SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL

Five Test Automation Mistakes to Avoid - Must watch for testers!

How to be successful QA leader? - Future leaders, QA Leads and Managers

LATEST THINKING

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

3 Reasons why you Should Invest In API Testing

9:07:00 AM Posted by Prashant Hegde 22 comments
We live in an exciting age of intelligence, where progress moves at the speed of imagination. We are connected to the world and one another like never before. API(Application Programming Interface) is the unsung hero of our connected world. Here’s everything you need to know to about API’s and how API testing plays a vital role.

WHAT IS AN API?

API’s are used to integrate systems together, you can make data available for other systems to access via API or accept data from other systems. This is how different devices and applications talk to each other and share information.
Successful companies like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter use API’s so that their application can communicate with third party programs.Usually API works similar to the way any website works. A request is made from the client to the server and we get the response over the HTTP protocol.

The best analogy can be a waiter in a restaurant. The Waiter takes the request(which is the order for food) from the customers and conveys it to the kitchen(which is our server) and gets the food(response) from kitchen to the customers. API’s do the exact same thing. API is the messenger that takes your request and tells the systems what to do and then returns the response back to you.


WHAT IS API TESTING?
API TESTING is a type of software testing that involves testing application programming interfaces (APIs) directly and as part of integration testing to determine if they meet expectations for functionality, reliability, performance, and security. Since APIs lack a GUI, API testing is performed at the business layer.During the API testing the data is exchanged from XML or JSON through HTTP requests and responses. These are technology independent and will work with any of the programming languages and technologies.

3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN API TESTING

1. TESTING THE APPLICATION EARLY AND WITHOUT A USER INTERFACE

The later you find defects, the more expensive they are to fix. API testing engages testers early in development lifecycle. With API testing you can start testing your application early even without a UI. This helps to identify and fix issues early in development lifecycle which would otherwise be expensive to fix when identified during GUI testing. The advantage of API testing is that a lot of logic can be validated without being dependent upon the UI.

2. TO COME UP WITH A AWESOME TEST AUTOMATION STRATEGY AND REDUCE THE TEST AUTOMATION COSTS.

If we understand the “Automation pyramid” we can come up with an effective automation strategy.

The test pyramid concept was a developed by Mike Cohn and has been described in his book “Succeeding with Agile”. The base of the pyramid are the Unit Tests, these are the tests that are executed against the code.Unit tests are the least expensive to create, they are the fastest to execute and yield highest results. The 2nd layer are the API tests which are executed against the service layer. Finally, at the top of the pyramid are the UI tests that actually validates the application as a whole at presentation layer.
As we move up the pyramid, the cost involved in the creation and maintenance of test, the test execution time, test fragility and test coverage keeps increasing.The automation pyramid preaches that you should do much more automated testing through unit tests and API tests than you should through GUI based testing. Agile’s success is hugely dependent on early feedback.During practices like continuous integration the amount of time the GUI regression tests take to provide feedback when new build is deployed is too long. UI tests are expensive to develop and maintain. A small change in UI can break the tests and lead to a of rework.
Several times the testers are forced to automate at UI layer however the tests end up being unreliable,expensive,slow and flaky.This is one of the reason why many companies fail at efforts to implement an effective automation strategy.

3. AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND REDUCED MANUAL REGRESSION TESTING

According to a recent survey by VersionOne, 95% of the respondents said their organizations practice agile. Agile methodologies are no longer solely the domain of startups and small development shops. The main reasons for adopting agile over the traditional methodologies is to accelerate product delivery and to embrace the changes. Agile has also increased the frequency with which applications are released, which in turn has created an increased demand for new ways to quickly test them. Test automation has become a critical factor to maintain agility. So it is necessary for agile teams increase their level of API testing while decreasing their reliance on GUI testing. API testing is recommended for the vast majority of test automation efforts.
API automation can drastically reduces the pressure of regression testing from the QA team.By integrating the API automated tests to the build server, the QA team can provide a quick feedback on the health of the application as soon as it is deployed. This provides an early evaluation of its overall build strength before running GUI tests.API test automation requires you  to code less and provides faster test results and better test coverage. API’s get stabilized early and are unlike to change frequently like the user interface. GUI tests can't sufficiently verify functional paths and back-end APIs/services associated with multi tier architectures. APIs are always the most stable interface to the system under test.
API testing is a unique form of software testing is particularly valuable for the businesses that embrace a continuous integration process. Building API tests during development of any software or service has far-reaching benefits across teams, all the way down to how your customer experiences the product. Making software that your target audience will love is essential to the success of your business and by having your APIs tested rigorously and regularly will ensure a reliable way of achieving it.

22 comments:

Sherlin Jones said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Wonderful information about API Testing. This article is one of the best article I have read anytime before regarding this particular topic. Very useful information.

Prashant Hegde said...

@Ricky Mehta-Thank you

vigneswaran said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Thanks to the author for sharing this impressive blog about API TESTING!
Really glad to read this article. This site has lots of information and it is useful for API Learners, these tips are really amazing,Thanks for share.

Mayur said...

Thanks for sharing. Really helpful conteny. Worth sharing.

OffshoreSoftware said...

Hello buddy,

I have read your post. Thanks for such a nice post,its really informational.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Regards

Agile Software Development Service

Unknown said...

You made such a fascinating piece to peruse, giving each subject illumination for all of us to get learning. A debt of gratitude is to ensure that imparting the such data to us to peruse thislearn automation testing

UNKNOWN said...

I believe there are many more pleasurable opportunities ahead for individuals that looked at your site.
Selenium Training Course in Bangalore

Unknown said...

Thanks a lot very much for the high quality and results-oriented help. I won’t think twice to endorse your blog post to anybody who wants and needs support about this area. Digital Marketing Training in Chennai

blackkutty said...

I have perused your post. A debt of gratitude is in order for such a pleasant post,its extremely educational.

Article Submission sites | Latest Updates | Technology

suresh said...

Great Content and Valuable Information about Api Testing

Anonymous said...

Its amazing Blog Sir. Your are a great Blogger. Your blogs give us lot of knowledge. Its good to read your Blogs.

Thanks for sharing such a valuable post and Keep Sharing !!!!
API testing company

Kayal said...

Great work! You gave information is very useful for enhancing my knowledge. Keep updates your best...
Primavera Training in Chennai
Primavera Course in Chennai
Excel Training in Chennai
Corporate Training in Chennai
Embedded System Course Chennai
Linux Training in Chennai
Tableau Training in Chennai
Spark Training in Chennai
Oracle Training in Chennai

Anonymous said...

Great Article. Kindly share more article.

Automation Testing Service

Thavaselvan said...

Very Good Blog. Highly valuable information have been shared. Highly useful blog..Great information has been shared. We expect many more blogs from the author. Special thanks for sharing..
SAP Training in Chennai | AWS Training in Chennai | Android Training in Chennai | Selenium Training in Chennai | Networking Training in Chennai

Eiwaa Groups said...

Thank you for sharing great information with us
Pressure Testing companies in UAE

Pushba said...

Nice article I was really impressed by seeing this blog, it was very interesting and it is very useful for me.
IELTS Coaching in chennai

German Classes in Chennai

GRE Coaching Classes in Chennai

TOEFL Coaching in Chennai

spoken english classes in chennai | Communication training


veera said...

Great work! You gave information is very useful for enhancing my knowledge. Keep updates your best. | Certification | Cyber Security Online Training Course|

Ethical Hacking Training Course in Chennai | Certification | Ethical Hacking Online Training Course|

CCNA Training Course in Chennai | Certification | CCNA Online Training Course|

RPA Robotic Process Automation Training Course in Chennai | Certification | RPA Training Course Chennai|

SEO Training in Chennai | Certification | SEO Online Training Course



jdgvks said...

Thanks for the post.
oracle training in bangalore

hadoop training in bangalore
oracle training

oracle online training

oracle training in hyderabad

hadoop training in chennai

Market Research Future said...

Really glad to read this article. This site has lots of information and it is useful for API Learners. Even you can visit - https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/api-management-market-2429 for more information related to API Management Market.

Anonymous said...

Very Nice blog, Very informative

Innovative Risk Mitigation: Your Trusted Partner | FYI Solutions

Popular Posts

Total Pageviews