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Introduction to Modeling

Learn the basics of creating a new data model.

Setup​

Create a new .graphql file in your project directory to store your model(s).

For example, let’s create a file called my-schema.graphql. Inside, we’re going to create a model to store a very simple user profile:

type SimpleProfile @createModel(accountRelation: SINGLE, description: "Very basic profile") {
  displayName: String! @string(minLength: 3, maxLength: 50)
}

Metadata​

Let’s look into the metadata properties of your new model:

type SimpleProfile @createModel(accountRelation: SINGLE, description: "Very basic profile")

Where:

  • type defines the name for your model, in our case SimpleProfile
  • @createModel is a directive that specifies we are creating a new model
  • accountRelation defines the allowable number of instances per account, where SINGLE limits one instance per account, and LIST allows unlimited instances per account
  • description is a string that describes the model
tip

Model names and descriptions are used in the Model Catalog. Aim for short and descriptive to improve discovery and reuse.

Schema​

Model schemas are written using the GraphQL Schema Definition Language (SDL). Let’s look at the schema of our new model. It’s a shape that only defines a single field (key) and scalar (value):

{
  displayName: String! @string(minLength: 3, maxLength: 50)
}

Where:

  • displayName is a field
  • String! is a scalar that defines displayName is a required (!) string
  • @string is a directive that sets validation rules for the scalar, in our case min and max length
tip

This is a very basic schema. Your schemas can contain more than one field and include various relations. See Schemas next.

Next Steps​

To use your new model in your application, you will need to create a Composite →