Significance of API Automation using SmartQE
API is abbreviated as "application programming interface", which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Each time you use an app like Facebook send an instant message, or check the weather on your phone, you’re using an API.
HTTP Methods: REST APIs enable you to develop any kind of web application having all possible CRUD (create, retrieve, update, delete) operations. REST guidelines suggest using a specific HTTP method on a particular type of call - GET, POST, PUT, DELETE.
Differences between REST and SOAP: There is no direct comparison between SOAP and REST APIs. But there are some points to be listed below which makes you choose better between these two web services.
* SOAP stands for "Simple Object Access Protocol" and REST stands for "REpresentational State Transfer".
* Since SOAP is a protocol, it follows a strict standard to allow communication between the client and the server whereas REST is an architectural style that doesn’t follow any strict standard but follows six constraints - Uniform Interface, Client-Server, Stateless, Cacheable, Layered System, Code on Demand.
* SOAP uses only XML for exchanging information in its message format whereas REST is not restricted to XML and its the choice of implementer which Media-Type to use like XML, JSON, Plain-text. Moreover, REST can use SOAP protocol but SOAP cannot use REST.
* On behalf of services interfaces to business logic, SOAP uses @WebService whereas REST instead of using interfaces uses URI like @Path.
* SOAP is difficult to implement and it requires more bandwidth whereas REST is easy to implement and requires less bandwidth such as smartphones.
* Benefits of SOAP over REST as SOAP has ACID complaints transaction. Some of the applications require transaction ability which is accepted by SOAP whereas REST lacks in it.
* On the basis of Security, SOAP has SSL(Secure Socket Layer) and WS-security whereas REST has SSL and HTTPS.
* In the case of Bank Account Password, Card Number, etc. SOAP is preferred over REST. The security issue is all about your application requirement, you have to build security on your own. It’s about what type of protocol you use.
* Both of the web services has its own advantages and disadvantages as well. The choice between them depends upon application requirements, environment, and the programming language.
API Testing is a software testing type that validates Application Programming Interfaces(APIs). The purpose of API Testing is to check the functionality, reliability, performance, and security of the programming interfaces. In API Testing, instead of using standard user inputs(keyboard) and outputs, you use software to send calls to the API, get output, and note down the system's response. API tests are very different from GUI Tests and won't concentrate on the look and feel of an application. It mainly concentrates on the business logic layer of the software architecture.
As more and more apps are being assembled from a rapidly expanding array of microservices, APIs are the key to accessing these new architectures. The new features you’re working on will often rely on upstream services that can only be accessed via APIs - so to test the functionality of the new component you’ll need to simulate those services.
API testing is critical for automating testing because APIs now serve as the primary interface to application logic and because GUI tests are difficult to maintain with the short release cycles and frequent changes commonly used with Agile software development and DevOps.
Not only API automation, any testing activity - if followed with basic standards and best practices – will always result to withstand or overcome any adverse conditions on rigorous testing.
SmartQE is an automation testing platform, proficient in testing of a wide range of APIs. Our end to end applications validation experience at various layers of the application helps in executing a successful API.
Benefits of API automation
1. Access to application without user interface
2. Protection from malicious code and breakage
3. Time Efficiency vs. functional and validation testing
4. Cost Effective / Reduces Testing Cost
5. Technology Independent
Additional Benefits offered by SmartQE - Apart from all the above, SmartQE offers the below unique benefits and features too.
- Test with multiple datasets - SmartQE allows you to create the datasets for your APIs. Dataset is nothing but the data items required for all the fields of API i.e Headers, URL params, Body, Authorization etc. Datasets allow you to test your API with all different test data items. You are allowed to create multiple datasets for a single API.
- Auto Generated Scripts - Create a testcase with required APIs and datasets and execute it. That’s all. SmartQE will generate the automation scripts for the APIs and executes them automaticall
- Easy Testsets - You can also group your testcases to create a Testset (like smoke, sanity, and regression.. etc) and execute all the testcases at one shot. It is helpful to test all APIs when time is limited before release.
- Execution Environments - SmartQE provides execution environments like Local, Jenkins and Docker. In local mode, Automation scripts generation and execution takes place on the local machine. In Jenkins mode, scripts execution will be done on configured Jenkins. In Docker mode, the execution takes place in a docker container.
- Reduced efforts - Setting up Jenkins and Docker ready for execution is not an easy task. But SmartQE eliminates such efforts with just few clicks. It pushes the automation scripts to git and then Jenkins will pull them from there and executes. Same goes with Docker too.
- Reporting - SmartQE always generates the testcase execution report within the application, doesn’t matter the execution environment (i.e.. Jenkins, Docker or Local). The report is detailed enough and downloadable.
- Build Environments - Does your APIs exist in different environments like production, staging, development etc.? No worries, SmartQE offers Build Environments to configure them and execute your testcases against your choice of environment.
- Perform Various Types of Tests - SmartQE performs various types of Test activities including Functional Testing, Load Testing and Security Testing.
- Detailed Dashboard - It is always nice to have a detailed dashboard which will give you a bird view on various workflows, test cases and datasets, Right? SmartQE provides this too. And, All the testcases can be mapped to your sprints of Jira project so that dashboard shows the testcases per sprint.
API testing is not only the most vital testing to be done on your application, but also an easiest and quickest to execute. Using SmartQE, you can test all of the endpoints of your application no matter where they are hosted, from AWS to your local machine.
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