API testing is a critical component of the whole testing process. It deals with testing the business logic of an application, which is typically encompassed in the business layer and is instrumental in handling all the transactions between user interface and underlying data. It is deemed as a part of Integration testing that involves verification of functionality, performance and robustness of API’s.
API’s evolve and develop as and when business and functional requirements change, thus making it even more important to test them on a continuous basis. They also become suitable candidates for automation testing since they need to be tested with every release cycle. Besides checking for the functionality API testing tests for error condition handling, response handling in terms of time and data, performance issues, security issues etc. It is quite evident that API testing is the key to testing the business requirements, thus it is imperative to follow certain best practices in order to achieve good outcome.
Following table gives a quick overview of what to do and what not to do while conducting API testing. These points are further elaborated in entailing paragraphs.
Do’sDon’tsCategorize the test casesUse static data Prioritize API callsIgnore dependenciesAutomateMiss including response time assertionsChoose suitable automation toolTake security testing lightlyPositive and Negative testingIgnore one time call functionsShare test results Keeping documentation on low priorityPerform load tests
What to do for successful API Testing
- Categorize the test cases
An application may involve several APIs which may sometimes run into triple digits. In order to maintain the test cases for quick reference and execution, it is a good idea to categorize them.
- Prioritize the API calls
Calls made to API’s should be prioritized for ease of testing.
- Automate the API testing process
API tests are usually deemed stable and major changes are done mainly when business logic is changed. This makes them perfect candidates for test automation. Since API testing is a type of Black-box testing different combinations of inputs can be used to test a scenario, making this a Data driven test approach. The test data, scripts and API endpoints can be saved for execution at a later stage. Read for More : API Testing
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