5 Best Practices of API testing
Application programming interface (API) is a part of the software that outlines how other components or systems can interact with a system. The API specifies the sorts of queries that can be made, how they should be done, and what data formats must be utilized. API Testing enables software development teams to connect and take part in end-to-end business processes efficiently. APIs are used to support web apps and services. The performance is, however, constrained by the APIs on which these end-to-end activities are dependent. In addition, API automation testing and QA pipelines for web services are challenging to construct.
Best Practices:
1) Identify Requirements:
This comprises the goal of the API, the application’s process, and the place where the API is located. This stage will help you determine the method of verification and prepare your input and output test data. Unambiguous tests are also essential to solve problems when building automation tests or frameworks. As a result, while the tests are running and failing, you will not have to pay attention because the faults will appear. Not only does this save time, but it also ensures successful and productive automation.
2) Organize API endpoints:
Some or even a hundred APIs can be used for testing in a testing project. We strongly advise you to divide them into categories to improve test management. It requires one more step but will help you construct highly covered and integrated test scenarios. APIs in the same class share common data, such as resource type, path, etc. The organization of your tests using the same structures makes your trial reusable and integration flow extensible.
3) Performance:
To track API performance, API testing should be used. Those tests can be established to monitor availability and speed problems and analyze information collected over time to identify trends in performance. Although the availability test is not adequate, most API transactions involve exchanging data, which makes it essential to ensure the accuracy of the data. You may also ensure that the APIs function correctly by inspecting the inputs and providing the proper structure of the data. Test the features of new deployments to capture problems before they influence real-time users – it is crucial to evaluate their impact on current API interfaces while publishing new features.
4) Choose suitable verification methods:
The response status code indicates the condition of the request, but what an API gives with the specified input is the answer body content. The contents of an API response vary from data type to size. The answers can be provided in plain text, in JSON, XML, and other formats. They could be a simple, empty, or JSON/XML file of 100 pages. An appropriate verification mechanism for a specific API is so necessary.
5) Do not Repeat the code:
Make sure you have a client for the system you test before you start developing tests. Avoid repeating code since many tests require treating or executing similar activities with the same components. In such cases, you may want a shared library to complete the test requests and simplify the process.