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API Testing

API testing, or application programming interface testing, is a crucial type of software testing that validates the logic and data exchange between different software components. It's performed at the interface level, bypassing the user interface to directly verify that the API's methods and endpoints work as intended. API testing is protocol-agnostic, validating communication across various methods, including traditional request-response models (like REST) and real-time, event-driven communication (like WebSockets or message queues). This process is vital for ensuring a system's core functionality is robust, secure, and reliable.

Example: An application's login feature uses a variety of backend services to function. A quality assurance team performs API testing to ensure a seamless experience. They would:

  • Validate a REST API: Send a login request with user credentials to the authentication API endpoint and verify that it returns a valid token.
  • Test a WebSocket connection: After a successful login, they would confirm that the system opens a new WebSocket connection to provide the user with real-time updates, such as a "new message" alert.
  • Verify a Message Queue: They might also check that the successful login event sends a message to a backend message queue, which triggers other services to update the user's "last active" timestamp in the database.

This comprehensive testing ensures that the login functionality works as intended, regardless of the user interface that interacts with it.