usage_customscalars

• Custom Scalars
• Declare the Custom Scalar in your GraphQl schema
• Provide a class that extends GraphQLScalarType
  • Implement a graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType
  • Use a Custom Scalar implemented by graphql-java
  • Use a Custom Scalar implemented by an external library
• Configure the pom, to indicate your Custom Scalar(s)

Custom Scalars

This page is valid for both the client and the server mode.

The graphql-maven-plugin accepts any GraphQL Custom Scalars.

To add a Custom Scalar, you need to:

• Declare it in your GraphQL schema (see https://graphql.org/learn/schema/)
• Provide a class that extends graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType.
  • graphql-java respects the specification of graphql scalars
• Describe in the pom.xml file the list of Custom Scalars for your project

Declare the Custom Scalar in your GraphQl schema

Very simple. And well documented in https://graphql.org/learn/schema/.

It's just a matter of adding a line in your GraphQL schema, like the one below:

scalar Date

Provide a class that extends GraphQLScalarType

This is, of course, the complex part. But you can use a Custom Scalar implementation coming from graphql-java, or from external libraries.

There are three ways to provide a Custom Scalar implementation:

Implement a graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType

Deprecated: this is deprecated by graphql-java. So they will probably remove support for this way of creating Custom Scalars.

You can create your own implementation of any GraphQL Custom Scalar.

The main issue here, is that the graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType isn't very documented, especially the graphql.schema.Coercing interface that you'll use to implement the serialization and deserialization methods.

To help you implement a graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType, we provided you a good sample, that you can copy/paste/change: the com.graphql_java_generator.customscalars.GraphQLScalarTypeDate). We pasted the javadoc for the graphql.schema.Coercing interface, so that you properly understand what's expected.

Use a Custom Scalar implemented by graphql-java

graphql-java provide Custom Scalar implementation in the graphql.Scalars class. As graphql-java doesn't provide javadoc, you can either checkout the graphql-java project, or check this link.

You'll then just have to declare it in your pom (see below).

Use a Custom Scalar implemented by an external library

You can also use external libraries, provided that they provide an implementation that is a class, that extends graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType.

Just add the dependency in your pom, and declare it (see below).

Configure the pom, to indicate your Custom Scalar(s)

Of course, in your project you can mix Custom Scalars implemented by you, provided by graphql-java or by external libraries.

To declare a Custom Scalar implementation, you'll have to provide three informations:

• The name of the GraphQL Custom Scalar Type. It must be exactly the same name as declared in the GraphQL schema, for instance Date in the above sample.
• The full name of the java class that will contain values for this Scalar type, once in the java code. For instance java.util.Date in the above sample.
• The implementation. It may be declared by one of the three ways below. Of course, you must use one and only one of these parameter, for each Custom Scalar:
  • graphQLScalarTypeClass: The full class name for the graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType that will manage this Custom Scalar. For instance: com.graphql_java_generator.customscalars.GraphQLScalarTypeDate.
  • graphQLScalarTypeStaticField: The full class name followed by the static field name that contains the graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType that will manage this Custom Scalar. For instance: graphql.Scalars.GraphQLLong.
  • graphQLScalarTypeGetter: The full class name followed by the static method name that returns the graphql.schema.GraphQLScalarType that will manage this Custom Scalar. For instance: org.mycompany.MyScalars.getGraphQLLong(). This call may contain parameters, provided that it is a valid java statement.

You can find the up-to-date value for this Custom Scalar definition in github

Please find below a sample of the declaration in the pom. It's extracted from the allGraphQLCases samples. You'll Find here the full pom.xml file.

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">

...

	<build>
		<plugins>
			<plugin>
				<groupId>com.graphql-java-generator</groupId>
				<artifactId>graphql-maven-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>2.8</version>
				<executions>
					<execution>
						<goals>
							<goal>graphql</goal>
						</goals>
					</execution>
				</executions>
				<configuration>
					<mode>client</mode>
					<packageName>org.allGraphQLCases.client</packageName>
					<customScalars>
						<customScalar>
							<graphQLTypeName>Date</graphQLTypeName>
							<javaType>java.util.Date</javaType>
							<graphQLScalarTypeClass>com.graphql_java_generator.customscalars.GraphQLScalarTypeDate</graphQLScalarTypeClass>
						</customScalar>
						<customScalar>
							<graphQLTypeName>Long</graphQLTypeName>
							<javaType>java.lang.Long</javaType>
							<graphQLScalarTypeStaticField>graphql.Scalars.GraphQLLong</graphQLScalarTypeStaticField>
						</customScalar>
					</customScalars>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
...
	</build>

...

</project>