POC Document for API Tool Selection

API Automation Tool Selection R&D

Choosing the right tool or framework for API automation depends on several factors, including your
team's specific needs, preferences, and requirements. Here are some key aspects to consider when
selecting an API automation tool:

 Language/Framework Compatibility: Choose a tool that supports the programming

language and technology stack your team is already familiar with. This can help reduce the
learning curve and improve productivity.
 Ease of Use: A tool with an intuitive interface and good documentation will be easier for
your team to learn and adopt.
 Test Execution: Consider a tool that supports various types of test execution, such as parallel
execution, data-driven testing, and integration with CI/CD pipelines.
 Extensibility: The tool should be easily extensible with plugins or libraries to support
additional functionality, integrations, or protocols as needed.
 Reporting: Look for a tool that offers comprehensive reporting and analytics, so you can
quickly identify issues and track the progress of your API tests.
 Community and Support: A tool with an active community and good support resources can
be invaluable when you need assistance or encounter issues.
 Cost: Consider the tool's cost and licensing model in relation to your budget and team size.
 Code Reusability: A tool that supports code reusability can help you save time and effort in
the long run by enabling you to reuse test components, such as API calls, assertions, or test
data, across multiple test cases.
 Test Data Management: A tool with robust test data management capabilities will allow you
to efficiently create, manage, and store test data for use in your API test cases.
 Test Environment Management: Consider a tool that simplifies the process of managing
different test environments, such as staging, production, or custom environments, and
makes it easy to switch between them during testing.

Based on these criteria, here are some popular options for API automation tools and frameworks:

 Postman: A versatile tool and user-friendly interface for both manual and automated API
testing. Postman supports JavaScript for scripting and offers a rich set of features, making it
suitable for various testing scenarios. It is ideal for those who are new to API testing and
prefer a graphical interface with simple API automation support. The licensed version offers
more advanced features and collaboration options.
 Rest-Assured: A Java-based library for testing RESTful APIs, which integrates seamlessly with
popular testing frameworks like JUnit and TestNG. Rest-Assured is a good option if you're
working with a Java-based project and want to keep your API testing within the same
language.
 JMeter: Although JMeter is primarily used for load testing, it can also be used for functional
API testing. JMeter supports various protocols and offers extensibility through plugins. It's
particularly useful if you need to perform both functional and load testing for your APIs.
 Robot Framework: A generic test automation framework that supports API and UI testing,
Robot Framework can be extended with libraries to work with various protocols and
technologies. It offers a keyword-driven and data-driven approach to testing.
Tools Comparison
Parameters Postman Robot REST Assured JMeter
Scripting languages:
JavaScript Python Java Groovy
Languages supported by tool for test assertion
Load
Generic
testing
Manual and test
RESTful API (Function
Primary Focus automated automatio
testing al API
API testing n (API and
testing as
UI testing)
well)
Ease of Use High Moderate Moderate Moderate
Moderate
High High (Java High
(Custom
Extensibility (Libraries libraries & (Plugins &
scripts &
& plugins) frameworks) scripting)
integrations)
Yes Yes (JUnit,
CI/CD Integration Yes Yes
(Newman) TestNG)
No (Free
Open-Source version Yes Yes Yes
available)
Code Reusability: Can automated test scripts be reused easily?  No Yes Yes No
Yes
Using TestNG,
Test Assertion Templates: Does the tool support test assertions? Yes No JUnit runner No
and Allure
Report
Data Driven Testing:
A data source, like a spreadsheet or other table, is used for the input Yes Yes Yes Yes
values and typically the testing environment is not hard-coded
Csv, Json
Csv, Json Csv, Json,
Csv, Xml
Test Data Management Excel Xml format
format
Xml format format

BDD Support:
Test cases are written in a simple plain English language that everyone No No Yes No
can read and understand.

Yes
Yes, Built-
Default Test report: Limited Using TestNG, Yes (No
in
Report helps understand execution details of automated tests, it helps built-in JUnit runner proper
HTML/XM
visualize details of each iteration and test results reporting and Allure format)
L reports
Report
Complexity of Test Preparation:
Easy Medium Medium Easy
Degree of complexity for test cases preparation and scripting in tool
Learning Curve:
Medium Medium Medium Medium
How easy/difficult it is to learn this tool.
Tags and Annotations: User-defined tags for grouping of test cases/
Yes Yes Yes No
apis for specific execution
Yes (By
UI Automation :
No Yes integrating No
Do these tools have an option to perform UI automation
with Selenium)
API Performance Testing :
Yes (Limited) Yes No Yes
Are these tools able to perform API performance automation
 No 
Parallel Execution: Are these tools able to parallel execution of the
Yes (Paid) Yes Yes (Plugins
automation suites
needed)
Medium
(No in
Debugging and Logs: Do these tools provide support for debugging
Easy build Medium Medium
and if logs are easy to understand
debugging
capability)
Maintenance: What is the complexity of maintenance for automation
Easy Medium Medium Medium
suites and scripts
Active, Active,
Large, active growing Large, active growing
Community Support: Do these tools are having community support
community communit community communi
y ty
Free - with
limited
Pricing: Are these tools open source and pricing details if any features. Free Free Free
and Paid
Version

Pros and Cons

Feature/Tool Postman Robot REST Assured JMeter

User-friendly,
Java-based,
Various authentication Extensive load
Keyword-driven, Support for
methods, testing,
Support for various authentication,
Rich set of features, Support for various
Pros languages & technologies, Integrates with JUnit,
Good for manual & protocols,
Extensible, TestNG,
automated testing Extensible,
Strong UI testing Good for BDD-style
 Active Active community
testing
community

Not specifically
No GUI,
No GUI, designed for API
Limited load testing, Requires additional
Limited to RESTful automation,
Cons Not open-source, libraries for specific
APIs, Steep learning curve,
Collaboration limited in protocols,
Requires Java Limited manual
free version Learning curve for custom
knowledge testing features,
libraries & plugins
Complex GUI

Rest Assured
Rest Assured is a popular open-source Java-based testing framework for RESTful web services. It
provides a simple and easy-to-use syntax for writing test scripts, which allows developers and testers
to quickly write automated tests for their RESTful APIs. With Rest Assured, you can test the response
of the API against expected values, check the status code and headers of the response, and perform
various types of validations on the JSON or XML responses.

Advantages

 Easy to Learn and Use: Rest Assured provides a simple and intuitive API that is easy to learn
and use. It has a shallow learning curve, especially if you are already familiar with Java.
 It is open-source and hence free to use.
  It is very rich in syntax and ready-made assertions. Rest Assured requires less coding as
compared to Apache HTTP Client.
 The setup of Rest Assured is easy and straightforward.
 The response is given in JSON or XML format and is easy to parse and validate.
 Response time is quick as also an assertion of status code.
 The library has a powerful logging mechanism. Also, we can verify headers, cookies, content
type, etc. on the fly.
 It can easily be integrated with other Java libraries like TestNG, JUnit, etc. We can also
integrate it with Selenium-Java and achieve end-to-end automation.
 It has very good support for various API authentication mechanisms.
 It supports Json Path and XmlPath that helps in parsing JSON and XML response. It also has
support for the JSON Schema Validation library to verify JSON Schema.
 Rest Assured can also be integrated with Maven and CICD.
 It follows the BDD (Behavioral Data-Driven) approach and keywords like given () when (),
then () which makes code readable and supports clean coding. This feature is available from
version 2.0.
 Data-driven testing
 Rich Documentation and Community Support: Rest Assured has a comprehensive set of
documentation and a large community of users who are always ready to help with any
issues.

Limitations

 Limited Browser Support: Rest Assured is primarily designed for testing APIs and does not
have built-in support for browser automation.
 It does not support the testing of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) APIs explicitly.
 Using this library requires that the user has good Java programming knowledge
 There is no inbuilt reporting in Rest Assured.

Robot Framework
Robot Framework is a popular open-source test automation framework for acceptance testing,
acceptance test-driven development (ATDD), and robotic process automation (RPA).

Advantages

 Open-Source: Robot Framework is an open-source testing tool, which means that it is freely
available for everyone to use and modify.
 Extensible: Robot Framework is highly extensible, which means that you can easily add new
libraries and plugins to extend its functionality.
 Easy to Use: Robot Framework is easy to learn and use. Its syntax is simple and readable,
making it accessible to non-technical stakeholders.
 Cross-Platform Support: Robot Framework supports a wide range of platforms and operating
systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
 Large Community: Robot Framework has a large and active community of developers and
testers who share their knowledge, experiences, and best practices.
  Cross-Functional Testing: Robot Framework allows for cross-functional testing, enabling
testers to test multiple aspects of a system or application simultaneously. This can save time
and effort while improving the overall quality of the product.
 Support for Data-Driven Testing: Robot Framework supports data-driven testing, allowing
testers to use different test data sets to run the same test case. This can help uncover issues
related to data input and improve test coverage.
 Integration with Other Tools: The framework has excellent integration with other tools and
systems, such as Selenium, Appium, Jenkins, and more.
 Reporting: Robot Framework provides detailed reports on test execution, making it easy to
identify issues and fix them quickly.

Limitations

 No Built-in Debugging Capability: Debugging test cases can be hard with Robot Framework. It
doesn't provide much debugging support, which can make it difficult to troubleshoot issues.
Debugging can be time-consuming, especially for complex test cases.
 Difficulty with Complex Test Cases: Robot Framework may not be suitable for handling
complex test cases that require a high level of customization. Test cases that involve complex
branching or require a lot of conditional logic may be difficult to write and maintain using the
keyword-driven approach of Robot Framework.
 Steep Learning Curve: Although Robot Framework is easy to use, it has a steep learning curve
for those who want to extend the framework with custom libraries or test libraries.
 Maintenance Overhead: Maintaining a Robot Framework project can be time-consuming,
especially if you have many test cases or if your project requires frequent updates.
 Slower execution: Robot Framework's execution speed can be slower than other frameworks
due to its keyword-driven approach and the use of external libraries.
 Limited Support for Parallel Testing: Robot Framework has limited support for parallel
testing, which can be a disadvantage if you need to run many tests in a short amount of time.
 Unstable Support of Third-Party Extensions and Libraries: Robot framework basically doesn’t
support already created libraries. Although it has a large and active community, some
libraries may not have as much support as others. This can be an issue when trying to
integrate with certain systems or tools.

Postman
Postman is a popular collaboration platform for API development that offers a range of features for
designing, testing, and documenting APIs. Here are some advantages and limitations of Postman:

Advantages

 User-friendly interface: Postman offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate,

making it accessible to both technical and non-technical users.
 Easy to use: Postman offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which makes it a great tool
for beginners in API development.
 Automated testing: Postman allows for the creation of automated test suites that can be
used to test APIs and ensure their reliability and consistency.
 Collection sharing: Postman allows for the easy sharing of collections, enabling team
members to collaborate on API development.
  Extensibility: Postman offers a range of extensions and integrations that can be used to
extend its functionality.

Limitations

 Cost: While Postman offers a free version, some of its advanced features are only available
with a paid subscription.
 Dependency on the Postman environment: Since Postman is a cloud-based platform, it can
be difficult to migrate to a different tool or platform once a project is set up in Postman.
 Limited offline capabilities: Postman's offline capabilities are limited, which can be an issue
for users who need to work without an internet connection.
 Limited support for certain protocols: Postman does not support certain protocols, such as
MQTT, which can be a limitation for users working with those protocols.
 Limited reporting capabilities: Postman's reporting capabilities are limited, which can be a
disadvantage for users who require detailed reporting and analytics.

JMeter
JMeter is an open-source performance testing tool that can be used for testing the performance of
web applications, web services, databases, and FTP servers.

Advantages

 Easy to use: JMeter is relatively easy to use compared to other performance testing tools
available in the market. It has a user-friendly GUI that allows users to quickly create and run
tests.
 Open source: JMeter is an open-source tool, which means that it is free to use and can be
customized according to the needs of the users.
 Scalability: JMeter can handle many users and requests simultaneously. It can be used to test
the performance of both small and large-scale applications.
 Variety of protocols: JMeter supports a variety of protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, JDBC,
LDAP, and more. This allows users to test a wide range of applications and services.
 Reporting: JMeter provides detailed reports of test results in various formats such as HTML,
CSV, and XML. These reports can be used to analyse the performance of the application and
identify areas that need improvement.

Limitations

 Resource-intensive: JMeter can be resource-intensive, especially when running tests with

many users and requests. This can result in slower test execution times and require more
memory and processing power.
 Limited scripting support: JMeter does not support complex scripting languages, which can
make it difficult to create and execute advanced test scenarios.
 Steep learning curve: While JMeter is relatively easy to use, it still has a learning curve. Users
need to have a basic understanding of performance testing concepts and how to use JMeter
to create effective tests.
 Lack of real-time monitoring: JMeter does not provide real-time monitoring of application
performance, which means that users need to wait until the test is complete before
analysing the results.
  Limited test environment support: JMeter does not support testing applications that require
a specific test environment, such as mobile applications or applications that use specific
hardware configurations.

Conclusion
Case 1

If there are not many scenarios for integration testing within the same flow, the tools which can be
considered are Postman and JMeter.

Postman would be a great choice due to its ease of use, intuitive user interface, and powerful
features for RESTful API testing and if testing involves primarily API functional testing and load testing
is not a significant factor. Postman also has features for collaboration, automation, and
documentation which can help you speed up your testing process. Whereas JMeter is an excellent
choice for performance testing as it is specifically designed for that purpose.

With this analysis, Postman is recommended over JMeter if there is no integration testing involved
in the same flow.

Case 2

In case of API testing, which involves integration testing in the same flow, Rest Assured and Robot
Framework are good options.

Rest Assured would be a great choice over Robot Framework as we have Java-based UI Automation
and prefer to keep API testing within the same language. The major advantage we would get is the
same tech stack for both UI and API Automation and the same resources can contribute to both UI
and API Automation. This can result in a more streamlined and consistent testing process across the
team, reducing the need for learning and managing multiple testing tools.

With this analysis, Rest Assured is recommended over Robot framework if there is no integration
testing involved in the same flow.