The Graph Builders Newsletter #10

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gm web3 builders,

Let’s dive into The Graph Builders Newsletter #10 - October 2023 where we share important builder-focused news coming from The Graph ecosystem from the past month.

To commemorate The Graph Builders Newsletter #10, a limited number of POAPs are now available for builders!

Grab this month's POAP and let's dive in!

Topics for October 2023

• Upgrade Indexer Announced
  • No Service Gap for subgraph updates on The Graph Network
  • Immediate Publishes
  • New Chains on The Graph Network
• New Subgraph Features Released!
  • Major performance boost for Substreams-powered subgraphs
  • DataSourceContext in the manifest
  • `endblock` now available in the manifest
• The Graph @ EthRome
• Builders Office Hours Workshops
• Participate in The Graph Ecosystem
  • Join The Graph BuildersDAO
  • Try The Graph Billing Subscription Beta Program

🌅 Upgrade Indexer Announced 🌅

With the announcement of the upgrade Indexer, builders will enjoy even more benefits when building on The Graph Network.

What is the upgrade Indexer?

The upgrade Indexer helps hosted service users upgrade their subgraphs to The Graph Network without experiencing service interruption. This Indexer will help bootstrap new chains onto the network and improve the experience of upgrading subgraphs from the hosted service by ensuring that there is an Indexer ready to serve queries right after a subgraph (or a new subgraph version) is published to the network.

Here are 3 key benefits for builders from the soon-to-be-available upgrade Indexer:

• No Service Gap when Updating a Subgraph on The Graph Network

Previously, when a subgraph developer wanted to update their subgraph on The Graph Network, the updated subgraph needed time to index. While the new subgraph was being indexed, the deprecated subgraph would not have Indexers assigned to it, causing a gap in service. With the upgrade Indexer, any gaps in service will be removed because the upgrade Indexer keeps the old and new version synced.

• Immediate Sync of Published Subgraphs is Possible

Before the upgrade Indexer, when a subgraph was published to The Graph Network, it would take some time to index on The Graph Network because the indexing responsibility transitioned from centralized infrastructure to decentralized infrastructure. That process is no more! The upgrade Indexer will pre-sync subgraphs deployed in Subgraph Studio, which means that when a subgraph is fully indexed in Subgraph Studio, it will also be fully indexed the second it is published to The Graph Network!

• New Chains on The Graph Network

Today, the hosted service supports 40+ blockchain networks. The upgrade Indexer will expedite the integration of these chains from the hosted service onto The Graph Network. However, new chains supported by the upgrade Indexer will not immediately be eligible for indexing rewards. To enable indexing rewards, each chain must undergo governance via the Chain Integration Process.

Stay tuned for more announcements surrounding the upgrade Indexer.

🔼 New Subgraph Features 🔼

`graph-node 0.33.0` has a long list of new features that are now live on The Graph Network!

Here are a few exciting features for subgraph developers:

`DataSourceContext` In The Subgraph Manifest

Passing data from one handler to another handler while templating was previously possible in our subgraphs mappings through using Data Source Context, but now this feature is available in our `subgraph.yaml`!

This feature will be useful for templating chain-specific data in subgraphs that use the same codebase across multiple chains. Check it out!

name: Factory
    network: mainnet
    context:
      foo:
      bool_example:
        type: Bool
        data: true
      int8_example:
        type: Int8
        data: 64
      big_decimal_example:
        type: BigDecimal
        data: 10.99
      bytes_example:
        type: Bytes
        data: \"0x68656c6c6f\"
      list_example:
        type: List
        data:
          - type: Int
            data: 1
          - type: Int
            data: 2
          - type: Int
            data: 3
      big_int_example:
        type: BigInt
        data: \"1000000000000000000000000\"
      string_example:
        type: String
        data: bar
      qux:
        data: \"bar\"
      int_example:
        type: Int
        data: 42

`endBlock` Defined in `subgraph.yaml`

When building a subgraph, we define the `startBlock` from which the subgraph begins its indexing. Now, we also have `endBlock` to refine our subgraphs focus to only a specific set of blocks! Give it a try once `graph-node` is updated in the `subgraph.yaml`!

…
source:
  address: '0x...'
  abi: Contract
  startBlock: 1000000
  endBlock:  1500000
…

Major performance boost incoming Substreams-powered subgraphs

Significant performance improvements have been achieved for substreams-based subgraphs by moving substreams processing to the block.

Substreams-powered subgraphs published to The Graph Network are a key part improving the speed and unbreakable nature of decentralized indexing. Try building a Substreams-powered subgraph, then publish that Substreams-powered subgraph to The Graph Network to ensure your data pipeline is decentralized!

🏗️ The Graph @EthRome 🏗️

Builders assembled and built some incredible projects in Italy. Congratulations to the winners, and check out their submissions!

Best New Subgraph/Substream

🥇 Sharknado

🥈 Zola

🥉 Quo- Roma and GM ID

Best Use of Existing Subgraph/Substream

🥇 CarbonarAI

🥈 Bounty Arena

🏗️ Building With The Graph - Workshops 🏗️

The Graph Builders Office Hours - Thursdays 5pm UTC

Jump into The Graph Builders Office Hours every Thursday at 5pm UTC hosted by Edge & Node Developer Relations Engineer Kevin Jones in The Graph Discord. Each session includes live workshops and Q&A discussions with developers who are building in The Graph Ecosystem.

Start building fast with previous The Graph Builders Office Hours workshops!

• Dive into some new subgraph features - Initialization Handlers and Polling Handlers
• Build with Messari Standard Subgraphs
• Get hacking fast with a hackathon starterkit that uses The Graph
• Build a dapp with Scaffold-Eth 2 and The Graph
• See how powerful Substreams-powered subgraphs can be
• Dive into subgraph data analytics with Playgrounds
• Bring off-chain data to subgraphs with File Data Sources

Not seeing a topic you want covered?

Request a topic for an upcoming The Graph Builders Office Hours episode and we will make it happen!

Want to Participate in The Graph Ecosystem?

⚙️ Build with The Graph BuildersDAO ⚙️

Want to get paid for building subgraphs and Substreams alongside other builders?

Join The Graph BuildersDAO!

The Graph BuildersDAO is a community of collaborative developers who provide their building services to dapps and protocols.

This collaborative community is looking for builders with various levels of experience in smart contracts, Rust, frontend frameworks, DevOps, subgraphs and Substreams to join and participate on a variety of projects.

Also, if there’s a project that needs some builder-power, The Graph BuildersDAO is a great resource that can build a custom subgraph or Substream! Get in touch!

➕ Sign Up For The Graph Billing Subscriptions Beta Program ➕

The Graph Billing Subscriptions is an alternative to The Graph’s existing Pay As You Go billing system that we hope will simplify payments to just “set it and forget it”.

Sign up for The Graph Subscriptions Beta!

Developer Survey

Building The Graph Network is a collaborative effort and the core devs would love to hear your feedback!

How likely would you recommend The Graph's decentralized network to a fellow web3 developer? Just click the emoji to indicate your vote.

🙂 😐 🙁

Thanks for reading and happy hacking! 💌

Marcus Rein

Developer Relations and Success

Edge & Node, working on The Graph