- Documentation should be standard for any organization using the API. However, this is not always the case. You cannot adequately test without proper documentation. Being able to understand and script all the parameter combinations and call sequencing is difficult. Especially if you get a large API Tester with many parameter options intertwined with other APIs. In this case I would use something like Equivalence Split Testing to avoid over testing and a decision table to make sure I hit all the combinations.
- Learning an API testing tool can be challenging. Fortunately, there are tons of videos on YouTube from people who are eager to help. More on that in the next section.
- Exceptions and error handling are difficult because these things are rarely defined for you. Work with your development team to understand what exceptions or errors these might be.
- It’s intimidating. API testing is technical, which causes some people to shy away from it. Start with basic testing. Use basic parameterization using simple GET calls. Work your way forward from there.
API Testing Tools and Resources
I’ve bent over backwards to outline all the testing tools I’ve used or heard good things about. And then Twitter and other social media platforms gifted me with Testim’s Top 10 API Tools list, which was just updated and republished in early 2021. You’ll find everything from learning about API testing to learning about specific tools to choose from.
Restful Booker: This is a website that hosts several APIs with documentation so you can play around and learn more. You can create, read, update and delete on this.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn gives you a 30-day free trial of their learning platform. It would be worth signing up to take advantage of all the courses they have on API Testing.
If you’re going with Postman, you need to check out this Github repo. If you get stuck and need real-time help, the testing department has a free slack world to join and a dedicated api-testing channel that stays pretty active.
Conclusion
I really hope this guide to API testing has helped you become more familiar with this aspect of software testing. For so many people, API testing remains an overwhelming and intimidating testing phrase. Use the resources I’ve provided, choose the tool that works best for you, start practicing, and you’ll be more confident in API testing in no time.