Is Your API Misbehaving (workshop)

Most API testing is a joke. We have things that resemble Unit Tests which are really integration tests which really just wrap our personal understanding in just a bit of code. And at the end of the day, we're still not sure it works. Instead, let's flip the entire experience around and look at it from the API consumer's point of view and confirm that we're solving real problems for real users. In this talk, we'll dive into some of the benefits of Behavior Driven Development and build some examples.

Transcript

1. Is Your API
   Misbehaving?
   D. Keith Casey Jr
   keith@clarify.io
   @CaseySoftware
   

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2. Who am I?
   

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3. Who am I?
   Clarify.io -
   The API for businesses
   to build apps that
   Search and Understand
   their Audio & Videos
   

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4. Who am I?
   http://TheAPIDesignBook.com
   

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5. • Assumptions
   • The Problem
   • Enter BDD
   • BDD in Practice
   • BDD at Scale
   • Next steps…
   

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6. • Assumptions
   • The Problem
   • Enter BDD
   • BDD in Practice
   • BDD at Scale
   • Next steps…
   

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7. Assumptions
   • You have a technical background
   • APIs are an important part of your job
   • Use them on a regular basis
   • Potentially build them too
   • Sometimes public, sometimes private
   7
   

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8. Assumptions
   • Nothing is perfect
   • You make mistakes
   • Your providers make mistakes
   • That other team are knuckleheads
   8
   

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9. • Assumptions
   • The Problem
   • Enter BDD
   • BDD in Practice
   • BDD at Scale
   • Next steps…
   

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10. • Click Tests - someone
    • Unit Tests - xUnit suite
    • Integration Tests - still probably xUnit
    • Web/UI Tests - Selenium, Watir, Testlio (mobile)
    API Testing is Deceptive
    10
    

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11. … no seriously.
    API Testing Sucks
    11
    

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12. Two Goals
    Prove* that it works (now)
    Give us confidence (later)
    12
    

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13. Back to the Drawing Board
    13
    • SMART
    • Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
    Relevant, and Time-boxed
    • INVEST
    • Independent, Negotiable, Valuable,
    Estimable, Small, Testable
    

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14. • Assumptions
    • The Problem
    • Enter BDD
    • BDD in Practice
    • BDD at Scale
    • Next steps…
    

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15. BDD - Standard Definition
    15
    BDD is a synthesis and refinement
    of practices stemming from
    TDD and ATDD
    

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16. BDD - Dan North
    16
    BDD is a second-generation, outside-
    in, pull-based, multiple-stakeholder,
    multiple-scale, high-automation agile
    methodology. It describes a cycle
    with well-defined outputs, resulting
    in the delivery of working, tested
    software that matters.
    

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17. BDD - What it really means
    17
    Get your head out of the system!
    

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18. BDD - What it looks like
    18
    As a [role], I want [feature]
    so that [benefit]
    

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19. BDD - To be more precise
    19
    It’s English but in the Gherkin syntax so this:
    • As a [role], I want [feature] so that [benefit]
    becomes a feature (or spec) structured as:
    • Given [condition], when I [action] then [result]
    

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20. • Assumptions
    • The Problem
    • Enter BDD
    • BDD in Practice
    • BDD at Scale
    • Next steps…
    

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21. In lots of languages
    21
    • Java - JBehave
    • Ruby - RBehave -> RSpec -> Cucumber
    • PHP - Behat
    • Python - Behave
    • C# - NSpec
    • Javascript - Cucumber-js & Jasmine
    

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22. So let’s do this!
    Start small.
    

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23. So let’s do this!
    https://github.com/caseysoftware/is-your-API-misbehaving *
    * I don’t like Github as an organization but didn’t
    have time to convert all of this and fully test it
    with Gitlab which is a better product and company.
    

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24. Using Github…
    24
    • Let’s start with search
    • Write the story
    • Add the stubbed methods
    • Write the methods
    • Validate the results
    • simple-search-step-{n}-{description}
    

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25. Using Github…
    25
    • Now, let’s get the issues for a repository
    • Write the story
    • Add the stubbed methods
    • Write the methods
    • Validate the results
    • issues-list-step-{n}-{description}
    

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26. Using Github…
    26
    • Now, let’s get all of your repositories
    • Write the story
    • Add the stubbed methods
    • Write the methods
    • Validate the results
    • authentication
    • myrepos-step-{n}-{description}
    

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27. Using Github…
    27
    • Now, let’s watch a repository
    • Write the story
    • Add the stubbed methods
    • Write the methods
    • Validate the results
    • watch-repo-step-{n}-{description}
    

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28. Using Github…
    28
    • Now, let’s fork a repository
    • Write the story
    • Add the stubbed methods
    • Write the methods
    • Validate the results
    • watch-repo-fork-step-{n}-{description}
    

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29. Using Github…
    29
    • Now, let’s create a repository
    • Write the story
    • Add the stubbed methods
    • Write the methods
    • Validate the results
    • create-repo-step-{n}-{description}
    

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30. • Assumptions
    • The Problem
    • Enter BDD
    • BDD in Practice
    • BDD at Scale
    • Next steps…
    

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31. And now what?
    31
    • Write the feature
    • Refactor to reuse steps when possible
    • Add the missing bits
    • GOAL:
    • We should be writing less and less code!
    

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32. Next Steps?
    32
    • We can validate other helper libraries too
    • One set of features/specs for the API using:
    • the PHP library
    • the Ruby Gem
    • the Python library
    

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33. • Assumptions
    • The Problem
    • Enter BDD
    • BDD in Practice
    • BDD at Scale
    • Next steps…
    

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34. todo next?
    34
    Lots of things!
    

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35. todo next?
    35
    But remember:
    Start small and iterate!
    

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36. D. Keith Casey Jr
    keith@clarify.io
    @CaseySoftware
    Is Your API
    Misbehaving?
    

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37. Who am I?
    http://TheAPIDesignBook.com
    

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