Assume you’re looking for a hotel room on an online travel reservation site. Using the site’s web form, you will fill out the relevant information, such as the city you wish to stay in, the check-in dates and check-out dates, the number of guests, and the number of rooms. Then you press the “search” button. But what happens after you enter your information and receive your hotel options? APIs, to be precise. The website compiles data from a variety of hotels.
When you click “search,” the site communicates with each hotel’s API, which results in available rooms that match your requirements. To your wonder, all of this happens in a matter of seconds thanks to an API, which functions as a messenger between programs, databases, and devices.
How should API testing be approached?
The API testing should start with a clearly defined program scope and a thorough grasp of how the API is expected to perform. The following are some questions that testers should think about:
- What testing endpoints are available?
- What are the anticipated response codes for successful requests?
- For unsuccessful requests, what response codes should be expected?
- In the body of a failed request, which error message should you wish to see?
Once these criteria are recognized, testers can begin using a variety of testing approaches.
How to Perform API Testing?
- Review of API Specifications: The first step in performing API testing is to write down the API testing specifications. What is the API’s function? What is the application’s workflow? Which integrations does the API support? What are some of the API’s features? As discussed, the first step is to write down all of these API testing requirements. This will help you in the planning of API tests as well as the testing process.
- Creating a Testing Environment: The following step is to create a testing environment. It must be developed using a set of API parameters, including configuring the database and server to fulfill the app’s requirements.
- Integrating Data from Applications: At this point, you must integrate your application data with the API tests to ensure that the API performs as expected across all possible input configurations.
- Choosing an API Test Type: You must determine what you want to test your API after establishing the testing limits and requirements. Functionality testing, validation testing, load testing, security testing, end-to-end testing, fuzz testing, and many other types of API tests are available. In the following section of this essay, we’ll go through the different methods of API testing.
- Execution & Reporting of Text: Once you’ve chosen what you’ll be testing the API for, the following step is to develop and test cases based on those requirements. A good rule of thumb is to determine the most common parameters and conditions that an end developer will use when contacting APIs and thoroughly test these situations. Then keep a record of the test findings for future reference.
To test APIs properly, all you need to do is simply follow the methods outlined above.
Eleggible’s Final Words
A data layer, a service layer (the API layer), and a presentation layer (the user interface (UI) layer are the three layers that most applications contain. The API layer contains the application’s business logic, which describes how users can interact with the app’s services, functions, and data. API testing examines the business logic as well as the application’s and data replies’ security. An API test is typically carried out by sending requests to one or more API endpoints and comparing the results to what is expected.
