Beyond the UI Using Tools to Improve Testing Jeremy Traylor

Using tools can improve your testing!  Using tools like the ones we will discuss today, you can gain a deeper understanding of the systems you test, and ultimately provide better testing.

Agenda  Intro  API Overview  Browser Developer Tools  API Testing Tools  DB Tools  Wrap up (followed by questions)

Getting to Know You

Getting to Know Me

What’s an API?  API stands for Application Programming Interface. API’s allow developers to use predefined functions to interact with the operating system or platform.  While the UI is the customer view of the application the API is the developer view of the application.

What Does That Look Like?  URL:  Method: The action to be taken on the resource  Request Headers: Method, Authorization, Content-Type  Request Body: JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)  For POST, PATCH, PUT  Response Header: Status  Response Body: JSON

REST API Methods  POST – Create  PUT – Create/Update  GET – Read  PATCH – Update  DELETE – Delete  This is often an update of a status field or isActive field rather than a true delete  OPTIONS – see methods supported for a route

Common HTTP Status Codes  10.2 Successful – 2XX  Examples: 200 OK, 201 Created, 202 Accepted  10.3 Redirection – 3XX  Examples: 301 Moved Permanently, 302 Found, 304 Not Modified  10.4 Client Error – 4XX  Examples: 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 405 Method Not Allowed  10.5 Server Error – 5XX  Examples: 500 Internal Server Error, 501 Not Implemented, 503 Service Unavailable

Browser Developer Tools  These tools are built into web browsers to help developers build and debug web applications.  See API’s being called from the UI  See Errors/Investigate Failures  Filtering  for errors, warning in console  For types of request in network tab  Execute JavaScript expressions

Developer Tools Reference  Built in dev tools:  Chrome -  Firefox - US/docs/Tools  IE - us/library/dd565628(v=vs.85).aspx  Add-ons/Extensions:  Firebug -  Fiddler -

Why test API’s?  Test scenarios not possible in the UI  Troubleshoot failures observed in the UI  Test many scenarios quickly  Test before UI is available (or if unavailable)  Better understanding of middle tier

API Testing Tools Reference  Postman -  SOAP UI - soapui/what-is-soapui-.html  Advanced Rest Client - nced%20rest%20client  Parasoft SOAtest  Jsonlint.com – check/format valid json

DB Tools or Database Management Systems (DBMS)  These tools allow you to interact with the databases utilized by your application.  Use select statements to read data from the DB  “Describe” type statements to find information on fields in a table such as names, data types, length, etc  Better understanding of system

Basic SQL  SELECT TOP (10) * FROM [TABLENAME] ORDER BY [FIELDNAME]  SELECT * FROM [TABLENAME] WHERE [FIELDNAME] = [VALUE]  SELECT [FIELDNAME1], [FIELDNAME2] FROM [TABLENAME] WHERE [FIELDNAME3] = [VALUE] OR [FIELDNAME4] = [VALUE]  SELECT TN1.[FIELDNAME1], TN2.[FIELDNAME2] FROM [TABLENAME1] TN1, [TABLENAME2] TN2 WHERE TN1.[FIELDNAME3] = TN2.[FIELDNAME4]

DB Tools Reference  SQL Fiddle - sqlfiddle.com  SQL Server Management Studio   MySQL   TOAD   MS Access 

So…What Now?  Open up the developer tools when testing in a browser  Download and try an API testing tool  Get access to and gain familiarity with the DB tool used where you work