GraphQL vs. REST vs. TypeScript interfaces

request.md

We want to run the equivalent of the following, getting name, age and friends' name(s):

GET https://example.org/users/1

With GraphQL, we can use user.graphql to get the following:

      { 
        id: 'https://example.org/users/1',
        name: 'Jane Doe',
        friends: [
          { name: 'Sandy Mienza' }
        ]
      }

With Falcor, I think it would work like this:

var model = new falcor.Model({
  cache: {
    peopleById: {
      'https://example.org/users/1': { 
        id: 'https://example.org/users/1',
        name: 'Jane Doe',
        friends: [
          { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/2'] }
        ]
      },
      'https://example.org/users/2': {
        id: 'https://example.org/users/2',
        name: 'Sandy Mienza',
        age: 40,
        friends: [
          { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/1'] },
          { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/3'] }
        ]
      },
      'https://example.org/users/3': {
        id: 'https://example.org/users/3',
        name: 'Mike Lee',
        age: 40,
        friends: [
          { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/2'] }
        ]
      }
    },
    users: [
        { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/1'] },
        { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/2'] },
        { $type: 'ref', value: ['peopleById', 'https://example.org/users/3'] }
    ]
  }
});

// prints the following:
// {"json":{"users":{"0":{"name":"Jane Doe"}}}}
model.
  get(['users', 0, ['name', 'age']]).
  subscribe(pathValue => console.log(JSON.stringify(result)));

// prints the following:
// { path: [['users', 0, 'friends'], { from: 0, to: 10 }, 'name'], value: ['Sandy Mienza'] }
model.
  get(['users', 0, 'friends'], { from: 0, to: 10 }, 'name').
  toPathValues().
  subscribe(pathValue => console.log(JSON.stringify(pathValue)));

https://jsfiddle.net/obg0b8x4/

user.d.ts

var Iri: string;

interface Person {
  id: Iri,
  name: string;
}

interface User extends Person {
  age?: number;
  friends: Person[];
}

user.graphql

{
  user(id: 1) {
    name
    age
    friends {
      name
    }
  }
}