We are going to demo how to test a REST API that updates an article in database. Check section Sample Test Case if you are eager to see what the test case looks like.
The API is the sample Article API that is bundled with API Test Base. It does CRUD operations against the Article table in a sample H2 database. The sample database is automatically created under <ATB_DATA_DIR>/database when API Test Base is launched for the first time. You can find <ATB_DATA_DIR> directory via system tray menu item Open Data Folder.
We are planning to have three test steps in our test case
1. Set up database data
2. Invoke the API to update article
3. Check database data
Create Test Case Outline
First of all, create a new test case. (You can create your preferred folder structure for managing test cases, by right clicking anywhere in the left side pane and selecting needed context menu item.)
Now we can add test steps to the test case.
Under the Test Steps tab, click + Test Step dropdown button and select Database. Enter the name of step 1 Set up database data. Repeat this to add the other two test steps (one HTTP step and another Database step). The test case outline is created as shown below.
Populate Step 1
Click the name of step 1 to open its edit view.
Under the Endpoint tab, set JDBC URL jdbc:h2:<ATB_DATA_DIR>/database/sample;AUTO_SERVER=TRUE, replacing <ATB_DATA_DIR> with the value on your machine (refer to Maintenance). The JDBC URL will be used by the test step to connect to the sample database.
Then set Username to user and Password to pass.
Under the Invocation tab, enter below SQL script.
-- Clear the table
delete from article;
-- Create two article records
insert into article (id, title, content) values (1, 'article1', 'content1');
insert into article (id, title, content) values (2, 'article2', 'content2');
Click the Invoke button to try it out (i.e. run the script), like shown below.
Populate Step 2
Open step 2 from the test case.
Under the Invocation tab, select PUT from the Method dropdown list, and set URL http://localhost:8090/api/articles/2.
Select JSON from the Body type dropdown list, and paste the request body:
{
"id": 2,
"title": "article2",
"content": "Once upon a time ..."
}
Click the Invoke button to try it out.
Click the Assertions tab at the bottom of the screen to open the assertions panel.
In the assertions panel, click + Assertion dropdown button and select StatusCodeEqual to create a StatusCodeEqual assertion. Set the expected HTTP response status code (here 204), and click the Verify button to verify the assertion, as shown below.
More information about assertions can be found on this page.
Populate Step 3
Open step 3 from the test case.
Under the Endpoint tab, enter exactly the same information as in step 1 because we are interacting with the same database. The information duplication can be avoided by using managed endpoints. Refer to this page for more details.
Under the Invocation tab, enter SQL query select id, title, content from article;.
Click the Invoke button to try it out (run the query), like shown below.
Click the Assertions tab to open the assertions panel. In the assertions panel, click + Assertion dropdown button and select JSONEqual to create a JSONEqual assertion. Copy the JSON string from the test step invocation response to the Expected JSON field, and click the Verify button to verify the assertion, as shown below.
Run the Test Case
Now we have finished editing our test case. It’s time to run it. Open the test case, click the Run button and you’ll see the result, like shown below.
Click a test step in the right side outline to open a modal and see the step’s run report, like shown below.
Click the result link beside the Run button to see the whole test case run report. There is a download icon in the report for you to download the report as HTML file, which can then be used as test evidence in other places such as HP ALM.
Sample Test Case
The test case created above is available for download at sample test case. After download, right click anywhere in the left side pane on ATB UI, and select Import Test Case to import it.