Engineering Insights: Powering Next-Gen Streaming Experiences with GraphQL at hoichoi

source: graphql

As engineers at hoichoi.tech , we’ve embarked on a transformative journey, adopting GraphQL to enhance our streaming service. The shift was driven by our relentless pursuit to optimize content delivery and personalize user experience. Our narrative unfolds as we tackle the challenges head-on, leveraging GraphQL’s capabilities to overcome the limitations of traditional REST APIs.

The Genesis: Facing the REST API Challenges

Our saga began in the complex world of REST APIs, where we grappled with the inefficiencies that hindered our platform’s performance. The most vexing issues were over-fetching and under-fetching of data. Each content request entailed multiple round trips to the server, fetching either too much or too little data. This not only increased the load on our servers but also led to a sluggish user experience, especially on mobile devices with less stable internet connections.

Moreover, the rigid structure of REST APIs made it challenging to evolve our platform swiftly. Every minor change in the frontend required corresponding adjustments in the backend, significantly slowing down our deployment cycles.

The Revelation: Embracing GraphQL

Our search for a solution led us to GraphQL, a query language that promised greater flexibility and efficiency in data retrieval. Intrigued by its capabilities, we embarked on a journey to integrate GraphQL into our platform.

The transition wasn’t without its challenges. We had to retrain our team, rearchitect our backend, and rethink our data delivery strategies. However, the promise of a more dynamic and efficient data retrieval mechanism propelled us forward.

The Transformation: How GraphQL Changed the Game

1. Tailored Data Retrieval: With GraphQL, we were empowered to specify exactly what data we needed in a single request, eliminating over-fetching and under-fetching. This precision significantly reduced the bandwidth usage and improved the responsiveness of our platform.

2. Single Round-Trip Requests: GraphQL’s ability to fetch data with a single network request, even for complex queries involving multiple resources, was a game-changer. It reduced latency and enhanced the overall user experience, particularly for users with slow internet connections.

3. Agile Backend-Frontend Development: GraphQL’s self-documenting nature and the ability to add new fields without impacting existing queries made our development process more agile. Our frontend team could develop and deploy new features without constant backend adjustments, accelerating our innovation cycle.

4. Real-Time Data with Subscriptions: Adopting GraphQL subscriptions allowed us to implement real-time updates for live content and user interactions. This feature was instrumental in creating a dynamic and engaging user experience during live sports events and premieres.

Overcoming the Challenges

The transition to GraphQL required a paradigm shift in our engineering culture. We invested in extensive training programs to upskill our team and adopted new tools for monitoring and debugging GraphQL queries. Managing cache efficiently and securing our GraphQL endpoint were among the technical challenges we tackled head-on, ensuring that our platform remained robust and scalable.

Comparing GraphQL with REST API

Our journey from REST to GraphQL highlighted the stark differences between the two approaches. While REST APIs served us well for years, their limitations became increasingly apparent as we scaled. GraphQL offered us the flexibility, efficiency, and speed we needed to meet our users’ growing expectations.

Efficiency and Performance: GraphQL’s single round-trip requests and precise data retrieval mechanisms significantly outperformed REST APIs in terms of bandwidth usage and response time.

Development Velocity: GraphQL accelerated our feature development and deployment cycles, allowing for a more dynamic and responsive development process compared to the more static nature of REST APIs.

User Experience: By reducing the load time and providing real-time updates, GraphQL played a pivotal role in elevating the user experience, setting a new standard for our platform.

Incorporating GraphQL into our platform has been a transformative journey, enriched by real-life examples that highlight its impact on our service delivery and user experience.

Example 1: Personalized Content Feeds

One of the first areas where we saw immediate benefits from adopting GraphQL was in generating personalized content feeds for our users. Unlike the one-size-fits-all approach with REST, GraphQL allowed us to tailor requests based on user preferences and viewing history.

Problem with REST: Fetching personalized content required multiple endpoints, leading to over-fetching data and a slower response time.

Solution with GraphQL: A single, tailored query fetched exactly what we needed, improving load times and user satisfaction.

GraphQL Code Snippet:

query GetUserContent($userId: ID!) {
  user(id: $userId) {
    id
    name
    recommendedContent {
      movies {
        id
        title
        thumbnailUrl
      }
      series {
        id
        title
        episodesCount
      }
    }
  }
}

This query illustrates how we can fetch a user’s recommended movies and series in a single request, avoiding unnecessary data transfer and speeding up the rendering of the user’s homepage.

Example 2: Efficient Metadata Updates and Recommendations

For VOD platforms, keeping content metadata (like descriptions, genres, and user ratings) updated and providing tailored recommendations are crucial for user engagement. With REST, updating and fetching this data efficiently, especially for large catalogs, posed significant challenges.

Problem with REST: Updating or fetching detailed metadata for multiple pieces of content often required hitting several endpoints. For recommendations, this meant even more complexity, as it involved aggregating data from different sources, leading to multiple network requests and slower response times.

Solution with GraphQL: By using GraphQL, we were able to create more flexible queries that fetched or updated all necessary metadata in a single request. This streamlined both our backend processes and the frontend experience, making it faster and more efficient.

GraphQL Code Snippet for Metadata Updates:

mutation UpdateContentMetadata($contentId: ID!, $newMetadata: ContentMetadataInput!) {
  updateContentMetadata(contentId: $contentId, newMetadata: $newMetadata) {
    id
    title
    description
    genres
    averageRating
  }
}

This mutation allows for updating a piece of content’s metadata, such as its description, genres, and average rating, all in one go, simplifying the process and reducing the load on our servers.

GraphQL Code Snippet for Tailored Recommendations:

query GetRecommendations($userId: ID!, $genreFilter: [String!]) {
  userRecommendations(userId: $userId, genreFilter: $genreFilter) {
    id
    title
    thumbnailUrl
    genres
    isRecommended
  }
}

Here, a single query fetches personalized recommendations for a user, filtered by genres. It returns a list of recommended content with relevant details, enhancing personalization and improving the user’s discovery experience on the platform.

Example 3: Dynamic Content Search

Implementing a flexible search feature that could accommodate various filters and return complex results was cumbersome with REST due to the static nature of endpoints.

Problem with REST: Creating a comprehensive search feature required multiple endpoints with fixed data structures, making it hard to adapt to user search preferences without additional requests.

Solution with GraphQL: A single GraphQL query could dynamically adjust to include various search parameters and return precisely structured results.

GraphQL Code Snippet:

query SearchContent($searchTerm: String!, $filter: ContentFilter) {
  search(term: $searchTerm, filter: $filter) {
    results {
      ... on Movie {
        id
        title
        releaseYear
        genres
      }
      ... on Series {
        id
        title
        episodesCount
        genres
      }
    }
  }
}

These usecases underscore the versatility and efficiency of GraphQL in addressing specific challenges we faced on our OTT platform. By providing tailored data retrieval, enabling real-time updates, and facilitating dynamic searches, GraphQL has not only improved our backend processes but also significantly enhanced the user experience. The transition from REST to GraphQL represented a paradigm shift in how we think about data and its flow across our platform, setting a new standard for personalization, performance, and scalability in the digital streaming industry.

Our transition to GraphQL marked the beginning of a new era for our OTT platform. It not only addressed the immediate challenges but also positioned us for future growth. Today, as we reflect on our journey, we are proud of the leap we took. Embracing GraphQL has not only revolutionized our data retrieval processes but also redefined what’s possible in the realm of streaming services. This story is a testament to the power of innovation and the endless possibilities that await when we dare to reimagine the status quo.