API Testing

API Testing is a type of software testing that focuses on verifying the functionality, reliability, performance, and security of application programming interfaces (APIs). Since APIs allow different software systems to communicate, testing ensures that the API behaves as expected under various conditions and interacts correctly with other systems.

Key components of API testing include:

• Functionality Testing: Verifying that the API performs the required operations, such as sending and receiving data, according to the functional specifications.
• Input Validation: Ensuring that the API properly handles different types of input, including valid, invalid, and edge case data, and responds appropriately to errors.
• Security Testing: Ensuring the API is secure by checking for vulnerabilities such as unauthorized access, data leaks, and encryption issues.
• Performance Testing: Testing the API's response time, load handling, and scalability to ensure it can handle a high volume of requests without degrading performance.
• Error Handling: Ensuring that the API returns appropriate error codes and messages when something goes wrong, such as 400 for bad requests or 500 for server errors.
• Integration Testing: Verifying that the API interacts correctly with other components of the system, such as databases, external services, and third-party APIs.
• Automation: Automating API tests using tools like Postman, SoapUI, or REST Assured to ensure efficiency, repeatability, and coverage in regression testing.

API testing is essential for ensuring that APIs are reliable, secure, and performant, which ultimately ensures smooth communication between systems and a better user experience.