APIs are Loose in The Wild; How Do We Test Them?
Th18 Start Time : 14:45 End Time : 15:15
These days, everyone seems to focus on how to test applications, specifically how to test the user interface. This is important. After all if your user interface is broken, then all of your 1,000 customers won’t be able to use it.
However, we often seem to forget about testing APIs. Yet if your API serves 500 other companies and they each have 1,000 customers of their own, you will be affecting 500,000 users not just 1,000. As a more dramatic example, if Google Maps’ API suddenly went offline, every ride hailing driver or meal delivery driver would be unable to do their job. You could effectively destroy Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and a whole host of other companies with a single issue. So, API testing should be seen as mission critical for most companies.
This session will outline the different types of Application Programming Interface (API) in use today (GraphQL, REST, SOAP, RSS) as well as brief historical perspective on legacy API technologies (ActiveX, CORBA, MSMQ). It will explain why it is important to make sure you have a sound API testing strategy, and how it relates to the critical operation of today’s connected businesses.
The session will cover API design patterns such as endpoint versioning, self-describing data formats, authentication, authorization, and mocking. The session will provide practical techniques for how to ensure you have sufficient test coverage of your API endpoints, how to leverage realistic test data, and how to integrate API tests into your DevOps toolchain and overall test reporting environment. You will learn how to use a variety of different tools and frameworks to simplify API testing, with practical samples testing real applications, plus some horror stories from when ‘good APIs’ turn bad.
Key Takeaways:
- Why API testing should not be taken for granted, and what you can do about it
- Overall strategies and best practices for a sound API test plan
- What types of API you are likely to encounter and tips for testing each of them
Speaker
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Adam Sandman grew up in Swansea, Wales, went to University of Oxford, moved to the USA, and has been working in the IT industry for the past 20 years in areas such as architecture, agile development, testing and project management. Currently Adam is a Director of Technology at Inflectra Corporation, where he is interested in technology, business and enabling people to follow their passions. At Inflectra, Adam is responsible for researching the tools, technologies and processes in the software testing and quality assurance space.
Th18 Start Time : 14:45 End Time : 15:15
These days, everyone seems to focus on how to test applications, specifically how to test the user interface. This is important. After all if your user interface is broken, then all of your 1,000 customers won’t be able to use it.
However, we often seem to forget about testing APIs. Yet if your API serves 500 other companies and they each have 1,000 customers of their own, you will be affecting 500,000 users not just 1,000. As a more dramatic example, if Google Maps’ API suddenly went offline, every ride hailing driver or meal delivery driver would be unable to do their job. You could effectively destroy Uber, Lyft, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and a whole host of other companies with a single issue. So, API testing should be seen as mission critical for most companies.
This session will outline the different types of Application Programming Interface (API) in use today (GraphQL, REST, SOAP, RSS) as well as brief historical perspective on legacy API technologies (ActiveX, CORBA, MSMQ). It will explain why it is important to make sure you have a sound API testing strategy, and how it relates to the critical operation of today’s connected businesses.
The session will cover API design patterns such as endpoint versioning, self-describing data formats, authentication, authorization, and mocking. The session will provide practical techniques for how to ensure you have sufficient test coverage of your API endpoints, how to leverage realistic test data, and how to integrate API tests into your DevOps toolchain and overall test reporting environment. You will learn how to use a variety of different tools and frameworks to simplify API testing, with practical samples testing real applications, plus some horror stories from when ‘good APIs’ turn bad.
Key Takeaways:
- Why API testing should not be taken for granted, and what you can do about it
- Overall strategies and best practices for a sound API test plan
- What types of API you are likely to encounter and tips for testing each of them
Speaker
Adam Sandman grew up in Swansea, Wales, went to University of Oxford, moved to the USA, and has been working in the IT industry for the past 20 years in areas such as architecture, agile development, testing and project management. Currently Adam is a Director of Technology at Inflectra Corporation, where he is interested in technology, business and enabling people to follow their passions. At Inflectra, Adam is responsible for researching the tools, technologies and processes in the software testing and quality assurance space.