Ask HN: Why GraphQL APIs but no Datalog APIs?
For context, I&#x27;m a frontend development lead who oversees a number of projects of different shape and size. My personal and very subjective opinion is it&#x27;s simply hype. If you say &quot;Datalog&quot; to a frontend developer, they will either hear &quot;obsolete&quot; or just not know what you mean. If you say &quot;GraphQL&quot;, they hear &quot;+5 CV points&quot;. Obviously that is slightly tongue in cheek, but the marketing side of it is a very real factor.<p>Facebook currently holds one of the largest levers in frontend development — React. If they say the officially recommended way to do X with React is Y, you can be sure that Y will get at least moderate traction.<p>I&#x27;m sure they exist out in the wild, but personally I haven&#x27;t seen a project where GraphQL really shines through. In my experience, HTTP2 and reasonably well designed RESTful endpoints are the right default to go with. There is the argument that building good APIs is hard, but I believe someone who has reasonable experience with a stable technology will outperform someone using a new tool for the job. If you&#x27;re not familiar with it, you won&#x27;t know what to look out for.