According to a study, 35% of businesses have already integrated AI into their operations, while an additional 42% are actively researching its potential for future implementation. Yet, despite this surge in AI adoption, many do not know about the inner processes of these systems, leading to potential pitfalls in reliability and performance. But how can companies ensure their AI systems are dependable and free from bugs when the inner workings are inaccessible? That is where black-box testing for AI comes in.

Understanding Black Box Testing

Black Box Testing examines how a system responds to inputs without delving into internal mechanisms. Imagine giving a sealed puzzle box a shake; the user will be more interested in its sound than the hidden pieces. QA engineers assess software based on its functionality and observable behaviours in this approach. They don’t need to know the underlying code or structures. By concentrating on outputs and user experience, Black Box Testing ensures that software meets users’ needs and expectations while the complexities of its design and operation remain undisclosed.

Why Black Box Testing is Essential for AI Systems

In a traditional software system, expectations are clear. There’s a defined input and a predicted output. However, AI systems present a new challenge with their learning capabilities and dynamic behaviours. AI is shaping our future, from healthcare diagnostics to autonomous vehicles. Given the stakes, it’s no surprise that ensuring these systems perform reliably is necessary. Black Box Testing offers an unbiased, objective mechanism to evaluate AI system performance. It isolates performance from the complexities and potential biases embedded deep within algorithms.

4 Black Box Testing Techniques for AI

Sense Application

This involves simulating AI logic outcomes over a specific timeframe and comparing them with real-world results. Doing this shows how the AI performs in real-world situations. Fine-tune the control variables and improve the results to pinpoint any inconsistencies. This method, often called Posterior Predictive Checks (PPC), entails simulating and contrasting data based on a model with observed data. Testers use posterior predictive checks to identify marked differences between genuine and simulated data.

Data Application

Think about testing as a rocket launch. Every control is tested against various parameters, such as weather, temperature, and pressure. Even a slight gust of wind can cause deviations. Similarly, ensuring that all potential variables are accounted for is crucial when trying AI logic. Choosing the optimal test data, which offers the most comprehensive coverage, will deliver superior results.

Learning Application

Before starting with black box testing, it’s essential to understand the functionalities under evaluation. The more in-depth data on these functionalities, the more effective test cases will be. This principle applies to AI logic too. Neural Networks, inspired by human brain functions, can learn AI logic, which in turn helps generate test cases. Experts train this neural network using test cases from the original AI platform, focusing only on the system’s inputs and outputs. Once trained, this network can evaluate the accuracy of output produced by AI.

Probability Application

While AI models often operate on a large scale, their “common sense” comes from accurate testing and training. It’s essential to pinpoint those regression test cases that thoroughly cover the AI’s abstraction. Fuzzy Logic approaches prove beneficial here, classifying which test cases to retest based on their likelihood of accuracy. This maximises regression testing coverage, ultimately enhancing the AI solution’s performance in real-world scenarios.

But why is Black Box Testing so crucial for AI?

Firstly, AI is dynamic. A report by Deloitte highlighted that nearly 32% of AI implementations experienced unexpected decision-making shifts in their first year, highlighting the need for rigorous testing.

Secondly, some people harnessing AI are AI specialists. The complex neural networks and deep learning models are as understandable for most users as a foreign language. They’re seeking results, not an algorithmic explanation. Black Box Testing, thus, ensures these users can trust the system’s outputs without drowning in the details.

Lastly, the AI market is booming. According to a report, it’s predicted to reach $190 billion by 2025. This surging demand compels a rapid-to-market approach. With its straightforward process, Black Box Testing helps businesses confidently deploy AI systems, assuring their clients of quality and reliability.

Black Box Testing Principles for AI Systems

The importance of rigorous testing must be balanced to make AI systems reliable, secure, and functional. Black Box Testing, a critical approach, offers insights into the functionality and reliability of these systems without delving into their complex internal mechanisms. Let’s look into five fundamental principles that facilitate effective Black Box Testing for AI systems, ensuring their robustness, ethical integrity, and usability.

Comprehensive Test Scenarios

The Importance of Diverse Testing Data

An AI is only as versatile as the data it trains on. By feeding diverse testing data, AI can perform confidently across multiple industries. A well-rounded AI system, refined through comprehensive Black Box Testing, often becomes a market differentiator.

Creating Test Cases that Reflect Real-World Use

AI operates in the real world. Hence, our test cases must mirror real-life scenarios. Businesses can confidently deploy solutions that resonate with users’ needs by ensuring our AI systems have been through life-like tests.

Balancing Randomness and Representativeness

It’s a delicate dance. While randomness uncovers unforeseen issues, representativeness ensures AI’s readiness for typical scenarios. A robust Black Box Testing strategy masterfully balances both, setting AI systems up for the expected and the unexpected.

Continuous Feedback and Iteration

The Iterative Nature of AI Development

AI development isn’t linear; it’s cyclical. It learns, adapts, and evolves. Recognising this fluidity, Black Box Testing should embrace an iterative approach, mirroring the dynamic progression of AI systems.

Incorporating Feedback Loops in Testing

By integrating continuous feedback loops in Black Box Testing, AI systems can refine themselves, allowing businesses to stay ahead of the competition and meet user expectations.

Evolving Test Scenarios with System Upgrades

As AI systems undergo upgrades, so must the test scenarios. This evolution guarantees that the AI, irrespective of its version or upgrade status, remains consistently dependable.

Independence of Testing Teams

The Value of a Fresh Perspective

A QA tester view often spots what developers might miss regardless of the development process. An independent Black Box Testing team brings this invaluable perspective, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation.

Setting Boundaries Between Development and Testing

By clearly distinguishing the development and testing processes, businesses can uphold the integrity and objectivity of Black Box Testing, delivering AI solutions that genuinely stand the test of time and scrutiny.

Ensuring Objectivity in Test Evaluations

Testing teams should operate independently of the development team to maintain this objectivity. It guarantees unbiased evaluations, ensuring AI systems are built right and built to excel.

Usability and Accessibility Focus

Focus On User Experience

Focusing on UX within Black Box Testing ensures that AI doesn’t just operate – it satisfies users, setting brands distinctly apart in the competitive marketplace.

Assessing Intuitiveness and Accessibility for Diverse User Groups

AI must cater to everyone in an inclusive world. Black Box Testing emphasises accessibility, ensuring AI systems fit well with everyone, from tech enthusiasts to complete novices.

Testing AI Interpretability and Explanations

Testing for AI’s ability to offer clear interpretations ensures users trust and understand their AI companions, bridging the human-AI divide.

Ethical and Unbiased Evaluation

The Risk of Biased AI Decisions

Black Box Testing proactively identifies and rectifies biases, safeguarding brand reputation and ensuring AI’s equitable treatment of all users.

Tools and Techniques to Identify and Mitigate Biases

Black Box Testing employs sophisticated techniques to analyse and address biases, ensuring AI deployments remain fair and representative.

Ensuring Ethical Use of AI through Rigorous Testing

Through rigorous Black Box Testing, businesses can ensure that their AI solutions uphold the highest ethical standards like safety, security, robustness, transparency, explainability, etc.

Common Challenges in Black Box Testing for AI

There are some challenges to deal with when it comes to checking how well Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems perform. Let’s talk about three of these issues and figure out how to handle them.

Handling Non-deterministic Outputs 

AI systems often produce non-deterministic outputs due to their ability to learn and adapt from vast datasets. This unpredictability poses a challenge in Black Box Testing, which aims to ascertain consistent outcomes. The solution is probabilistic approaches that handle uncertainty. It gauges the AI’s performance across varying results by designing test scenarios incorporating various possible outputs. This probabilistic nature of AI outputs enhances testing accuracy and mirrors these systems’ real-world complexity. 

Scalability and Automation Challenges 

The scale at which AI systems operate often surpasses manual testing capabilities. This calls for scalable and automated testing processes. However, automating Black Box Testing for AI isn’t simple. These systems process vast amounts of data and execute complex algorithms, making test automation non-trivial. A comprehensive strategy involving unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing is essential to address this. Automating the testing process while accounting for the complexity of AI operations ensures thorough coverage and frees up valuable human resources for higher-level analyses. 

Ensuring Coverage without Understanding Inner Workings 

Black Box Testing aims to assess a system’s functionality without delving into its inner workings. However, this raises the challenge of ensuring thorough coverage of the system’s capabilities. How can we test what we don’t entirely understand? The key is to adopt a scenario-driven testing approach. By creating diverse test scenarios exploring different facets of the AI’s behaviour, QA engineers ensure the system is rigorously evaluated. Collaborative efforts between AI experts and testing professionals play a pivotal role here, where domain knowledge confirms the creation of scenarios that push AI to its limits.  

Conclusion

Black Box Testing offers a transparent approach through which businesses can understand, evaluate, and refine AI systems. By assessing the AI’s inputs, outputs, and responses, they can uncover vulnerabilities, ensure ethical compliance, and validate the system’s adaptability. This testing methodology is not just about ticking boxes; it’s about instilling confidence in AI systems that drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and augment human capabilities.

How Can TestingXperts Help with AI Testing?

TestingXperts, a leading QA company in software testing solutions, brings its expertise and innovation to AI Testing. Our commitment to excellence, coupled with a deep understanding of AI complexities, sets us apart as your trusted partner in navigating the challenges of AI testing.

Key Differentiators

Expertise in AI Testing

With a dedicated team of experienced professionals well-versed in AI technologies and testing methodologies, TestingXperts brings deep knowledge to every testing project. Our specialists understand the processes of AI systems, enabling them to design targeted testing strategies that uncover vulnerabilities and ensure optimal performance.

Comprehensive Black Box Testing

By examining AI systems from the outside, we assess their functionality, performance, and security without knowing the complicated internal workings. This approach ensures unbiased evaluations and robust validations of your AI’s outputs.

Complete Test Coverage

At TestingXperts, we believe in a holistic testing approach. We go beyond the technical aspects to consider usability, accessibility, and ethical considerations. This comprehensive perspective ensures that your AI systems function flawlessly and align with industry standards and ethical guidelines.

Scalable Solutions

As AI applications scale, so does the complexity of testing. TestingXperts offers scalable testing solutions that adapt to your AI’s growth. Whether it’s handling large datasets, complex algorithms, or dynamic learning systems, our testing solutions keep pace with your AI’s evolution. 

Ethical AI Evaluation

Ethical concerns in AI are critical. Our testing methodologies encompass ethical UK regulations, ensuring your AI systems remain unbiased and fair across diverse user groups. We test AI outputs for potential ethical errors, contributing to the creation of AI that respects user diversity and societal norms. 

Tailored Testing Strategies

Our testing strategies are tailored to your specific requirements. Whether it’s financial AI, healthcare AI, or any other domain, TestingXperts AI testing processes will align with your industry, technology stack, and business goals.  

To know more about AI testing strategies, contact our experts now. 

The post 5 Key Black Box Testing Principles for AI Systems first appeared on TestingXperts.

Content

In today’s interconnected world, where the flow of information and data between applications is constant, the security of APIs has become a pressing concern. With cyber threats growing in sophistication and frequency, the importance of API security testing cannot be ignored. This is where API security testing becomes essential to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data and resources. 

What is API Security Testing? 

API Security Testing is a crucial component of ensuring the robustness and integrity of APIs. Application Programming Interfaces act as the bridge between different software systems, enabling seamless data exchange. However, they can also become vulnerable entry points for cyber threats if not adequately secured. API Security Testing involves systematically assessing APIs for potential vulnerabilities and implementing measures to protect against unauthorized access, data breaches, injection attacks, and other security risks. 

Through comprehensive testing, organizations can proactively identify and address security loopholes in their APIs. It evaluates authentication and authorization mechanisms, input validation techniques, error handling practices, rate limiting, and other critical aspects. By leveraging advanced tools, methodologies, and industry best practices, API Security Testing helps organizations fortify their APIs and safeguard sensitive data and resources. 

Things to Know About APIs 

Application Programming Interfaces are protocols, tools, and definitions that facilitate communication between software applications. They define how different software components should interact, allowing developers to access specific functionalities or data from external systems or services. APIs enable integration, automation, and collaboration between diverse applications, ultimately enhancing user experiences and enabling the seamless flow of information. Various types of APIs are: 

Web APIs:

They enable communication between web-based applications, allowing developers to access data and functionalities over the internet using standard web protocols such as HTTP and REST. 

Internal APIs:

Also known as private or enterprise APIs, these are designed for internal use within an organization. They enable different teams or systems to interact and share data securely. 

Third-party APIs:

They are provided by external service providers, allowing developers to access their platform’s functionalities or data. Examples include payment gateways, social media APIs, and mapping services. 

Common API Security Risks 

Despite their benefits, APIs can be vulnerable to various security risks. Some common vulnerabilities include: 

Injection Attacks:

APIs can be vulnerable to injection attacks, where malicious code or commands are injected into API requests. This can lead to unauthorized data exposure, compromised systems, or a takeover. 

Broken Authentication and Session Management:

Weak authentication mechanisms, improper session handling, or inadequate access controls can expose APIs to authentication and session-related vulnerabilities. Attackers may exploit these weaknesses to impersonate legitimate users, hijack sessions, or gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. 

Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR):

APIs that expose internal references, such as database IDs or file paths, without proper authorization checks can be prone to IDOR vulnerabilities. Attackers can manipulate these references to access unauthorized resources or sensitive information. 

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks:

APIs can be targeted with DoS attacks, where attackers overwhelm the API infrastructure with a flood of requests, rendering the API unresponsive or unavailable. This disrupts services, impacts user experience, and potentially leads to financial losses. 

Preparing for API Security Testing 

Ensuring the security of APIs is crucial to protect sensitive data and prevent potential breaches. API security testing plays a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities and weaknesses in API implementations. Following are some pointers to consider when preparing for API security testing: 

Setting up the Testing Environment 

Establishing a robust testing environment that closely resembles the production environment is essential. Here are key considerations: 

Isolate the Testing Environment:

Create a separate, isolated environment dedicated explicitly to API security testing. This prevents any accidental impact on the production systems and ensures a controlled testing environment. 

Replicate Production Configuration:

Replicate the configuration of the production environment as closely as possible, including the server setup, network architecture, and infrastructure components. This ensures that the security tests accurately reflect real-world scenarios. 

Utilize Virtualization or Containerization:

Leverage virtualization technologies like virtual machines or containerization platforms (e.g., Docker) to create a scalable and reproducible testing environment. This enables the easy setup of multiple testing instances and facilitates efficient testing of different API configurations. 

Identifying the Scope of Testing 

Defining the scope of API security testing is vital to ensure focused efforts and comprehensive coverage. Consider the following factors: 

APIs and Endpoints:

Determine which APIs and specific endpoints will be included in the testing. It’s essential to consider internal and external-facing APIs and any public APIs that may expose sensitive data or critical functionalities. 

Authentication and Authorization Mechanisms:

Assess the APIs’ various authentication and authorization mechanisms. Include scenarios like API keys, tokens, or user credentials to evaluate the security measures thoroughly. 

Data Validation and Input Handling:

Analyze how APIs handle data validation and input handling. Assess how they respond to input formats, including invalid or unexpected data. Pay special attention to potential injection vulnerabilities. 

Error Handling and Exception Management:

Evaluate how APIs handle errors and exceptions. Test their response to different error conditions and ensure that sensitive information is not leaked in error messages. 

Gathering Necessary Tools and Resources 

Equipping your API security testing efforts with the right tools and resources is essential for effective testing. Consider the following: 

API Testing Tools:

Explore and select appropriate API testing tools that support security testing, such as OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, or Postman. These tools offer features like vulnerability scanning, fuzz testing, and API traffic interception for comprehensive testing. 

Security Testing Frameworks:

Familiarize yourself with security testing frameworks, such as the OWASP API Security Top 10, which guides the most critical API security risks. These frameworks serve as invaluable references throughout the testing process. 

Documentation and Specifications:

Obtain the API documentation, specifications, and relevant security requirements. Thoroughly review them to understand the expected behavior, expected security measures, and any specific test cases. 

Security Testing Checklist:

Develop a comprehensive security testing checklist encompassing various aspects of API security, including authentication, authorization, input validation, error handling, and encryption. This checklist will serve as a roadmap for your testing efforts. 

Steps to Follow for API Security Testing 

As the importance of robust API security continues to grow, organizations must conduct thorough and systematic security testing to identify vulnerabilities and mitigate risks. Following are the steps to follow when implementing API security testing: 

Step 1: Understanding API Endpoints 

API endpoints serve as the entry points for interactions with an API. To conduct effective security testing: 

Define API Endpoints:

Identify and document all API endpoints. Categorize them based on functionality, sensitivity, and potential security risks. 

Identify Sensitive Endpoints and Vulnerabilities:

Determine which endpoints handle sensitive data, perform critical operations, or involve user authentication. These endpoints may be more prone to security vulnerabilities and require rigorous testing. 

Map API Endpoints:

Create a comprehensive map of API endpoints, including the request and response types, expected behavior, and associated security controls. This map will serve as a reference during testing to ensure thorough coverage. 

Step 2: Authentication and Authorization Testing 

Authentication and authorization mechanisms play a vital role in securing APIs. When testing, consider the following: 

Evaluate Authentication Effectiveness:

Assess the strength and effectiveness of authentication mechanisms, such as API keys, tokens, or multifactor authentication. Verify that only authenticated users can access protected resources. 

Examine Authorization Controls:

Test the authorization controls to ensure only authorized users or roles can perform specific actions. Pay attention to privilege escalation risks, such as bypassing authorization checks or gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data. 

Test for Improper Access Controls:

Identify potential security misconfigurations or improper access controls that may allow unauthorized access to sensitive endpoints or operations. Thoroughly examine access control rules and configurations. 

Step 3: Input Validation and Data Integrity 

Proper input validation is crucial for preventing injection attacks and maintaining data integrity. During testing: 

Analyze Input Validation Techniques:

Evaluate how the API handles input validation to prevent common vulnerabilities like SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), or XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. Test for both expected and unexpected input scenarios. 

Ensure Data Integrity:

Verify that the API performs proper validation, sanitization, and encoding of user-supplied data to prevent data corruption or tampering. Validate the integrity of data transmitted between the client and server. 

Test for Data Leakage and Exposure Risks:

Identify potential data leakages risks, such as inadvertently disclosing sensitive information in responses or error messages. Test for scenarios where sensitive data may be unintentionally exposed. 

Step 4: Error Handling and Exception Management 

Proper error handling and exception management improve an API’s overall security and robustness. When conducting testing: 

Assess Error Handling Mechanisms:

Evaluate how the API handles errors and exceptions. Test for proper error codes, informative messages, and appropriate logging practices. 

Test for Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities:

Look for potential information disclosure vulnerabilities in error responses or stack traces. Ensure that error messages do not expose sensitive information that could aid attackers. 

Evaluate Exception Management Practices:

Assess how the API handles unexpected situations, such as unhandled exceptions or denial-of-service attacks. Verify that the API gracefully handles exceptions and does not expose system vulnerabilities. 

Step 5: Rate-limiting and Throttling 

Rate limiting and throttling mechanisms protect APIs against abuse and denial-of-service attacks. During testing: 

Understand the Importance of Rate Limiting:

Recognize the significance of rate limiting and throttling to prevent abuse, brute-force attacks, or DoS scenarios. Familiarize yourself with industry best practices. 

Test for Bypassing Rate Limits:

Attempt to bypass rate limits and verify if the API enforces them consistently. Check for potential vulnerabilities that allow attackers to circumvent rate limits and overload the system. 

Verify Effectiveness of Rate-limiting Mechanisms:

Test the API under various load conditions to ensure that rate-limiting and throttling mechanisms function as expected. Measure the API’s response time and stability during high-volume traffic. 

Step 6: API Abuse and Security Testing Automation 

Leverage automation techniques for API security testing to maximize efficiency and coverage. When testing, consider the following: 

Explore Techniques to Identify and Prevent API Abuse:

Learn about common API abuse scenarios, such as parameter tampering, replay attacks, or API key exposure. Develop test cases to identify and mitigate these risks. 

Implement Automated Security Testing:

Utilize automated tools and frameworks, such as OWASP ZAP or Burp Suite, to streamline security testing efforts. Automate vulnerability scanning, fuzz testing, and security checks to achieve comprehensive coverage. 

Leverage Tools and Frameworks:

Leverage open-source tools and frameworks tailored for API security testing. These resources provide a wealth of knowledge, best practices, and test scripts to enhance the effectiveness of your testing efforts. 

Best Practices for API Security Testing 

To achieve robust security, it’s crucial to follow best practices that align with industry standards, stay updated on evolving threats, and adopt continuous monitoring and retesting: 

Following Industry Standards and Guidelines:

To ensure robust API security, it is vital to follow industry standards and guidelines. These standards provide a framework for implementing adequate security controls and mitigating common vulnerabilities. By adhering to these standards, organizations can align their security practices with industry best practices and reduce the risk of potential breaches. 

Keeping Up with Evolving Threats and Security Practices:

It is another critical aspect of API security. The threat landscape constantly evolves, with new attack vectors and techniques emerging regularly. Staying updated on the latest threats allows organizations to identify and address vulnerabilities proactively before they can be exploited. By actively participating in security communities, attending conferences, and leveraging threat intelligence sources, organizations can stay one step ahead of attackers and implement timely security measures. 

Continuous Monitoring and Retesting for Ongoing Security:

These are essential for maintaining ongoing security. It is not enough to perform security testing once and consider the job done. APIs and their associated threats evolve. Organizations can detect and respond to potential security incidents in real-time by implementing continuous monitoring. Additionally, regular retesting helps identify new vulnerabilities that may have been introduced due to system updates or changes in the threat landscape. This iterative approach ensures that APIs remain secure and protected against emerging risks. 

Conclusion 

API security testing is crucial to safeguard the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of data exchanged through APIs. Organizations can identify and address vulnerabilities in their APIs by following a comprehensive step-by-step guide. As technology evolves, staying updated and adapting security practices is essential to ensure robust API security. 

How Can TestingXperts Help with API Security Testing? 

At TestingXperts, we understand the significance of API security testing and offer comprehensive solutions to help organizations identify and mitigate potential risks. Our experienced team of testers and security professionals specializes in API security testing, utilizing industry-leading tools and methodologies. Our services include: 

Comprehensive API Security Assessments:

Our experts perform in-depth assessments of your APIs, examining all critical components for potential vulnerabilities. We thoroughly analyze authentication and authorization mechanisms, input validation techniques, error-handling practices, and rate-limiting mechanisms. 

Realistic Testing Environment:

We create a controlled testing environment that simulates real-world scenarios while minimizing the impact on your live systems. This ensures accurate assessments without disrupting your production environment. 

Customized Scope and Coverage:

We work closely with you to define the scope of testing based on your specific requirements. Our team examines all relevant API endpoints and functionalities, leaving no loophole in identifying potential vulnerabilities. 

Automation for Efficiency:

We use cutting-edge automation tools and frameworks to enhance testing efficiency and coverage. This allows us to conduct comprehensive assessments while reducing manual effort and maximizing accuracy.

Whether it’s setting up the testing environment, conducting thorough assessments, or providing actionable remediation strategies, TestingXperts can assist you in ensuring the security of your APIs. Contact us today to learn more about our API security testing services and how we can support your organization. 

The post API Security Testing: A Step-by-Step Guide first appeared on TestingXperts.

Significance of API Testing Tools

As more and more organizations in the United Kingdom (UK) turn to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to integrate their applications with other systems and environments, API testing is expected to be an essential part of software development in and beyond 2023. Api Testing Tools focuses on validating APIs’ functionality, performance, security, and reliability. The process also involves testing for compatibility with various browsers and devices.

As APIs become increasingly complex regarding features and functionality, testers in the UK must develop sophisticated test plans that cover all aspects of the API. The use of API testing automation tools is also expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Automated tests help reduce manual effort and improve test case coverage by running tests quickly across multiple environments. API testing tools also help detect errors earlier in the development process, reducing costs associated with fixing bugs later in the cycle.

Benefits of API Testing in Agile

API testing is an essential part of agile software development. It helps to ensure that the application is functioning as expected and allows developers to detect any issues that may arise during development quickly. Here are some key benefits of API testing in an agile environment:

Promotes Automation:

API testing is an ideal candidate for automation, saving manual testing time and effort. Automated tests can be run more frequently, allowing for faster feedback and quick fixes to any issues that may arise.

Improves Quality:

By testing APIs early and often, developers can quickly identify problems before they become significant issues. This helps to ensure a higher quality product is delivered on time and within budget.

Quickens Dev Cycles:

By running automated tests regularly, the Dev team can reduce the amount of time needed for debugging and bug fixing, resulting in shorter development cycles. This also helps to reduce costs associated with rework or delays due to bugs or compatibility issues.

Increases Team Collaboration:

API testing encourages collaboration between different teams, such as testers, developers, and operations personnel, who all need to work together to deliver a successful product on time.

Thorough Testing Coverage:

API testing provides comprehensive coverage of the application’s functionality and performance which helps to ensure that all areas of the system are tested thoroughly before it goes live.

Data Driven Testing:

Data-driven testing in API testing is a technique that involves using various sets of test data to validate the functionality, performance, and reliability of an API. With data-driven testing, testers can create multiple test cases that cover different scenarios and variations, allowing for more comprehensive test coverage.

Key Features to Look for in an API Testing Tool

Automated Testing:

API testing tool should be able to automate the testing process, allowing you to quickly and efficiently test your APIs. Automation helps reduce the time and money spent on manual testing, allowing you to focus on other aspects of product development.

Comprehensive Reporting:

A good API testing tool should provide extensive reporting capabilities that allow you to quickly analyze the results of your tests and identify any potential issues or areas of improvement. This will enable you to make informed decisions about improving your APIs.

Cross-Platform Support:

As more applications move towards a multi-platform approach, an API testing tool must support multiple platforms, including web, mobile, and cloud-based services. This ensures that your APIs are tested across all platforms and can work seamlessly with other services and products.

Security Testing:

Security is an essential part of any application or API service, so an API testing tool needs to include security tests in its suite of features. These tests should ensure that the APIs are secure from malicious attacks and protect user data from unauthorized access or manipulation.

Ease of Integration:

The best testing API tools should be easy to integrate with existing systems and processes, allowing developers to quickly set up tests without having to learn a complex new language or system architecture. This makes it easier for developers to start their projects quickly and ensure that their APIs are appropriately tested before launch.

Non-technical Friendly:

The API testing tools’ documentation should feature support for BDD conventions, enabling even the non-tech savvy stakeholders to understand the project details via easy-to-understand reports.

Top 10 API Testing Tools in Software Testing Industry

Following are some of the tools for testing API that QA engineers use:

Katalon Studio

Katalon Studio is an automated testing platform that helps users create comprehensive end-to-end tests quickly and easily with its integrated environment for API, Web UI, mobile app testing, and cross-browser compatibility testing.

Tricentis Tosca

Tricentis Tosca is an enterprise-level API test automation solution designed to help users create reliable tests faster than ever before by taking advantage of model-based test automation technology combined with AI-powered analytics capabilities.

Postman

Postman is a popular tool that automates API testing. It is one of the API loading testing tools that allow users to easily create complex requests, save them for reuse, and share them with others. It also includes features such as automated tests, response data validation, environment variables, and more.

SoapUI

It is an open-source web service testing tool ideal for service-oriented architectures (SOA) and representational state transfers (REST services). It provides complete test coverage, from functional to security testing, and supports all major protocols, including SOAP/WSDL, REST/JSON, and GraphQL.

Apache JMeter

Apache JMeter is an open-source load and performance testing tool used to analyze the performance of web applications under various load types. It can be used to simulate a heavy load on a server or network to test its strength or analyze overall performance testing under different load types.

Parasoft SOAtest

Parasoft SOAtest is an automated and open-source API testing tool designed to help organizations ensure the quality of their services through comprehensive functional, security, performance, regression & compliance tests across multiple environments & protocols with minimal effort & cost associated with manual QA processes.

Rest Assured

Rest Assured is an open-source Java library that can be used to automate RESTful Web Services using JSON or XML payloads to perform functional validation on the response received from the server-side application over the HTTP protocol(s), including secure HTTPS requests.

Apigee

Apigee is a cross-cloud API platform that enables developers to quickly design, deploy, secure, monitor, analyse and scale APIs. The platform provides tools for debugging, mocking, traffic management, quota management, analytics, etc.

Runscope

Runscope provides a suite of API monitoring tools that allow developers to check uptime and performance metrics like latency & throughput as well as run end–to–end API tests. The tool also allows teams to collaborate on API development & troubleshooting.

Assertible

Assertible provides continuous integration & deployment tools designed explicitly for API tests. The platform allows users to set up automated integration & regression tests which can then be monitored in real-time using dashboards & alerts.

Conclusion

API testing has become an essential part of software development in the United Kingdom and is expected to continue to grow in importance beyond 2023. It involves conducting performance, security, reliability, and functionality testing of APIs and their compatibility with various browsers and devices.

Today, the advancement of technology has led to apps becoming more complex in their architecture, featuring multiple layers. To ensure that these apps function correctly and provide a positive customer experience (CX), API testing must be conducted to validate different business layers to guarantee seamless applications. Digital businesses should seek services from next-gen testing service providers for fully functional business applications.

How Can TestingXperts Help Digital Businesses with API Testing?

TestingXperts (Tx) is one of the fifth largest global pure-play software testing services providers. Tx has been chosen as a trusted QA partner by Fortune companies and ensures superior testing outcomes for its global clientele. We have rich expertise in enabling end-to-end testing services for international clients across various industry domains like healthcare, telecom, BFSI, retail & eCommerce, etc.

API Testing Services Offered

Unit testing

Utilized to check the functionality of individual APIs.

Functional testing

Employed to test end-to-end functionality of the API layer.

Load testing

Validates both functionality and performance for the system under various levels of user/transaction load.

Runtime error detection

Involves executing automated or manual tests to identify problems, such as exceptions and resource leaks.

Security testing

Includes a variety of security checks, such as penetration testing, authentication, encryption, and access control.

Web UI testing

Entails end-to-end testing of the entire system using APIs.

Contract testing

Used to check the interaction between client and API or server and to verify data exchanges between two parties.

Why Choose Testingxperts for API Testing Services

• TestingXperts is a Katalon Solution Partner Program member, enabling clients to deliver high-quality software faster by leveraging comprehensive DevOps and testing practices.

• Team of expert API testers with expertise in various protocols, including XML, SOAP, JSON, REST, Gdata, YAML, ATOM, RSS and RDF.

• QA engineers experienced in performing end-to-end application validations at all application levels.

• Certified team with extensive knowledge of code-level functionalities to ensure high test accuracy.

• Hands-on experience with industry-leading open source and commercial.

• Our custom test execution report provides stakeholders with a rich interface for easy access to results. Lastly, we partner with renowned organizations such as UiPath, Tricentis, AccelQ, EggPlant, and more.

The post Top 10 API Testing Tools in Software Testing Industry first appeared on TestingXperts.

Open Banking is a technology-driven movement that is revolutionizing the financial services industry. It is based on the idea that banks should extend their customer experience abilities by integrating services and products offered by third-party providers.

As Open banking makes noise in the fintech industry by uplifting financial services, let’s discuss Open banking and its impact on the financial landscape.

Open Banking refers to banks’ extended capability to securely share customers’ financial data with third-party providers via APIs. Open banking aims to elevate the customer experience by giving them more choices and governance over their finances.

It can be said that open banking is an open data model wherein customer data, with their consent, is shared with different stakeholders across the banking environment. Third-party providers have access to this data in the form of transactions, fund checks, commencement of credit transfers, and so on.

How is open banking reshaping the financial landscape?

Earlier, consumers had access only to the products and services offered by the banks. With open banking, consumers can tap into a diverse range of products and services provided by different banks and financial institutions.

Since open banking allows sharing customer data with third-party providers, these providers can proactively develop and launch new and customized products and services that cater to the specific needs of consumers. As a result, consumers get a more personalized experience tailored to their individual needs.

The benefits of open banking continue beyond the consumers. Financial institutions also leverage open banking to access the latest range of financial products and services that may grow their business and help them strive in the competitive market. Along with accessing third-party products and services, consumer data can be utilized to create new products and services.

What are Open Banking APIs?

Open banking APIs are the bridge that moves consumer data from a bank’s database to the service providers. This allows the bank to offer a comprehensive range of services, payment plans, and financial products tailored to each customer. Banks can develop their own unique APIs, linking them to external APIs to create a customer-centric financial ecosystem.

Knowing your customer is always important, but in some industries, verifying accounts and identities is essential to doing business. Open banking APIs let companies check the authenticity of customers’ information. This accelerates KYC processes and cuts down process complexity and cost.

A personalized customer experience is a great customer experience. Data APIs give more information about users’ finances and habits, allowing finance product companies to offer tailored services.

Processing payments can be a pricey proposition, but open banking takes cost out of the equation for merchants. Payment APIs lack both the transaction fees and operational costs of other methods. Businesses can save up to 80% on fees compared to cards.

Waiting for funds to settle is an inconvenience many businesses hope to avoid. While cards and Direct Debit payments can take days for funds to settle, open banking APIs facilitate instant processing and settlement, ensuring that companies receive their money when needed.

Evidently, for open banking APIs to deliver acclaimed benefits to customers and financial institutions, effective API testing is required for end-to-end testing of open banking APIs.

Why is API testing critical for Open Banking apps?

When it comes to open API testing, banks must guarantee that integrations are completed and tested as thoroughly as possible. Banks will primarily need to validate API queries’ data response and behavior during API testing. Financial institutions will necessitate the design and testing of APIs that are aligned with essential business logic and procedures. Banks can automate most API testing, including functional testing, data validation, and regression testing. Here are some facts and figures highlighting how the BFSI sector, especially the banking sector, needs API testing service.

• According to Markets and Markets, “the global API testing market size is estimated to rise to USD 1,099.1 Million in 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 69% during the forecast period.”

• Allied Market Research shows that the global open banking market is expected to reach $43.15 billion by 2026

• As of November 2021, the open banking ecosystem in the UK comprised more than 330 regulated firms

• The BFSI vertical is predicted to develop at the fastest rate in the API testing market by the end of 2022

6 Important Open banking testing techniques

API Testing:

Ensures that banking APIs are working as expected and efficiently handles failures by responding with the respective status codes

Security Testing:

Ensures that the banking APIs effectively perform authentication and authorization

Data Validation:

Ensures that input data such as account information, transaction details, real-time batch process details, etc. can be accessed through the interface

Integration Testing:

Ensures that all integration touchpoints of the banking API are validated to find and fix any issues

Performance Testing:

Ensures that the application is stable, scalable, and consistent under expected loads

Compliance Testing:

Ensures that the third-party providers adhere to the defined policy or regulation before they are permitted to integrate with the banking APIs

Future of API-powered Open banking: Banking-as-a-Service

Open banking APIs enable financial service providers and firms to enhance their service offerings, enhance and customize their customer engagement models, and generate new revenue channels. By embracing the capabilities of open banking through APIs, financial institutions can see themselves as banking-as-a-service providers.

Banks should look for services that can be realized with APIs. For open banking to be effective, financial services providers should strive to future-proof their innovation by leveraging effective API testing services that ensure agile, adaptable, and secure APIs, and revolutionizing the banking customer experience.

Conclusion

As more and more financial institutions look to optimize their customer experience regarding facilities and security, API testing has become a necessary aspect of open banking. API testing is critical for open banking because its products are evolving rapidly. Therefore, third-party providers may not consider API testing a one-time task. API testing for available banking apps and services calls for continuous testing to ensure that product or service APIs meet compliance and performance goals as API flows and integrations evolve with the financial revolution.

Why Choose TestingXperts for API testing services?

TestingXperts offers comprehensive API testing services to validate business apps. With extensive experience in offering state-of-the-art QA testing solutions for banking and financial institutions, we provide better products, services, and superior customer experience to ensure quality, transparency, and cost-effectiveness.

Unit testing – for checking the functionality of individual APIs

Functional testing – For testing end-to-end functionality of the API layer

Load testing – For validation of functionality and performance for the system under various levels of user/ transaction load

Runtime error detection – Execution of Automated / Manual tests to identify problems, such as exceptions and resource leaks

Security testing – Involves various security checks like penetration testing, authentication, encryption, and access control

Web UI testing – End-to-end testing of the entire system using the APIs

The post Why is API Testing Critical for Open Banking Apps? first appeared on TestingXperts.

Today, with numerous solutions and applications available, it is a known fact that only the best performing among them will take the lead. Businesses need high-performing apps to deliver a great customer experience (CX) which further helps them stand in tough competition. With the technology taking up new levels of innovation, there is more demand for apps delivering exorbitant features using interconnected and complex apps. Today, complex apps with multiple layers are being added across the application’s architecture to ensure seamless service delivery to customers. These multiple underlying layers necessitate leveraging effective API testing for these complex apps to deliver a great CX.

Content 1.   What is API testing? 2.   What are the different types of API testing? 3.   Why is there an increased need for API testing across industries? 4.   What benefits do businesses get with API testing? 5.   Broad steps involved in API Testing 6.   Conclusion 7.   How can TestingXperts (Tx) help? 8.   Tx Differentiators

What is API testing?

Every application has three layers: a Data layer, an Application Programming Interface (API) layer, and a User Interface (UI) layer. An API forms the crux of an application as it contains critical business logic. It allows front-end users to interact with the back-end and enables the proper functioning of the software. Typically, API testing helps check the functionality, reliability, security, and performance of service layers or the more commonly known API layers. Since this layer directly touches the data layer and presentation layer, it is essential to check the service layers by leveraging API testing.

What are the different types of API testing?

Functional testing:

This testing method includes testing the specific functions within the API codebase. These functions represent the particular scenarios to ensure that the APIs function well and as expected within the given parameters.

UI testing:

This method tests the user interface of APIs and their constituent parts. This test method focuses more on the interface of the API rather than the API itself. Though this method does not test the API directly in terms of the codebase, it can still provide a generalized view of the API’s health, usability, and efficiency of both the front end and the back end.

Load testing:

This method involves testing whether the API responds as expected under peak and varying load conditions. This test aims to determine how actively the API responds when various servers send a request to an API. This testing method ensures the APIs meet their compliances for response time and throughput.

Contract Testing:

It is a software testing methodology that ensures two services are compatible and can communicate with each other. The contract is between the consumer who wants to receive some data and a provider, i.e., an API which provides data to the client. This test captures the interactions between services, stores them in a contract, and verifies that both parties adhere to it.

Runtime/Error detection testing:

This testing method checks the actual running of the APIs and is mainly concerned with the universal results of utilizing the API codebase. It focuses more on monitoring, execution errors, resource leaks, error detections, etc.

Security testing:

This testing method ensures secure API implementation and validates encryptions. It also verifies the design of the API access control to ensure its safety from external threats and validates the user rights and authorization.

Penetration testing:

In this testing method, ethical hackers attack the API to assess possible threats or vulnerabilities from outside hackers. This testing process aims to reveal and exploit security vulnerabilities present in the APIs before actual hackers use them.

Fuzz testing:

In this black-box testing method, a massive amount of random data often referred to as fuzz, or noise is forcibly input into the system to attempt a forced crash. The main aim of this test is to test the APIs at their absolute limits. The different types of attacks detected by fuzz testing are application fuzzing, protocol fuzzing, file format fuzzing, etc.

Interoperability/WS Compliance testing:

Interoperability testing checks whether the software can appropriately interact with other software components or not. This testing method only applies to SOAP APIs and is performed to check two fields of the functions. Firstly it reviews the interoperability between SOAP APIs and ensures it conforms to Web Services Interoperability Profiles. Secondly, WS Compliance testing ensures proper implementation and utilization of standards such as WS-Addressing, WS-Discovery, WS-Federation, WS-Policy, WS-Security, and WS-Trust.

Why is there an increased need for API testing across industries?

Today’s technology is rapidly advancing, and due to this, apps continue to become more complex in their underlying architecture. Usually, complex applications have five layers of complexity: complexities of integration, information, intention, environment, and institution. As more businesses continue to adopt modern architecture, including cloud services and mobile, large composite systems exist behind these simple-looking applications.

This complex architecture follows specific protocols such as XML, SOAP, JSON, REST, etc., and hence it becomes critically important for businesses to validate their applications for the underlying layers. These multiple layers need effective API testing to ensure the proper functioning of these APIs. These complex apps continue to dominate industries, and it showcases the need to leverage API testing to get fully functional apps.

Healthcare sector:

API testing plays an essential role in the healthcare sector as it helps:

•  To ensure apps meet complex usage, security, and regulatory compliances such as HIPPA compliance.

•  To ensure apps are bug-free and adequately integrated with third-party services.

• To ensure patient’s data, health records, identities, account details, payment information, etc., are safe within these interconnected healthcare apps.

Banking sector:

API testing plays a vital role in banks due to the following reasons:

•  Most banks now offer API banking services spread across categories such as deposits, payment gateway, loans and cards, business banking, etc.

• Ensures proper functionality and security of payment-related information; API testing is essential.

•  As banks continue to integrate with third-party services such as eCommerce sites, direct peer-to-peer transfer, ticket booking, API testing is essential.

•  To meet regulatory compliances.

eCommerce sector:

API testing of eCommerce apps is essential because:

•  Firstly, eCommerce apps have a complex architecture with multiple APIs such as:

•  Product information API, Catalog API, Site search API, Login API, Cart API.

•  Payment API, Marketing Automation API, Shipping API, etc.

•  Secondly, it is essential to ensure seamless functioning and security of these APIs data.

•  Lastly, to offer a great user experience with these eCommerce apps, API testing is required.

Media and entertainment sector:

>

Media and entertainment service providers require API testing of their apps due to:

•  As the consumers are shifting towards OTT platforms, there is more demand for high-quality streaming platforms and products

• Fully functional APIs help publishers to better connect with viewers and  third-party services. With the help of API, content creators and distributors combine with partner technologies and attract more customers and hence need effective API testing

•  API testing ensures seamless flow of content, good playback quality, and seamless UX for these publishing apps

Telecom sector:

Below listed are some of the reasons that depict the need for API testing of telecom apps:

•  Telecoms providers use various apps such as retailer app, mobile wallet, CRM app, vendor app, customer support app, etc., to provide services to users.

•  There are multiple types of API layers present in these telecom apps such as Voice API, SMS API, Video API, Chat API, Geolocation API, Charging or Carrier Billing API, Mobile Top Up API, IoT API, Identity API, etc., and testing of all these API layers is essential to deliver seamless UX.

•  Multiple users send multiple requests across these apps, and to ensure that their APIs function seamlessly, API testing is needed to enable seamless services to customers.

•  Since these apps store a massive load of data and are accessed by a large set of users, API testing is essential for all telecom apps.

What benefits do businesses get with API testing?

Identifies defects early:

The main advantage of API testing is that it allows testers to access the application without really interacting with the user interface. This testing helps testers to test the application faster and detect bugs early in the software development lifecycle.

Protects APIs from malicious code or breakage:

API testing helps businesses ensure that their APIs are free from all vulnerabilities and pushes applications to connective limits to ensure no code breakage occurs.

Saves time and costs:

Another benefit of this testing method is that it takes less time than GUI testing and helps businesses save time and costs in the long run.

Language independent:

API testing exchanges data using JSON or XML and comprises HTTP response and request. Both of these transfer modes are completely language-independent, allowing testers to test API using any language or automate API testing in any language.

Improves test coverage:

As compared to unit tests, API tests have a broader scope. In unit testing, the focus is limited to the functionality of the components within a single application, but the API test checks the functionality of all system components. This testing helps businesses to improve the overall software quality and to deliver seamless UX.

Boosts the security of applications:

API testing helps improve the application’s security and ensures there are no security loopholes or vulnerabilities present in the application; various security checks include security testing, penetration testing, fuzz testing, compliance testing, etc.

Enhances app performance:

API tests help remove performance-related bottlenecks present in the API of the application. This testing method helps businesses ensure their apps perform seamlessly under all conditions such as varying user load, network, bandwidth, etc.

API tests are GUI independent:

The API testing checks the business logic, and therefore this test starts even before the front-end is ready. Since this test is not related to the GUI of the app in any way, it becomes easy for testers to test the app earlier and faster.

Reuse test data for GUI testing:

The test data generated during API testing is helpful for GUI testing. Unlike the traditional software development approaches, developers now create apps by first writing the APIs. Once the APIs are tested and ready, the UI is designed around them.

Ensures API remains unaffected after code changes:

During API testing, the regression testing method ensures that recent changes do not affect or break the existing APIs or the system using them.

Broad steps involved in API Testing

API Testing involves sending the API calls and checking the responses in return. The basic steps involved in API testing are:

•  Gather information related to the kind of requests as well as the limitations involved. This information can be taken from API documentation or directly from developers.

•  Set up the test environment that allows the testers to make API calls and validate responses

•  Input the required API parameters and configure the database and server

•  Write test cases that include – Input parameters, expected responses, max response time, parsing inputs, error handling, correct formatting of the response

•  Add each test case to the test script and execute the test after every new build

•  Monitor the results to decide if the API responses are as per expectations or not

Conclusion:

Thus, businesses should leverage different types of API testing to get fully functional and seamless apps.  It is always preferred to leverage the services from next-gen testing services providers to get fully functional business apps.

How can TestingXperts (Tx) help?

TestingXperts (Tx) has an expert team of API testers and offers a wide range of API and Web services testing:

Unit testing – for checking the functionality of individual APIs

Functional testing – for testing end-to-end functionality of the API layer

Load testing – for validation of functionality and performance for the system under various levels of user/ transaction load

Runtime error detection – Execution of automated/manual tests to identify problems, such as exceptions and resource leaks

Security testing – Involves various types of security checks like penetration testing, authentication, encryption, and access control

Web UI testing – end-to-end testing of the entire system using the APIs

Contract testing – for checking interaction between client and API or server and for verification of data exchanges occurring between two parties

Tx Differentiators:

• Expert API testers with expertise in a wide range of API protocols like XML, SOAP, JSON, REST, Gdata, YAML, ATOM, RSS, and RDF, etc.

• Experience to perform end-to-end application validations at various layers of the application

•  Hands-on with the automation of API test cases

•  Experience in testing code level functionalities and ensure test accuracy

•  Certified team of testers, QAs, ethical hackers

• Dedicated teams with expertise in industry-leading open source and commercial tools

• Custom test execution report with a rich interface delivered to all stakeholders

• Partnership with industry leaders such as UiPath, Tricentis, AccelQ, EggPlant, etc.

The post Why is API Testing Indispensable For Today’s Complex Apps? first appeared on TestingXperts.

API testing challenges and how to overcome them

The post Top 5 Challenges of API testing and how to overcome them? first appeared on TestingXperts.

In today’s competitive world, businesses should understand the fact that only the best applications thrive well and continue to attract a lot of traffic. This prevalent concept has made software application development and software product development vital for all businesses across industries.

Contents 1. API Testing 2. What Does API Testing Revolve Around? 3. How is API Testing Done? 4. How does API Testing Play a Key Role? 5. Top API Testing Tools 2021 6. What are the best practices for API testing? 7. Why Robust API Testing is the Future? 8. How can Testingxperts help you with Effective API Testing?

The Application Program Interface (API) is a set of processes, protocols, routines and tools for building these critical software applications. It is rather an interface that allows software applications to communicate with one another and is mainly used while programming the graphical user interface (GUI) components. There is a lot of significance as an API specifies how its software components should interact with each other.

API Testing

APIs are essential for creating an effective and connected experience for customers and thus businesses are beginning to realize their value. Understanding the depth of its role with respect to applications, hence the importance of API testing has come into place.

This specific testing involves testing of the application interfaces directly as part of the integration testing to determine if the application perfectly meets the expectations for functionality, performance, reliability and security. API testing is one of the challenging test practices in the software and QA process as it reveals the bugs, inconsistencies, and deviations from the expected application behavior.

According to a report on API Testing market outlook from MarketsandMarkets, the global API testing market size is expected to grow from USD 384.3 Million in 2016 to USD 1,099.1 Million by 2022, at a CAGR of 19.69% from 2017 to 2022. It has also been predicted that in the API testing market, the BFSI vertical is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period (2017-2022).

Undoubtedly, investing more time and effort in API testing leads to better quality products that dominate the market with good reliability, security and performance.  

What Does API Testing Revolve Around?

– To ensure the APIs work as expected

– To specify and ensure the application can handle the desired load

– To establish the APIs work seamlessly through the operating systems and devices

– To ensure the data that passes through the API is in lieu of compliance & security

– To make sure all the business rules have been correctly implemented at the API level

– To enable a better user experience

– To ensure easier expansion of applications

– To make sure the API provides the required functionality

How is API Testing Done?

1. Set up the Environment:

Initially setting up of the environment should be done with the required parameters that need to be configured for the given API. This includes configuration of server and database as per the API requirement.

2. Define the Test Plan:

The test plan varies based on product type and API. But a solid test plan should cover all scenarios in depth, clearly define the priority of scenarios that need to be tested. It should also include some of the common testing types like unit, integration, security, performance and third-party API tests.

3. Make an API Call:

It is important to make an API call to ensure there are no broken links in the process of testing as it is crucial before proceeding with the actual testing.

4. Combine Data with API Tests:

This step helps to make sure the interface functions as expected with the provided parameters after being configured.

Are these API’s Really Business Critical; How does API Testing Play a Key Role?

The interface is the heart of any application and if the product interface is not good enough, then it shows an adverse effect on its viability. It is a known fact that applications are getting more complex due to the varying end-user needs and in order to meet them, the API’s have become vital tools for businesses across every industry segment. Hence, it necessitates the need for effective API testing at first hand.

Moreover, there is a significant chance that the API’s can be hacked. It is also unfortunate that whenever resources are exposed to the internet, it is likely to be attacked in some way or the other. Hence integration testing and API security testing is critical for all businesses today.

This testing not only ensures security standards but also confirms that the overall system will perform well even under varying loads or network conditions.

Joe Colantonio, an eminent testing domain blogger in his blog on “Why API Testing is Important,”  justifies the importance of API testing, saying that API test process is important with the agile practices on the go and with the internet of things (IoT) all around.

He further adds that agile has increased the frequency with which applications are released which in turn has created an increased demand for new ways to quickly test them. GUI tests are typically too slow to get the test coverage and since API tests do not rely on a User interface(UI) to be ready, thus they can be created early in the software development process.

However, to achieve the best results with API test, it is essential for organizations to follow a set of best practices.

What are the best practices for API testing?

APIs have been the core for applications and should be continuously analyzed as these replicate the complete application performance. So, businesses that underlie on API integrations should continuously follow certain testing strategies to maintain hassle-free data access for the customers and make the application responsive in every aspect.

Make sure to start with API smoke testing: While starting up the API test practice, it is essential to start with the smoke test. The smoke test practice helps to validate the code, ensures to perform several other functionalities such as – it calls the API to verify its response, test the API to check its interactions with other components, etc.

Introduce Exact conditions in the API testing phase: While processing the API testing phase, the development teams need to introduce exact conditions. This way of simulating the exact conditions will ensure that the APIs function correctly and perform the required actions when they are subjected to the work environment.

Track and Save the API responses for Future: While practicing the API testing, the development and testing teams need to track and save the responses obtained from the API test method. When an API undergoes several changes, there are many chances for the API to result in errors. In such scenarios, the already saved responses from the API will help the teams to examine and figure out the reasons which are causing the errors.

Ensure to Perform Negative Testing: In API testing, testing and monitoring the data for a positive response is a constant practice. Along with this, the development teams need to perform negative testing as this method will benefit to validate whether the API is able to respond with an error message or stop with a crash. This will improve the efficiency of the application and help the app to respond in scenarios where invalid data is provided.

Never Ignore Security Tests: The increase in cyberattacks is multiplying the need to secure the applications and the services. Therefore, to secure the applications from exploitation and security breaches, it is essential to adopt testing tools that help to perform and scan security tests along with the additional features.

Top API Testing Tools 2021

Following are the top 6 API tools:

1. Postman:

Postman was initially launched in the market as a Google Chrome plugin. The main aim of Postman is to test API services. Postman is also considered to be a great tool for performing exploratory or manual testing.

Features:

• Users can extract web API data through Postman’s interface
• It includes collections, workspaces and built-in tools.

2. SoapUI:

Web services REST and SOAP APIs use the platform of SoapUI for carrying out testing activities.

Features:

• The free package of SoapUI gives access to the full source code to the users
• Drag-and-drop functionality and point-and-click is covered in the free package
• The fixed package of SoapUI covers data-driven testing, REST, GraphQL, SOAP, JMS and JDBC testing.

3. Apigee:

Apigee is a cross-cloud tool. The features of the Apigee API testing tool can be accessed by users through an editor such as Swagger. API performance can also be measured and tested properly through this tool.

Features:

• Performance-related issues are identified by tracking error rates and response times
• APIs containing huge amounts of data are compatible with Apigee.

4. Karate DSL:

It has always been difficult to create scenarios for API-based BDD tests. But, with the Karate DSL API testing tool, users can easily undertake this without the need to write down step definitions.

Features:

• It provides a platform where a user can easily write tests
• As the Karate DSL tool is built on top of Cucumber-JVM, test cases can be easily executed for those projects that use Java language for software development.

5. Rest Assured:

This API testing tool provides a platform where REST services can be easily tested. Rest Assured API testing tool is an open-source tool.

Features:

• It has in-built functionalities through the use of which users need not build code from scratch
• Several authentication mechanisms are offered by the Rest Assured tool.

6. JMeter:

This API testing tool was developed to perform load testing. As of now, it is well-known for functional API testing. The latest version of JMeter which is “5.4” was rolled out in December 2020 and is capable of additional bug fixes and core enhancements.

Features:

• Users are allowed to include API tests within CI pipelines through the integration of JMeter and Jenkins
• JMeter tool works really well with CSV files. This tool also helps teams to build unique parameter values for tests.

Undoubtedly Robust API Testing is the Future; But WHY?

It tests the API’s for their capabilities to integrate, stand out to expected functionalities, equally weigh aptly for performance parameters and meet up the security standards

– The robust API testing practice helps to verify code, discover the defects at an early stage and evaluate any unwanted code

– This testing exposes coding issues that either manual or automated tests might miss

– Its superiority is that it is far less time consuming than functional GUI testing

– This aptly tests the core of your product’s functionality and it is the truth that functionality typically determines the end user’s expectations

– With API’s, integration of tools or programs can happen at any point of time to enhance the experience and functionalities of the software

– API test is indispensable and test automation is leveraged currently to make the testing process faster and error-free

How can Testingxperts help you with Effective API Testing?

Pure play testing services providers like TestingXperts have a good number of expert API testers and provide the perfect environment to test your application interface effectively and efficiently as they have:

– Expertise on a wide range of API protocols like XML, SOAP, JSON, REST, Gdata, YAML, ATOM, RSS, and RDF etc.

– Experience with testing for code level functionality and ensure test accuracy

– Experience to perform end-to-end application validations at various layers of the application

– Expertise on leading industry tools for API testing for functional, load, and security testing

– Ample exposure with the automation of API test cases

The post Why API testing is critical for today’s Business applications? first appeared on TestingXperts.

Contents 1. What is API Testing? 2. Potential testing needs at API level 3. Types of API Testing 4. Benefits of API testing in B2B landscape 5. Conclusion

What is API Testing?

Potential testing needs at API level

Types of API Testing:

Benefits of API testing in B2B landscape:

Conclusion:

The post Enabling seamless B2B transactions with error-free & quality APIs first appeared on TestingXperts.

The world is getting more and more connected with each passing day. It is believed that around 30 billion independent things will be connected to the internet by 2020. Now, with this pressure to move at a greater speed, the biggest stumbling block is to identify how to build a continuous approach to testing across multiple channels of engagement.

Contents 1. API Testing 2. What are the benefits of API testing? 3. Challenges of API Testing 4. How to Overcome API Testing Challenges 5. What type of bugs are identified with API testing? 6. What are the tools for API testing? 7. Conclusion

API Testing

The consumerization of IT is changing how applications are being developed. Rather than building a single, monolithic system installed on a server in a back office, modern applications are distributed within mobile devices and web browsers so users can gain access to services from anywhere and at any time. Modern applications are no longer autonomous; they comprise several service components tied together at runtime.

As a result, the end-user experience is not driven by the well-designed user interfaces we all use, but by application programming interfaces (APIs) that expedite interactions between applications, code modules, and back-end systems.

What are the benefits of API testing?

1. Completely Language-Independent:In API testing, there are several data transfer modes, the data can be exchanged using JSON or XML. Since these languages are used for development and are technology-independent, the teams can select any core language while performing the API tests.

2. Helps for Integrated User Experience: With API, embedding the content from any application or website is easier. This way of ease in delivering information is an important benefit as it helps to maintain an integrated user experience.

3. Protects from vulnerabilities and code breakage: API testing effectively helps to eliminate the vulnerabilities with its excellent conditions and inputs. These help in protecting the application from vulnerabilities caused due to the insertion of unknown code or due to code breakage. 

4. Reduces testing time: The methodologies of API testing are excellent to minimize the time consumption. Unlike validation and functional testing, API testing is faster in performing more number of tests. 

5. Increases Developers Productivity: For writing any code, there are very few instances where the developers start from a scratch. While designing API, there is a code base provided to help the time consumption of developers in writing code. This existing code base helps in limiting the differentiation in the code among the developers and also eliminates the time needed for creating new code.

6. Faster results at less cost: In API testing, there is no need for using large codes. By using the lesser code which is less than the GUI automated tests, these tests help to provide easier and faster test results with better test coverage. This results in achieving faster results at reduced testing costs. Also, the faster detection of errors helps in reducing the cost involved for manual testing. 

The API is the intelligence behind this connected world. APIs allow companies to become more agile, and to work together in an integrated manner. However, while testing APIs, testers face several units of work, making it challenging for the testers to test the APIs. Below are the four major challenges experienced while testing APIs along with and suggested solutions.

Challenges of API Testing

1) Use case propagation

Traditional UI testing is limited to the testing functionality of the overall application. A tester construes the output against expected outcomes after exercising an input. However, API testing follows a different approach. Being the central hub of logic and the gateway to data for interfacing applications, use cases are near-infinite in API testing. Consequently, the number of required tests rapidly exceeds the competences of the technical staff responsible for test case design.

2) Access to connected systems

APIs pull data from multiple APIs and back-end systems, in which the resulting architecture looks like the roots of a tree extending wide and deep. Thus, it’s impossible to have access to every environment on this tree. The emulation of inaccessible resources is the key to avoiding testing bottlenecks. However, the old way of building custom mocks is proving too challenging. Besides, they cannot emulate race conditions for comprehensive performance and load testing.

3) Synchronous and asynchronous methods

Modern applications are intricate, and one API can link several microservices and other APIs. Accordingly, a single call on an API can prompt ‘n’ number of serial and parallel activities. The intricacies of an API can thus grow exponentially as it is combined with other API calls. And this complexity multiplies as testers feature in the calling order of APIs in test case design. Consequently, testing APIs must be managed in both separate and nuclear units of work.

4) API versioning

Versioning is a primary cause of rising complexity in API testing. Most systems have a degree of depreciation, which should be managed by an API with the help of versioning. The API must identify missing values and allocate some default to allow the old version to work. Moreover, it can be the case that some versions are called by some versions but not others.

How to Overcome API Testing Challenges

To overcome the above-listed challenges, a modern approach should be adopted that enables you to automate API tests and integrate them into a continuous delivery cycle.

Phase I: Integration level Testing

The integration test phase will focus on service interfaces and will make sure interface behavior and information sharing are working as specified.

Phase II: Process/Orchestration Testing

This phase covers:

• Business logic
• Sequencing
• Exception handling
• Process decomposition (including service and process reuse)

Phase III: Security and Governance Testing

In this phase, SOA / API is combined with Government and Regulatory compliance, which is incorporated into the entire project life cycle. This phase comprises Quality of Service policies on Performance, Security, and Transactions.

• Regulatory policies
• Business policies
• Audit policies
• Infrastructure policies

Phase IV: System Level Testing

This test phase will cover whether the technical solution met the defined business acceptance criteria.

What type of bugs are identified with API testing?

Identifies bugs related to Authentication: With API testing, it is easier to trigger the bugs raised because of entering unacceptable characters in the apps authentication field. Though the bugs are not considered as severe for the application, it can sometimes lead to app destruction. 

Resolves the issue of Browser Adaptability: For any application, browser adaptability is one of the important needs. If the application fails to respond to any browser, then it can lead to dissatisfaction among the users and affect the brand reputation. Hence, by adopting the methods of API testing, it becomes simpler to identify and resolve the issues related to the app’s ability across browsers.

Identifies configuration errors on all devices: It is necessary for the apps to be compatible across the devices. If the app is unable to meet any device resolution, then this can raise complications for the app’s future and user’s interest. With API testing, it becomes easier to find out whether the app is compatible across devices and browsers to target the audience. 

Finds the bugs related to accessibility: Users always prefer apps that are user-friendly and provide a simplified understanding of the app usage. Hence, it is essential to know the importance of adding the menu, help, and search sections on the homepage. An easily accessible app is always a top choice for users.

What are the tools for API testing?

Open-Source API Testing Tools:

• JMeter
• Rest-Assured
• Karate DSL
• Citrus Framework
• Parasoft SOAtest
• Rest Assured  
• Tricentis

Commercial API Testing Tools:

• Katalon Studio
• SoapUI
• Postman
• Apigee

Conclusion

TestingXperts is proficient in a wide range of API protocols such as XML, SOAP, JSON, REST, Gdata, YAML, ATOM, RSS, and RDF, etc. Our end to end applications validation experience at various layers of the application helps in executing a successful API. Our expertise in leading industry tools for API testing for functional, load and security testing allows us to automate API test cases.

The post Top 4 Challenges of API Testing and How to Overcome Them first appeared on TestingXperts.