Sunday, April 30, 2023 - 8:30am to Monday, May 1, 2023 - 5:00pm
API Testing Workshop
- Get a foundational understanding of API Testing
- Gain experience and practice with hands-on exercises
- Learn API Testing best practices
- Sample common tools and techniques used in API Testing
Join us for this workshop-style class where we will examine and practice the benefits of API testing using commercial and open-source software. Students will leave with a better appreciation of the value of API testing, and how it can be applied to their work.
An application programming interface (API) acts as the plumbing for a system. For web applications, developers use a web API to communicate between the client and server. This API is often nothing more than regular text that follows a known pattern that both the client and server understand. Accessing this layer allows us to test differently. In the UI, certain invalid inputs are prevented, but the API will allow any possible ordering of text, which opens up a lot of possibilities for finding defects.
Why is testing at the API level valuable? For one, it lets us follow data-driven testing, so we can be faster and more robust than testing the UI. Also, it can be used to test the security; for example, does your server implicitly trust what the client is sending? Finally, it is an excellent method to confirm that when sending invalid information, the API should respond in a helpful manner. A large portion of the developer's work is debugging and maintenance, and API's that respond with helpful messages go a long way towards that goal.
Who Should Attend
This course is ideal for agile and DevOps teams who need to define and validate specific API use cases and understand the boundaries and expectations of the system. While some of the course requires writing code, the majority can be accomplished with a simple text editor, web browser, and access to the API we’re testing.
API testing techniques
Focus on negative cases
Clarity of error messages
Security concerns
Performance
Avoiding the network
Authorization testing
Query string
Body
Headers
Data-driven testing
Fuzzing
Required inputs
API Contracts
Character encoding
Min-size/Max-size tests
External API's
Debugging
Documenting
Caching
API testing tools
General programming languages
Postman
SoapUI
Specialized tools for external API's
Swagger
Network sniffers
Class Daily Schedule
Sign-In/Registration 7:30-8:30am
Morning Session 8:30am-12:00pm
Lunch 12:00-1:00pm
Afternoon Session 1:00-5:00pm
Times represent the typical daily schedule. Please confirm your schedule at registration.
Training Course Fee Includes
• Digital course materials
• Continental breakfasts and refreshment breaks
• Lunches
• Letter of completion
Coveros, Inc.
Jonathan Kauffman works as an agile software development and test consultant at Coveros, a company that helps organizations develop secure software using agile methods. In this role, Jonathan has helped both government and commercial organizations develop and test high-quality applications, and he has gained his experience by working with health care, biomedical device, and research organizations. Jonathan also presents at and attends Meetups to help maintain his connection with the software testing community and to stay abreast of recent industry developments. Before joining Coveros, he earned his B.S. in computer science from Allegheny College, where he published research on techniques for optimizing regression test suites.