Name the top API Testing tools to be used by the testing community?


 
API Testing


An Application Programming Interface or API is at the heart of the digital ecosystem for it helps a software application to connect with its surrounding digital environment. The environment may comprise devices, operating systems, servers, memory, processors, and networks. An API consists of a set of protocols, routines, and tools and acts as an interface between the application and its immediate digital environment thereby doing away with human intervention. Its importance is growing by the day thanks to the advent of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things, AI, Cloud Computing, and Blockchain among others. To ensure applications work to their optimal level and meet the stated business objectives, undertaking API testing in the SDLC has become necessary. It is done to validate the performance, functionality, usability and security of an application.

The rising complexity of APIs given their interaction with a host of digital elements and environments has necessitated the use of automation in API testing. It has become a cog in the wheel for implementing shift left testing in the Agile-DevOps mould. The API testing approach requires the testing team to use the right automation test tools to identify glitches, which otherwise could mar the user experience of the application. Let us discuss the top API tools (open source and branded) and know about their advantages.

#1. SoapUI: This open source automation tool is one of the popular API testing solutions that tests the functionality of an API. The tool can be used to test REST and SOAP-based APIs and web services. The tool can help to build a test suite with a host of features. These include using drag and drop or point and click to select a feature. The tool is reusable especially when it comes to load and security testing. It facilitates asynchronous testing besides ensuring Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery. The SoapUI tool can simulate customer interaction by loading data from a variety of sources – files and databases.

Website: https://www.soapui.org/

#2. Postman: Formerly a chrome browser plugin, this API test automation tool provides an alternative testing environment in a language that is different from the one used by developers. It has a slew of advantages such as an easy to use interface, features like run, test, monitoring and documentation, integrations for Swagger and RAML formats, and the ability to run on Mac, Chrome, Windows and Linux-based apps. Moreover, Postman can be a useful tool when it comes to executing automated and exploratory testing. So, without having to learn a new language one can use the tool and utilize its powerful documentation features to share the test outcomes with everyone in the testing team.

Website: https://www.getpostman.com/

#3. Katalon Studio: This popular end-to-end automation solution can be used to test APIs, web and mobile applications. The tool offers the capability to combine UI, API and web services for multiple environments such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. It has a data driven approach for testing and supports CI/CD driven integration in the DevOps environment. Katalon Studio supports the assertion library called AssertJ to create assertion in BDD style. Also, by supporting manual and Groovy Scripting modes, the tool can be used by non-technical persons as well.

Website: https://www.katalon.com

#4. Tricentis Tosca: The tool has support for a host of protocols such as JMS, HTTPS, AMQP, Rabbit MQ, TIBCO EMS, SOAP, IBM MQ, and NET TCP. It can be reused for subsequent tests and is easy to maintain as well. Besides reducing the time for regression testing, Tricentis Tosca is suitable for use across devices, browsers, applications, networks etc.

Website: https://www.tricentis.com

#5. Apigee: This cloud-based tool powered by JavaScript helps to validate the performance of APIs. It does so by analysing the error rates, response times, and traffic. Besides, it allows both the developers and testers to design, scale, monitor and deploy APIs. In doing so, Apigee allows the deployment of APIs on cloud and on premise systems by using a single code base.

Website: https://apigee.com/api-management/

#6. JMeter: This tool was originally created for load testing but has become one of the popular open source API testing tools for functional testing. The tool allows for integration between JMeter and Jenkins thus adding the API tests in a CI pipeline. Also, it is capable of carrying out performance testing for static as well as dynamic resources.

Website: https://jmeter.apache.org/

Conclusion
The growing importance of APIs in running an application has led to their demand for testing. The long list of tools is a testimony to the fact that besides testing the application, testing the APIs should be undertaken in right earnest as well.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, which is the world’s first Independent Software Testing Company to be appraised at CMMI-SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 certified.

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