What Are The Different Types Of API Testing?

Contract testing

• In contract testing the APIs are tested in terms of the content and format of the API requests and responses.
• Since the APIs follow a set of rules to ensure smooth process flow, this testing methodology ensures the compatibility in communication established between the software systems using API protocols.
• Just like how in a contract, two parties agree on a set of conditions or rules and perform accordingly, during Contract testing the API conversions that happen between the client side (API consumer) and the server side (API producer) are monitored to see if they follow the agreed set of rules.
• The contract is said to be broken in case of bugs or malfunctions.
• It is essentially done for microservices architecture and monolithic applications, which communicates via APIs in order to execute single functions within data maps.

End-to-end testing

• It is also known as E2E testing. Here instead of testing individual steps in the process, just like the name suggests the testing is done from the start to finish evaluating the entire application workflow.
• This is done to ensure that all the components for the software works as expected and delivers the right expected outcome.
• It helps to check the integration of the software systems with external interfaces as well.
• The main purpose is to identify the system dependencies and ensure the data integrity is maintained in the systems and its various components.
• It is usually done after integration testing from an end user perspective
• Today’s modern day softwares has complex structures and consists of multiple subsystems, therefore ensuring the workflow is intact from the start to end is important to avoid system collapse due to failure of any one of the subsystems.

Load testing

• Here the testing first begins with testing load on isolated components and as the testing develops the strategy leads to testing the API completely to check how it is performing under varied load conditions
• The APIs are tested with increased requests, extended durations and wider test scope.
• The goals and objectives of the test are to be clearly defined before performing it.
• This testing is usually done to evaluate the performance of the System and APIs for real world load and identity performance bottlenecks and addressing them at the earliest.

Unit testing

• This testing process involves testing individual units or the components of the software for its functionality.
• It is performed early during the software development process and is usually done by developers and it allows them to identify the errors and make fixes at the earliest.
• It also helps in fast feedback and correction implementation.