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Opening
APIs are increasingly important in today’s world. As technology advances, so will our dependence on APIs. Everything that communicates over the internet today is talking to an API (App Programming Interface). As we implement them into our technologies, we must also consider API testing. Our API Tester must be thoroughly tested on many quality characteristics. We should not only pay attention to functional requirements but also to non-functional requirements.
Documentation for API Tester
A complete documentation set for each API that you use or test is ideal. It will show each endpoint as well as how to use it. The reality isn’t always as idyllic as we would like. It is not uncommon to find an API with no documentation, or even the correct documentation. API developers have a bad record of documenting their work. I know this because I have created countless API tester that had no documentation for other users. This critical step can also be pushed aside by external factors such as deadlines and organizational issues. What can you do if you are faced with the challenge of validating an API tester functionality and not having any information or notes about how it works?
Test Cases
API testing covers many different aspects and involves more than just executing a few test cases. It is important to begin testing at the very beginning and continue until the final release. We will follow a fictional feature through its entire software development lifecycle to highlight these stages. Our API tests should be started at the source, which would be the requirements. These requirements should be thoroughly reviewed and viewed from the tester’s perspective. Testing often tries to identify edge cases and will try to break systems. When reviewing requirements, this should be considered.
Approved Requirements
Once all stakeholders have approved our requirements, the test case development phase can begin. The testing will begin designing test cases, which will be combined into test suites. If the new functionality is urgently needed, they must also be able to pass their sanity tests. Next, we must determine the test specification. This document describes the expected results for each test case and the conditions under which we can enter or exit the test. It is also used to indicate when the test is complete and ready to go. These are also called our exit and entry criteria.
Once all documents are received and the software has been tested, test execution and reporting begin. Based on test management tools, reports are generated. They will typically include a complete report of all the tests performed for a feature. This includes any blocking issues that might have caused testing to be halted. It is a smart idea to use these tests in conjunction with a solid automation strategy. This will help cut costs dramatically if implemented correctly and can be done using open-source tools like SoapUI or JMeter, Selenium, or postman.
API testing Significance
You might now be asking why API Tester is important. That is understandable. API is expensive and you may not see a return on your investment. You may find that the costs for defects are higher than the cost of testing if you don’t do it correctly. APIs are centrally located, so they have the most traffic to process. If they fail unexpectedly, it could lead to dire consequences. Failing any API can result in services not being accessible, processes not functioning as expected, and even access to data and objects that shouldn’t be available. One of the most overlooked aspects of APIs is that not only the user-facing functionality needs to be tested but also the integration with third-party providers and services. All of these depend on API passing the expected and valid data.
Giving benefits of API Testing
One of the greatest benefits of API testing is the ability to test quickly. This is because the API component often is developed before the UI component. It allows for swift feedback and can help guide the development of components that integrate with our API. Because we can create a finer-grained component tests that we don’t have to repeat as often as our end-to-end scenarios, API testing is much cheaper than manual e2e or automated QA testing.
These benefits enable us to make security testing available where it is most needed, at the API level. Although security testing at all levels is important, we don’t have unlimited budgets. Therefore, we must prioritize. We can make integrations much easier if we test our API and document them well. In addition, interfaces that subscribe to our API will be well informed and assured of a working API.