API Testing Using Java

In this article, I will discuss API testing with Java and demonstrate with examples.

First, let’s understand what API (Application-programming interface) is?

API is a set of programming instructions and standards for accessing a Web-based software application or Web tool. API is a software-to-software interface, not a user interface. With APIs, applications talk to each other without any user knowledge or intervention. When you buy movie tickets online and enter your credit card information, the movie ticket Web site uses an API to send your credit card information to a remote application that verifies whether your information is correct. Once payment is confirmed, the remote application sends a response back to the movie ticket Web site saying it’s OK to issue the tickets.

What Json (JavaScript Object Notation) is?

JSON is a lightweight, text-based, language-independent data exchange format that is easy for humans and machines to read and write. JSON can represent two structured types: objects and arrays. An object is an unordered collection of zero or more name/value pairs. An array is an ordered sequence of zero or more values. The values can be strings, numbers, booleans, null, and these two structured types.

Code example

Note : Here I am just conferring how to parse and how to convert JsonObject to Java Object, so that you could use it your live projects using selenium.
Application contentType : Json

JSON is an easier-to-use alternative to XML.

Example : You can see it here.

Objective : To validate Address : Chicago, IL, USA.
GoogleMaps API : http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=chicago&sensor=false

We can easily parse Json using “json-lib-2.4-jdk15.jar” – Download from here.

Please consider the following code as a reference:

import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.MalformedURLException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.Scanner;

import org.json.JSONArray;
import org.json.JSONObject;
import org.testng.Reporter;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

public class ReadJsonObject{
@Test
public void aptTesting() throws Exception {
try {
URL url = new URL(
“http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=chicago&sensor=false”);
HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
conn.setRequestMethod(“GET”);
conn.setRequestProperty(“Accept”, “application/json”);

if (conn.getResponseCode() != 200) {
throw new RuntimeException(” HTTP error code : ”
+ conn.getResponseCode());
}

Scanner scan = new Scanner(url.openStream());
String entireResponse = new String();
while (scan.hasNext())
entireResponse += scan.nextLine();

System.out.println(“Response : “+entireResponse);

scan.close();

JSONObject obj = new JSONObject(entireResponse );
String responseCode = obj.getString(“status”);
System.out.println(“status : ” + responseCode);

JSONArray arr = obj.getJSONArray(“results”);
for (int i = 0; i < arr.length(); i++) {
String placeid = arr.getJSONObject(i).getString(“place_id”);
System.out.println(“Place id : ” + placeid);
String formatAddress = arr.getJSONObject(i).getString(
“formatted_address”);
System.out.println(“Address : ” + formatAddress);

//validating Address as per the requirement
if(formatAddress.equalsIgnoreCase(“Chicago, IL, USA”))
{
System.out.println(“Address is as Expected”);
}
else
{
System.out.println(“Address is not as Expected”);
}
}

conn.disconnect();
} catch (MalformedURLException e) {
e.printStackTrace();

} catch (IOException e) {

e.printStackTrace();

}

}
}

That’s it, now you know how to convert JsonObject to Java Object and use it in your Selenium snippet.

You can practice using API : http://restcountries.eu/rest/v1

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What is your view on API testing with Java?

Don’t hesitate to comment.  😎

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Reference

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