PostmanAPITestingFramework

Framework Overview

This framework is designed for testing open-source APIs and automating validations for API responses.

Technologies Used:

• JavaScript for programming.
• NewMan for CLI integration.
• Data-Driven Testing when required.
• Integration with different environments based on use case (currently tested with QA environment).

Features:

• Pre-request Script: Set up for one of the API requests.
• API Response Validation: Tests are used to validate the API responses received.
• Query Parameters: Set in variables for easy customization and testing.
• Examples: Added for each API request to make it easier for review and setup.
• HTML Reports: Generated for test execution tracking and reporting.

Project Structure

The framework is organized with the following files:

• README.md: The project's documentation. It describes the framework's purpose, features, technologies used, and how to use it.
• test_data_Create_User.csv: A CSV (Comma Separated Values) file used for data-driven testing. It contains multiple sets of data that will be used as input for the CreateUser API request.
• Users.postman_collection.json: The core of the framework. This JSON file contains the Postman collection. It defines all the API requests, tests, pre-request scripts, and other configurations.
• Users.postman_test_run.json: Contains the results of a test run using Newman. It shows the test results, including pass/fail counts, response times, and other details.
• newManCommands.txt: Contains instructions and commands for setting up and using Newman, the command-line tool for running Postman collections.
• QA.postman_environment.json: A Postman environment file containing environment-specific variables, such as the base URL of the API.

Core Entities within Users.postman_collection.json

• info: Contains metadata about the collection, such as its name, ID, and schema.

• item: An array of API requests (also called "items"). Each item represents a specific API endpoint and its associated tests and configurations.

  • name: The name of the API request (e.g., "GetAllUsers", "CreateUser").

  • event: An array of events that can be triggered at different stages of the request lifecycle.

    • listen: Specifies when the script should run (e.g., "test" for after the response is received, "prerequest" for before the request is sent).

    • script: Contains the JavaScript code to be executed.

      • exec: An array of strings, each representing a line of JavaScript code.
      • type: The script type (usually "text/javascript").

  • request: Defines the API request itself.

    • method: The HTTP method (e.g., "GET", "POST", "PUT").

    • header: An array of HTTP headers.

    • body: The request body (for POST, PUT, etc.).

      • mode: The format of the body (e.g., "raw", "formdata").
      • raw: The raw body content.
      • options: Options for the body, such as the language ("json").

  • url: The API endpoint URL.

    • raw: The complete URL.
    • host: The base URL.
    • path: The path segments.
    • query: Query parameters.

  • response: Contains example responses for the request. These are for documentation and preview purposes within Postman. They are not used during automated test execution by Newman.

• event (Collection-level): Similar to item-level events, but these apply to the entire collection.

  

Key Concepts and Technologies

• Postman: A popular API development and testing tool. It provides a graphical interface for creating and sending HTTP requests, as well as writing tests and managing collections.

• Newman: A command-line tool for running Postman collections. It allows you to automate API tests as part of a CI/CD pipeline.

• JavaScript: The scripting language used in Postman tests and pre-request scripts.

• Data-Driven Testing: A testing technique where test data is stored in a separate file (like the CSV file here) and used to run the same test multiple times with different inputs.

• Pre-request Scripts: JavaScript code that runs before a request is sent. These are used for tasks like setting variables, generating authentication tokens, or modifying the request.

• Tests (Post-request scripts): JavaScript code that runs after a response is received. These are used to validate the response status code, body content, headers, and other aspects of the response.

• Collection Variables: Variables that are defined at the collection level and can be accessed by all requests and scripts within the collection.

• Environment Variables: Variables that are defined in an environment file and can be used to configure tests for different environments (e.g., development, testing, production).

  

Workflow

• The API requests, tests, and configurations are defined in the Users.postman_collection.json file using Postman.

• Test data is stored in test_data_Create_User.csv.

• Environment-specific variables are stored in QA.postman_environment.json.

• Newman is used to run the collection from the command line, using the following command (as shown in newManCommands.txt):

  newman run Users.postman_collection.json -d test_data_Create_User.csv -e QA.postman_environment.json
  

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