Web Services ensure communication between two systems on the internet, and testing them ensures that the communication is right. Go through this guide to understand the various nuances and intricacies of testing these web services.
The internet is a mesh of networks. It consists of multiple systems of varying types and OS running together and exchanging information. And they use web services to ensure a smooth data flow between these machines. We are going to understand web services testing, which checks if your web service is reliable and working properly.
Here’s your guide to knowing web services and their testing better.
Table Of Contents
Web services are a collection of standards or protocols that facilitate communication between two devices/applications over a network. They are a set of open functions that allow data exchange and information flow between systems irrespective of their backend and the underlying structure. It connects the client-server with the application server.
All software programs use web services through several programming languages running on various OS platforms to facilitate a smooth and easy data transaction. In simple words, any software, application, or cloud-based platform that uses standard web protocols, such as HTTP and HTTPS, to interact across the internet is called a web service.
There are two types of web services: SOAP and REST.
SOAP is Simple Object Access Protocol. It is a message protocol distributed elements of an application use to communicate. You can carry SOAP over various standard protocols, including the web-related Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
REST is Representational State Transfer. It refers to a set of specific rules that directs how web services should communicate with each other over the network. RESTful APIs follow these rules.
While it may seem like web services and APIs are the same, this is not true.
Web services are a set of standard protocols and functions which online systems use to communicate. However, APIs are software interfaces that enable two applications to communicate without involving any users. Simply, all web services are APIs, but the vice versa is not true.
An example of this is accessing flight/train details on an aggregator site, such as Cleartrip. This application shows information about multiple airline brands. In contrast, if we go to check an airline like spicejet’s website, we will only see details for spicejet flights. Here, Cleartrip, a third-party travel website, pulls information a web service that provides information about the various flights. Here, this web service is the same as API.
On the other hand, APIs don’t require a network to communicate. Two applications on the same device can transfer data via APIs without a network.
Web services testing refers to verifying the transfer of data between two servers on the internet. The process involves validating the web services for functionality, reliability, performance, and security. And like every other test, you can either take the manual route or automate the test cases as per your need.
For automation, Testsigma is a no-brainer tool that you can use to automate all your web, mobile, and API testing. We will discuss automating web services testing and the tools, including Testsigma, that you can use. Other popular tools include SoapUI and Postman.
Many online applications today use web services. That is because they rely on the request-response principle to function. Users send a request for data and receive a response from the application accordingly, which they can understand.
Now, if you want to build an application that displays a weather forecast or shows the running status of a train, you don’t need to start from scratch. Instead of developing the software, collecting data, and processing the information yourself, you can use existing play-and-plug services within your application.
So, if you want to display the running status of trains in your application, use the already available service in the market, buy it from the people who own it, and embed it within your application. You can call this web service within your software application via SOAP or HTTP protocol. A real-life example is Google Maps, used by cab-services apps such as Uber. Other examples include financial services platforms, such as Groww and ETMoney, which access stock information from the finance market.
Here are some of the more reasons why web services are important:
We have a few instances of when you should automate your web services testing:
But to start and continue with automation, you need the right tools that support web service testing and allow you to run the test cases easily. Testsigma is a cloud-based, AI-powered test automation tool that provides web, mobile, and API testing for all your testing needs. It is a no-code platform, so you won’t have to spend time and effort coding the test cases. Our NLPs offer testers the option to write test cases in English and run them with just a few clicks.
We will explore more features of Testsigma in upcoming sections. It will help you understand why Testsigma should be your go-to for web services testing.
You can use two ways to test a web service: manual or automation. But in both cases, you will first need to follow the below steps:
Because web service testing focuses on the format, it is much easier to do when a tool is used. When the test is to be repeatedly executed, it makes sense to automate these tests.
With Testsigma, you can automate test cases for REST APIs testing in just a few minutes. All you need to do is enter the endpoint, select the method, add headers, set the status code, and run the test. With our tool, you can:
The image shows the different REST API methods (GET, PUT, POST, DELETE, PATCH) that can be tested using Testsigma.
Testsigma is a test automation tool that offers multiple benefits to testers in the form of no-code testing. You can test all types of Rest APIs with our API tool, such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. You can understand more about the features of automated API testing with Testsigma here.
