GraphQL for the delivery of bioinformatics web APIs and application to ZincBind

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Web Services
• Data Access

Background:

• Bioinformatics resources are often accessed via web services using HTTP.
• Programmatic access is enabled by web application programming interfaces (APIs) returning data formats like XML, JSON, or plain text.
• Traditional API approaches include Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and Representational State Transfer (REST).

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the principles of GraphQL.
• To outline GraphQL's suitability for delivering bioinformatics resources.
• To describe the implementation of GraphQL in the ZincBind resource.

Main Methods:

• Review of GraphQL principles.
• Assessment of GraphQL for bioinformatics resource delivery.
• Implementation of GraphQL in the ZincBind web service.

Main Results:

• GraphQL is a novel alternative to REST and SOAP for web services.
• GraphQL represents data as a graph, allowing flexible querying.
• The ZincBind resource has been implemented using GraphQL.

Conclusions:

• GraphQL presents a powerful and flexible alternative for accessing bioinformatics data.
• Its adoption in industry and suitability for bioinformatics resources are increasing.
• The ZincBind resource demonstrates a practical implementation of GraphQL for scientific data delivery.