Playwright Does API Testing Now?
A nonconventional use for an end-to-end testing framework, Stringify gets faster, we say goodbye to Apiary, and a review of the amazing API product that DarkSky was.
Playwright is a popular tool from Microsoft for writing component, integration and end-to-end tests for frontend.
Did you know you can also use it for API testing?
Playwright allows you to validate API requests in a variety of ways using APIRequestContext. While this tool enables you to set up a state via an API in UI tests, it can also be used for end-to-end tests of your API. In the TypeScript/JavaScript world, we can take this further and combine the OpenAPI Spec to validate these tests—a perfect set-up for JavaScript full-stack projects with your API and frontend in the same repo.
One final thought: how did Microsoft end up owning so many of the tools and libraries for JS development?
-- Alexander
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API News, links, and tools from around the web
JSON Stringify Now Twice as Fast
I was a little reluctant to add this as it's not API specific, but considering this is one of the main functions used in every JavaScript-powered API, I think it's worth including. The V8 team shared how a complete rethinking of JSON.stringify even down to its core memory and character handling has led to a 2x performance increase. Get ready for faster APIs.
Introducing Bump.sh Embed
Bump has released embeddable API docs, giving you complete control over design, how and where they appear. Totaly feels like a step towards headless API docs, which Bump even mentioned themselves. It's exciting to see Bump consistently deliver incredible API tools.
API Snip
Fun little tool that crossed my BlueSky feed this week, API Snip. An interactive terminal app allowing you to select which endpoints to keep in a spec. Makes it easier to generate small, focused OpenAPI Docs.
Slow Express
Middleware and Express go hand in hand, and another little plugin that caught my eye: Express Slow Down. This nifty library allows you to slow down API requests and is customisable via milliseconds, after X requests, and window size. It also has options for connecting to an external store.
APIs You Won't Hate
The latest from the team at API's You Won't Hate.
Goodbye Apiary.io, You'll Be Missed
Phil gives a heartfelt goodbye to the exceptional API design first documentation tool, Apiary. Unfortunately, after being acquired by Oracle back in 2017, it has been slowly killed off in favour of other tools. If you're not excited about using Oracle and still have some Apiary spec (API Blueprint) lying around, Phil walks you through moving to OpenAPI.
From our Community
Articles written and shared in our free Slack community.
The Indie API Forecasting Your Future
Dark Sky API died once it had been acquired by Apple, and left a gaping hole in our hearts. Matthew walks us through why Dark Sky was popular and an innovative new public good indie project that has arisen to fill your weather needs. Mathew talks us through the challenges the project has faced, especially as getting hold of data has become harder, thanks to the cost-cutting of critical services by the current US government.
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Alexander, Phil & Mike
