The Importance of API Testing in Software Testing

In this blog post, we’ll gain a thorough understanding about the concept of API Testing, the complete process of API Testing, the primary objectives in focus when performing API Testing, the different types of API Testing, the varieties of tools used to do API Testing, and the benefits of performing API Testing for any software product or application. 

Concept of API Testing 

• Application programming interface testing, sometimes known as API testing, is a type of software testing that focuses on evaluating the functionality of specific API methods as well as the interactions between the various APIs. 

• This type of software testing is often carried out at the integration testing level, following the conclusion of unit testing and before to user interface testing, commonly known as GUI testing. It is used to verify that the API behaves appropriately and complies with the system’s requirements. 

• The API (Application Programming Interface) serves as a mediator between the two applications, allowing them to communicate and effectively carry out the necessary tasks. So, to put it simply, we may say that an API serves as an interface between two software programs so that they can interact with one another. 

Process of API Testing 

The following steps are commonly included in the API testing process:

• Understanding the capabilities and anticipated inputs and outputs by reading the API documentation. 

• Creating test cases to demonstrate the various API functionality. 

• Performing the test scenarios and comparing the expected and observed results. 

• Analyzing the findings and highlighting any issues that need to be resolved. 

Objectives of API Testing 

The following are some of the main objectives of performing API Testing for any software application:

• Making sure the API functions as intended by testing its functionality 

• Confirming that the API provides the appropriate answer for various input values. 

• Validating input and checking for error handling. 

• Checking for security weaknesses. 

• Testing the API’s scalability and performance. 

Types of API Testing 

To make sure the application programming interface is functioning properly, different API tests can be performed as follows:

• Functional Testing – Checking the API’s functionality to make sure it functions as expected. Hence, functional testing makes sure the API works exactly as it should. 

• Performance Testing – To determine how many requests an API can handle, performance testing is performed. It is also known as load testing. 

• Compatibility Testing – The API’s compatibility with other platforms is tested during compatibility testing. 

• Usability Testing – To ensure the usability of the API for developers, usability testing is performed. 

• Security Testing – Security testing is done on the API to make sure that API is protected from all kinds of risks or vulnerabilities. Hence, testing the security of an API is important and necessary. 

• Penetration Testing – In this test, the API is attacked by someone who is unfamiliar with the API in order to examine the software vulnerabilities from a different angle. It is done after performing security testing of an API. Hence, we can say penetration testing is built upon security testing. 

Tools of API Testing 

Following are some of the popular and commonly used tools to perform API testing of any software application:

Features of Katalon Studio 

• All SOAP requests, REST requests, and SSL client certificates are accepted. 

• Better test coverage and dependability built on data-driven testing techniques. 

• Support utilizing GUI testing to build up API test data. 

Benefits of API Testing 

Here are some of the benefits that we usually get after performing API testing of any software application:

• API testing ensures that application connections are dependable, secure, and scalable. 

• The ability to access the app without using the user interface (UI) during API testing allows developers to find bugs early in the development process rather than having to wait until they become more complex. 

• API testing are independent of technology and language. JSON or XML is used to communicate data, which includes HTTP requests and responses. 

• API tests analyses apps using challenging circumstances and inputs. By doing this, vulnerabilities are eliminated and the applications are protected against malicious software and malfunction. 

• GUI tests and API tests can be combined that makes it possible to add new users to the app before running a GUI test. 

Conclusion

As a result of the above discussion, we can conclude that if the API of a software application is not adequately tested, it may cause difficulties not only in the API application but also in the calling application. Hence, API testing is very important and crucial in software engineering. 

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