Track 6 of 9Learning Center

Test Data, Mocks and End-to-End API Testing

What mocking is in API testing, mocks versus stubs, generating and managing test data, and end-to-end and integration tests across microservices.

  • For Automation engineers
lessons
8 lessons
in total
1h 11m in total

8 lessons in this track

  1. 1

    beginner · 8 min · runnable request

    What Is a Mock API? Mock Servers for API Testing

    A mock API answers the way the real one is documented to, so you can test before the service exists or while it's down. Here's what a mock can prove, what it can't, and how to spin one up from a spec.

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  2. 2

    beginner · 8 min · runnable request

    API Mocking and Stubbing: Which Test Double Do You Need?

    A stub answers. A mock answers and checks how it was called. Service virtualization imitates a whole system. Here's how to tell them apart, which one a test needs, and what a Shift-Left API mock server really is.

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  3. 3

    intermediate · 9 min · runnable request

    What Is Test Data Generation? Methods, Examples and Where AI Fits

    Test data generation creates the inputs and expected results your tests need. Here are six methods, a worked example on one endpoint, and an honest look at test data generation with AI.

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  4. 4

    intermediate · 9 min · runnable request

    What Is Test Data Management in API Test Automation?

    Test data management keeps the data your automated tests rely on known, isolated and resettable. Here's why it's needed, the five strategies, and how environments, data sets and a reset call fit together.

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  5. 5

    intermediate · 9 min

    What Is Synthetic Test Data Generation, and When Is It Enough?

    Synthetic test data looks like real data and contains no real people. Here's what synthetic test data generation means, the four ways to do it, where generative AI fits, and a seeded data-driven run of synthetic users.

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  6. 6

    intermediate · 9 min · runnable request

    How to Do End to End API Testing: Journeys, Data and Checks

    End to end API testing follows a business journey across several calls and proves the result. Here's a six-step method, how to decide coverage, and an order lifecycle built as a workflow on the sandbox store.

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  7. 7

    intermediate · 9 min · runnable request

    What Is API Integration Testing? Testing the Seams Between Resources

    API integration testing checks the seams, such as what happens to an order when its user is deleted. Here's how it differs from API testing, the practices that keep it reliable, and a cross-resource test.

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  8. 8

    advanced · 10 min

    What Is Microservices Testing? Layers, Mocks and Contracts

    Microservices testing checks each service alone, the contracts between services, and a few journeys across them. Here are the layers, a store split into three services, and how mocks and a contract pack fit.

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Want the full guides first? Browse the API testing hub or go back to all 9 tracks.

Practice these lessons on your own APIs

The Free Developer License of Shift-Left API is a single-user license that renews free every 6 months: import your OpenAPI spec, generate tests, mock APIs and run workflows on your own machine.