Companies monitor APIs in production. This is a standard practice to ensure API endpoints work quickly and return the expected information. This allows testing teams to detect any issues before the users.
What if API issues are discovered by consumers before you? What if the problem is worse than slowness?
Smart businesses use API testing before deploying changes to production. APIs should be tested in both development and staging environments to ensure that they meet requirements.
What is API testing? What type of API testing should QA UI teams perform? What are the differences between API testing and GUI testing? What are the benefits of API testing over UI?
Let’s see how our team can reap the benefits of API testing. We will discuss how we approach our testing strategy.
What is API Testing?
API testing, also known as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), is a method of testing software. API testing is a method of verifying that an application’s functionality, performance, and reliability are as expected. API testing tools allow QA teams to automate test cases and reap the benefits of API automation.
How does API testing relate with UI testing? UI testing focuses only on the appearance and feel of the user interface. API testing focuses more on the business logic layer in the software’s structure. API testing has many advantages over UI testing. It confirms the validity of the API from all angles, not just the user’s interaction with the software application.
Types of API Testing
These are the three main types of API tests our experts recommend to our clients.
- Functional TestingFunctional tests verify that the software system meets functional specifications and meet requirements. Functional testing provides API testing benefits because it tests the application. A QA tester uses XML and JSON payloads to test the API functions. Then, he or she verifies that the output meets the functional requirements.This black box testing does not focus on the source code of an application, but the API’s functionality. API automation is a great tool for testing. A response code can be sent within a matter of milliseconds!
- Security TestingAPI security testing uncovers any potential threat, vulnerability, or risk within the API. Security testing uncovers any potential vulnerabilities and API weaknesses that could lead to a loss in information, revenue, and reputation. API testing is not meant to stop malicious attacks by internal users or intruding crime.API security testing can be a great tool to help you understand the authentication requirements and confirm the encryption of sensitive information over HTTP. Your team should include fuzz and penetration testing to validate authorization checks and verify encryption methods.
- Load testingAPI load tests evaluate the API’s performance with a particular load. They also examine how the API performs when multiple users are simultaneously accessing it. API load tests verify the API’s expected load with exact data and precise numbers.You can see the benefits of API automation testing. This is how you determine how much traffic your system can handle without becoming overwhelmed. This will allow your team to determine how your software application handles traffic that is too heavy before it launches on the market.
Benefits of API Testing
Before we get into the benefits of API testing let’s first look at the differences between API and GUI testing. GUI testing is essential for testing how users interact with your application’s interface. We can’t overlook its benefits. API testing has many key benefits. It can increase the coverage of your test cycle and conserve resources. This will result in quicker, more efficient releases.
These six API testing benefits, based on your project timeline and integration requirements, can help you improve your product’s results, customer engagement, and security.
- Access without UI API testing has a key advantage: accessing the application without the need for a user interface. This allows users to interact with it. QA testers are able to run API tests without having to use the software application. This gives QA engineers an advantage as it allows them to see early signs of potential problems and can help developers fix them before they affect the GUI.
- Core Functionality
Before running GUI tests, it is important to test the code-level functionality before you start running GUI tests. This allows you to identify small problems that could grow and cause more serious issues during GUI testing. Core access allows you to test in tandem with developers, which fosters communication and improves collaboration between the two teams. This is particularly useful if your API testing is done with an offshore team of QA. - Time effective
API testing takes far less time than functional GUI testing. This is one of the main differences between API and GUI testing. GUI testing involves the polling elements of web pages, which can make the testing process slow. What is API testing’s greatest asset? Its speed in delivering results.How much time can APIs help you save by testing your core functionality of your app? Take a look at this real-life example, calculated by our engineers:In parallel execution, 3,000 API tests can be completed in just 50 minutes
3000 GUI tests in 30 Hours (in parallel execution).Similar time savings can be expected for your QA UI Testing team. Because API test automation It requires less code and provides faster coverage than automated GUI tests. You will see a lower overall cost of testing because you can test faster.
10 Steps To Start API Testing - Language-Independent
An API test can exchange data using XML and JSON, as previously stated. These transfer modes are completely language-independent, meaning that you can select any core language when pursuing automated testing services for your application. - Integration with GUI
API testing allows for highly integrated tests. This is particularly important if you plan on performing functional GUI tests after your API testing. An example of this is easy integration, which allows for the creation and activation of new users in the application before the GUI test begins.
Next steps in API Testing
What is API testing? How can it help you test your APIs? You should test your APIs! These 10 steps will help you confirm that your APIs have been market-ready. You can also consider implementing API testing tools to help your QA team execute the best practices during your development cycle.