Baton

Baton is a powerful framework that introduces Relay functionality to SwiftUI and Compose, enabling seamless and efficient integration with GraphQL. This framework allows developers to manage data more effectively by implementing a fragment for each view, facilitating one request per screen, and caching data during the initial frame. Baton ensures that re-renders occur only when a specific field changes, enhancing performance and user experience.

Key Features

• Fragment Integration: Views declare GraphQL fragments directly alongside their body, simplifying the management of data needs.
• Single Request Model: The framework automatically assembles operations from the declared fragments, allowing developers to avoid manual query writing, while ensuring efficient data handling.
• Optimistic UI Updates: Baton supports optimistic responses, displaying data immediately while managing updates seamlessly.
• Tailored for Swift and Kotlin: The library is designed to work with SwiftUI for iOS and Compose for Android, providing idiomatic solutions for both platforms.

Performance

Baton emphasizes performance with features like:

• Synchronous Data Reads: Data is cached and ready for immediate display in the UI.
• Efficient Updates: Only the affected views are re-rendered when underlying data changes, drastically reducing unnecessary processing and enhancing responsiveness.
• Compile-Time Validation: The framework validates GraphQL operations against the schema during the build process, ensuring that any discrepancies are caught early.

Compatibility

Baton is designed to function with any server that complies with the GraphQL specification. This flexibility means it can seamlessly integrate with popular backend solutions such as Apollo Server, Hasura, and others without requiring special configurations.

Getting Started

The best way to understand the impact of Baton on your application is to integrate it into a working branch. Developers can measure performance metrics before and after integration to observe improvements firsthand. Comprehensive documentation guides users through the setup, providing clarity on how to effectively leverage Baton in their projects.

Explore examples such as the GitHub Triage applications written in both Swift and Kotlin to see Baton in action. By merging state-of-the-art performance with straightforward GraphQL integration, Baton enables developers to build highly responsive applications that efficiently manage data flow.