QW2001 Paper 4W1 Mr. Nikhil Nilakantan, Mr. Ibrahim K. El-Far (Florida Tech) Why Is API Testing Different

Key Points

• Understand the challenges of API testing
• Study realistic usage scenarios
• Build API test automation

Presentation Abstract

This presentation describes the challenges unique to the testing of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). We isolate and explain three problems/difficulties commonly encountered while testing APIs.

These problems are:
1)Parameter Selection
2)Parameter Combination
3)Call Sequencing

We then provide solutions to these challenges and through examples show how to build effective API test automation.

About the Author

Nikhil Nilakantan is a graduate of Florida Tech where he received his B.S. in Computer Science. He was a researcher at the Center for Software Engineering Research at Florida Tech for 3 years. In the past he has worked at Microsoft Corporation as a test engineer. He also occasionaly teaches classes on software testing methodology. His fields of interest/research are software reliability, model-based testing, intelligent test automation and improving test management processes. He is currently a Quality Assurance Engineer with Hewlett Packard Corporation in Cupertino, CA.

Ibrahim K. El-Far is a doctoral student in computer science under James A. Whittaker at the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida. He has been working with model-based testing techniques for over four years at the Center for Software Engineering Research at FIT. His interests are in investigating new software models, test automation and tools, adequacy criteria, and software testing education. In 2000, El-Far received an IBM CAS Fellowship supporting his research in software testing.