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As the cloud application market is growing more products are now relying on API connectivity to do their jobs hence API testing is becoming critical. Nowadays, so many applications are connected via APIs and the risk of one of them failing can result in serious consequences. However, we often neglect the fact that there are now quality API testing tools available that help us make sure all is well under the hood.
API: What Is It?
APIs allow applications to communicate with one another using the internet by ensuring that all types of requests are executed properly by both parties. They are important for maintaining a set of rules, outlining what information should be sent, and how it should be sent.
Thanks to API development and integration, an application can send its request (with the appropriate data) to a server and the server will send back a response once it has interpreted the request.
Many businesses have integrated APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) into their existing customer-related systems to streamline communication processes. It catalyzes more secure and streamlined connections between external applications.
APIs are responsible for establishing three specific characteristics:
- How to send and implement requests,
- The preferred data formatting medium,
- And, a series of pre-established rules and practices that users must adhere to when entering these requests and receiving interpreting the associated information responses back from the API server once completed.
In turn, the API has allowed countless software developers across multiple platforms to create clever tools that flourish in a variety of interesting ways as long as there are API interfaces that serve as bridges that enable seamless connectivity between two or more different applications or services when used together.
What Is API Testing?
API testing is a way to ensure that an application’s functionality as a whole is not compromised due to an insufficient number of testing iterations, and minimizes production outages and system failures resulting in consumers being unable to utilize the application.
This type of testing mainly deals with SOAP web services or REST APIs and involves the use of XML or JSON message payloads sent through JMS, HTTPS, MQ, or HTTP.
With that being said, it is a very essential step to undergo before you get to roll out your product. Moreover, API testing helps ensure that your software meets its developers’ standards in regards to interoperability, secure channels, and the like.
Getting The Right API Testing Tool
The number of API testing tools in the market can be quite overwhelming for you to try out and select the best one. That’s why we have decided to create this post that will hopefully narrow things down.
To make that easier, we have an excellent list of useful considerations to keep in mind while transitioning to this next phase of your project’s life cycle. With that being said, these are the top 5 API testing tools that you must consider in 2022 and beyond –
TestGrid
TestGrid is relatively the oldest entry into a niche that has been dominating the other players for years and appears to be giving them real competition with its lightweight but effective API Testing implementation offering essentially an out-of-the-box solution. TestGrid’s API testing tool allows and processes highly integrable tests and GUI testing as well.
Well, even before jumping directly into GUI testing, TestGrid’s API testing tool accesses the application without the UI. This is one of the major benefits as one need not have to wait for a software application to run the tests.
With that being said, TestGrid promises higher efficiency, quicker deployment times, and resources that aren’t burdened unnecessarily by tedious tasks thanks to some automated integration possibilities. And at last, a bonus benefit: it transfers data in both JSON and XML format.
It definitely looks promising if you already prefer or intend to settle on a REST or SOAP-based API system for your next project. You also get to have full end-to-end visibility so that there’s no need to look at things from multiple angles as you may not have time for them in agile development environments.
Postman
Postman is an API development environment. The three major components of this API Testing tool include Collections, Workspaces, and Built-in Tools. With Postman, you can run requests, test and debug, create automated tests and mocks, document, and monitor APIs.
Postman workspaces offer developers a collaboration feature in that they can share collections with other users while also setting permissions through per-collection or per-workspace settings.
The built-in tools offer a range of features required to work with an API such as monitoring response times, querying Postman’s knowledge base for information on specific HTTP codes and headers, and emitting test scenarios into the collection layout editor for use with continuous integration environments as well.
Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio is an open-source API testing framework, or automated test tool, that supports various kinds of applications which include web, mobile applications, and desktop. Katalon Studio’s intuitive interface provides convenience to beginners in automated testing.
Users can use recording tools to record and re-play procedures, as well as manually write scripts by coding or drag-and-dropping commands on the screen. Professional testers can also utilize built-in keywords and dual scripting interfaces to write more complex codes easier using this robust software program.
Sauce Labs
Sauce Labs API Testing tool is a microservices platform made completely of APIs. It unifies how you tackle testing and monitoring at a centralized, efficient platform. Also, it helps to collaborate with your development team via CodeceptJS or CucumberJS to automate writing code in parallel with setting up tests.
Sauce Labs API Testing tool helps associations or DevOps to achieve cloud maturity faster without worrying about technical debt, incorrect security solutions, or availability issues.
Soap UI
SoapUI is a tool dedicated to API testing and enables testers to create both SOAP-based services requirements and also REST web services, being headless. It’s often preferred by testers over other tools since it allows complex scenarios and further supports asynchronous testing. Moreover, it is easier to use with its data-driven testing and utility recording features.
To Conclude
When testing an API to ensure it’s working properly and meets your specific needs, it’s important to consider how each of the different tools currently on the market might be more suitable than others.
Developers may even opt to use more than one tool, considering that there are so many, and determining what is right for you can sometimes be a challenge. In this regard, teams and organizations should prioritize which “must-have” features they seek out and compile a list of these characteristics.
However, this isn’t an easy task; given so many software companies currently offer new features with every update. Yet, opting for a platform like TestGrid would count as a smart decision.
