frontend-Backend development harmony with JSON-Server
    JSON-Server creates fake REST API with a minimum amount of configuration, it provides a simple way to create mock RESTful APIs and easily define the required endpoints, allows easy definition of the data schema in a JSON file and can serve as a reference for each figure in the project. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Dictionary app
    I thought about usingJson Server (hosting the repo with the words on Github to begin with), Googlesheets, or maybe Firestore (i would prefer not to use it ,to avoid extra costs just in case it gets a reasonable amount of users). It isnt a big app so I just want a simple solution for storing the words and fetching them. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Playwright - Not just for Frontend
    First, I didn't create a backend API for this example, but I used a fake API to test. I created it with json-server and json-server-auth. They are two npm packages that use a JSON file as a database and expose the database in an API. You can find more about json-server in its documentation and about json-server-auth here. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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Explore GraphQL mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Explore GraphQL yet. Tracking of Explore GraphQL recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing JSON Server and Explore GraphQL, you can also consider the following products

JSON Placeholder - JSON Placeholder is a modern platform that provides you online REST API, which you can instantly use whenever you need any fake data.

How to GraphQL - Open-source tutorial website to learn GraphQL development

mocki Fake JSON API - mocki Fake JSON API is an advanced platform that offers you to create API for personal use or testing purposes.

Hasura - Hasura is an open platform to build scalable app backends, offering a built-in database, search, user-management and more.

Mockae - The most flexible way to mock REST APIs with Lua code execution

GraphQl Editor - Editor for GraphQL that lets you draw GraphQL schemas using visual nodes