Why the Need for Web Service Test Automation

Web service test automation solutions are the ones that help in testing and identifying whether a particular application communicates effectively and is able to access functions correctly from the web. These solutions also effectively help in confirming how a particular web service connected to them, behaves in different situations. In other words, this solution is an effective way to verify whether the services meet the terms of business logic and also deliver the desired output at the user’s end.

While it is well-known that web services provide flawless connection between two software applications over private intranets and the internet, the testing of these services is used to check the ways in which a single we service functions and managed load for a single client and balances the same with the increase in the number of users accessing it.
Web service testing is helpful in avoiding the delay in detection of errors, which, in turn, might lead to complex and costly repairs. When this process is automated, it gets easier to repeat tests as and when required. Therefore, using web services test automation is not only helpful in the development of sound and efficient web services development process but also in the assessment of their functionality, performance, and scalability.
Need of web services automation
While there can be numerous ways to conduct web services testing, but a typical one includes the following tasks:

• Generating client or skeleton code for the web service.
• Defining the required test inputs.
• Imploring the web service using the client or skeleton code.
• Generating client or skeleton code.
• Response verification in terms of whether the actual response is similar to that of the expected outcome.

 Benefits of Web Service Test Automation
 Using web service testing automation can benefit the company in a number of ways. Some of these are as mentioned below: 

1. Improved performance and reliability of SOA:

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a set of services that communicate with each other. These services that are connected by web services, can either be a data transfer or a group of activities engaging in coordinating some other activity.
Using web service test automation tools can help in improving the performance and reliability of these SOAs. This is owing to their ability to communicate effectively and testing the ground on various measures.

2. Eases testing:

Using a web service test automation tool helps in simplifying the process of testing web application. This is owing to their ability to effectively communicate with the web applications, which further adds on their ability to deliver the desired performance. Therefore, one can opt to use these tools for testing both SOA-based and REST API-based web services.

3. Supports cloud environment

Cloud computing is a type of computing infrastructure and software model that gives its users access to shared pools of resources from any part of the world. This shared pool of resources can be computer networks, applications or servers and can be rapidly provided with minimal management effort, often over the Internet.
When a user is required to execute a test of web services that are available in a cloud environment, using a web service test automation tool makes it easier. Using this tool enables a faster and quicker testing.

4. Simplifies testing over regression cycles

Regression testing cycle is a kind of software testing which is used to confirm whether software’s previous version performs in the same way like it did before the development of new version or interfacing with other software.
Web service automation helps in reducing the testing time and efforts it takes in testing a product over regression cycles.

5. Ensures complete testing of product

 Using web service test automation vanishes the concept of testing one or some aspects of particular software. Instead, making use of this tool ensures a 100% functional test coverage of the same, hence, ensuring better performance.
It is, therefore, advisable to the companies to use this web service test automation. The reasons are multiple, from ease of use, reduced time to better performance.