The effectiveness of API will have a telling effect on your product because API is the link between your application’s user interface and the database.
As a result, API testing is a more important part of product development than it has ever been before.
API testing poses elaborate benefits. But, it isn’t easy to incorporate and manage API testing in agile and continuous development environments.
Hence, it is vital to ensure that the right API testing tools are chosen for testing any application.
This will allow testers to derive the most satisfactory outcomes and bring success to their enterprises.
This blog will emphasize the importance of API testing its benefits to organizations, along with the best practices.
API Testing
API testing should be perceived as a process that helps with upkeeping the quality of a software product.
Among the most important sections of API, testing is different types of QA actions. They include API calls, response validation, outputs, and the use of multiple parameters.
The focus here lies upon ensuring data accuracy, data format, HTTP status, and error codes.
The approach used for testing the API depends upon the nature of the product created.
However, whether it is web services API, DB API, OS API, or API for remote access of resources under consideration, API testing is a must.
Benefits Of API Testing In Product Development
API testing holistically enhances product development and aids with the delivery of high-quality services for the end-user.
Let us take a look at the top 5 benefits of API testing in development:
1. Performance
API tests evaluate how an API will integrate with other APIs. So it enhances APIs functionality and performance.
2. Agility
Every organization switching to agile increases the chances of mandating testing to occur from a lower level, which is API, which can also help maintain the quality of the software and take out a release at a faster pace.
3. Improve Quality And Test Coverage
Automated API tests can improve the test coverage since they are broadly focused on scope and detail.
API tests are specifically used to verify the functionality for all the system components is working as expected.
These types of tests help to identify defects in multiple layers of the systems, such as servers, interfaces, and databases.
4. Test Reuse
An API testing tool empowers a tester to run tests in multiple environments. Duplication, sharing, and reuse of tests are made possible.
API testers face a range of robust challenges, and a modernistic approach, considered a must to meet them.
Hence, an organization should ensure that they use a good set of API tools, whether they conduct API testing internally or commercially.
This will facilitate the automation of API tests and their integration into a continuous delivery cycle.
Best Practices For API Testing
A Single Tool Across Each Of The Layers And Systems –
When the proper testing framework is used, it allows a tester to:
- Derive the output for any test or application which can be used as the input for those following.
- Access to a range of features is obtained by analyzing the outputs from all connected systems. This facilitates information sharing among analysts and developers and the collaboration of testing assets.
- Workflows can be created via test scripts and cases for mimicking the entire business process.
- The prevailing functional test cases may be used as performance tests.
- Multiple tests may be run simultaneously to verify functional ways along with back-end services and APIs.
- Tests may be scheduled for validating the stability of instances and environments.
Mechanical Generation Of API Tests
- When sets of API tests are created comprehensively, it is a quintessential step for ensuring that the APIs run on a reasonable degree of risk.
- The first step is to implement a system that captures all API requirements and formally facilitates change requests.
- From these requirements, test cases and associated test scripts need to be auto-generated in several ways. All tools necessary for the operations need to be obtained.
- For reuse, the test cases should be maintained at a centralized location.
- While the test cases should be tagged to their original requirements, they should be labeled appropriately.
Edition And Extension Of API Tests While Code Is Not Being Written
- Scripts automate certain test cases, but these are dependent on the system that is under the test. When the proper testing framework and automation check tools are used, the edition and extension of API tests become possible. This is even while a single line of the code is not edited.
- API testing is believed to be a Blackbox testing approach. Herein, the users get an output for verification when they send input. This is automation that features a data-driven approach. API test coverage enhances with the application of different data sets in the same test scenario.
- Alongside API End Points, execution details and test data can be saved. Rerunning the test at a later point in time hence becomes possible.
Virtualization Of Service For Simulated Test Environments
- Service virtualization allows testers to produce simulated test environments. These grant access to the behavior of untouchable dependent resources that are difficult to set up and access for both testing and development.
- Service virtualization facilitates the testing of infinite sets of scenarios and test cases as and when required. Tests created by testers validate all independent endpoints and services.
- Attack extent of APIs is ever increasing. Hence a multi-faceted security testing strategy should be devised. This is important for confirming that the degree of security you have designed for your application is accepted.
- By deriving value from service virtualization, creating the correct test surroundings simplifies.
Conclusion:
API tests are in place for testing a critical layer. Herein the operation and transactions of the app are decided upon by logic processing.
In product development, the advantages of robust API testing are many. They include product quality, flawless performance, and shorter time to market.
When API testing is utilized early in the product development cycle, then over the long term, it becomes the key to saving resources and time.
This accounts for higher satisfaction levels for stakeholders and, overall, brings success to your product.
