Pagination in GraphQL

Overview

The SAP LeanIX GraphQL API employs the concept of relay cursor connections for pagination, allowing for efficient and flexible data retrieval. In this pagination model, instead of using offsets, the API uses cursors to navigate through the dataset. Cursor-based pagination allows for immediate access to specific items within large datasets, unlike offset-based pagination, which can be inefficient for high offset values.

This pagination method provides real-time data, reflecting the current state of the dataset. Paginated requests don't create static snapshots of data. Instead, data is delivered dynamically. Due to the real-time nature of the data, idempotence is not guaranteed in paginated requests. This means that the same request with the same query parameters may return different results if the underlying data has changed between requests, ensuring you always receive the most up-to-date information.

For additional information on pagination in GraphQL, refer to the GraphQL documentation.

Key Concepts

• Cursor: A unique identifier that points to a specific item in a dataset.
• Connection: A structure that provides metadata about the paginated data, including edges, nodes, page info, and more.

How Pagination Works

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Note

The SAP LeanIX GraphQL API supports forward pagination but does not support backward pagination. Therefore, the following arguments for backward pagination are not supported: last, before, hasPreviousPage, and startCursor.

The following arguments for pagination are supported:

• first: Specifies the number of items to be returned in the query.
• after: A cursor that specifies the starting point for the next set of results. To retrieve the initial set of results, you can omit this argument.

When querying a paginated field, the API returns a connection object that includes:

• pageInfo: An object that provides metadata about the current page, including the endCursor and the hasNextPage boolean.
• edges: An array of objects that contain the node (the actual data item).

Examples

Retrieving the Initial Set of Results

The following query returns the first two fact sheets from the inventory list. The pageInfo object contains information about the paging state:

• hasNextPage: Defines whether more pages are available.
• endCursor: Shows the position of the current paging cursor.

Example query:

{
  allFactSheets(first: 2) {
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
    edges {
      node {
        name
      }
    }
  }
}

Example response:

{
  "data": {
    "allFactSheets": {
      "pageInfo": {
        "hasNextPage": true,
        "endCursor": "bWl4OjEjRFhGMVpYSjVRVzVrUm1WMFkyZ0JBQUFBQUFISUJSb1dPRmhwT0dSWFlYVlNNRU55TlZGSVdYbExTVjlLWnc9PSUxNzA1NTY3MDg3Nzg2"
      },
      "edges": [
        {
          "node": {
            "name": "AC Management"
          }
        },
        {
          "node": {
            "name": "AC Management Cloud"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

The response contains the following:

• pageInfo: Provides metadata about the current page.
  • hasNextPage: Indicates whether there are more items available.
  • endCursor: The cursor of the last item in the current set. This cursor is used to fetch the next set of results.
• edges: An array of objects containing data nodes.

Retrieving the Next Set of Results

To fetch the next set of results, use the endCursor from the pageInfo as the after argument in your next query.

Example query:

{
  allFactSheets(first: 2, after: "bWl4OjEjRFhGMVpYSjVRVzVrUm1WMFkyZ0JBQUFBQUFISUJSb1dPRmhwT0dSWFlYVlNNRU55TlZGSVdYbExTVjlLWnc9PSUxNzA1NTY3MDg3Nzg2") {
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
    edges {
      node {
        name
      }
    }
  }
}

The response provides the next set of fact sheets and the new endCursor for subsequent queries.

Example response:

{
  "data": {
    "allFactSheets": {
      "pageInfo": {
        "hasNextPage": true,
        "endCursor": "bWl4OjMjRFhGMVpYSjVRVzVrUm1WMFkyZ0JBQUFBQUFISUJoc1dPRmhwT0dSWFlYVlNNRU55TlZGSVdYbExTVjlLWnc9PSUxNzA1NTY3NDI2NDgy"
      },
      "edges": [
        {
          "node": {
            "name": "AC Management to HR Admin"
          }
        },
        {
          "node": {
            "name": "Accenture"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}