API Testing
API testing focuses on directly verifying the functionality, reliability, performance, and security of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which serve as the intermediaries allowing different software systems to communicate with each other. Unlike user interface (UI) testing, API testing involves sending calls to the API, getting output, and noting the system's response without considering the user interface. This type of testing is crucial for ensuring that the APIs meet expectations regarding their performance, reliability, and security, and that they correctly handle all types of inputs, including valid, invalid, and unexpected ones. Tools like Postman, SoapUI, and JMeter are commonly used for API testing, allowing testers to create and execute automated tests that simulate various conditions and loads on the API. Effective API testing helps in identifying issues early in the development cycle, improving the quality of the application while reducing costs and time to market.
- Snippet from Wikipedia: API testing
API testing is a type of software testing that involves testing application programming interfaces (APIs) directly and as part of integration testing to determine if they meet expectations for functionality, reliability, performance, and security. Since APIs lack a GUI, API testing is performed at the message layer. API testing is now considered critical for automating testing because APIs serve as the primary interface to application logic and because GUI tests are difficult to maintain with the short release cycles and frequent changes commonly used with Agile software development and DevOps.