Testing REST API

To ensure that your REST API resources work properly, cover them with functional tests. To simplify the creation of the functional test for REST API resources that conforms to JSON:API specification, the RestJsonApiTestCase test case was created. The following table contains the list of the most valuable methods in this class:

Method	Description
request	Sends a REST API request.
options	Sends the OPTIONS request. See options action.
get	Sends the GET request for a single entity. See get action.
cget	Sends the GET request for a list of entities. See get_list action.
post	Sends the POST request for an entity resource. See create action. If the second parameter is a file name, the file should be located in the requests directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
patch	Sends the PATCH request for a single entity. See update action. If the second parameter is a file name, the file should be located in the requests directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
cpatch	Sends PATCH request for a list of entities. See update_list action. If the second parameter is a file name, the file should be located in the requests directory near to PHP file containing the test.
delete	Sends the DELETE request for a single entity. See delete action.
cdelete	Sends the DELETE request for a list of entities. See delete_list action.
getSubresource	Sends the GET request for a sub-resource of a single entity. See get_subresource action.
postSubresource	Sends the POST request for a sub-resource of a single entity. See add_relationship action.
patchSubresource	Sends the PATCH request for a sub-resource of a single entity. See update_relationship action.
deleteSubresource	Sends the DELETE request for a sub-resource of a single entity. See delete_relationship action.
getRelationship	Sends the GET request for a relationship of a single entity. See get_relationship action.
postRelationship	Sends the POST request for a relationship of a single entity. See add_relationship action.
patchRelationship	Sends the PATCH request for a relationship of a single entity. See update_relationship action.
deleteRelationship	Sends the DELETE request for a relationship of a single entity. See delete_relationship action.
assertResponseContains	Asserts that the response content contains the given data. If the first parameter is a file name, the file should be located in the responses directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
assertResponseCount	Asserts that the response contains the given number of data items.
assertResponseNotEmpty	Asserts that the response data are not empty.
assertResponseNotHasAttributes	Asserts that the response content does not contain the given attributes.
assertResponseNotHasRelationships	Asserts that the response content does not contain the given relationships.
assertResponseValidationError	Asserts that the response content contains one validation error and it is the given error.
assertResponseContainsValidationError	Asserts that the response content contains the given validation error.
assertResponseValidationErrors	Asserts that the response content contains the given validation errors and only them.
assertResponseContainsValidationErrors	Asserts that the response content contains the given validation errors.
assertAllowResponseHeader	Asserts Allow response header equals to the expected value.
assertMethodNotAllowedResponse	Asserts response status code equals to 405 (Method Not Allowed) and Allow response header equals to the expected value.
dumpYmlTemplate	Saves a response content to a YAML file. If the first parameter is a file name, the file is saved into the responses directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
getResourceId	Extracts the JSON:API resource identifier from the response. For details, see JSON:API specification.
getNewResourceIdFromIncludedSection	Extracts the JSON:API resource identifier from the included section of the response. For details, see Create and Update Related Resources Together with a Primary API Resource.
getRequestData	Converts the given request to an array that can be sent to the server. The request can be a path to a file containing the request data or an array with the request data. If the request is a file name, the file should be located in the requests directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
getResponseData	Converts the given response to an array that can be used to compare it with a response received from the server. The given response can be a path to a file that contains the response data or an array with the response data. If the response is a file name, the file should be located in the responses directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
getResponseErrors	Extracts the list of errors from the JSON:API response. For details, see JSON:API specification.
updateResponseContent	Replaces all values in the given expected response content with the corresponding value from the actual response content when the key of an element is equal to the given key and the value of this element is equal to the given placeholder. If the first parameter is a file name, the file should be located in the responses directory next to the PHP file that contains the test.
getApiBaseUrl	Returns the base URL for all REST API requests, e.g. http://localhost/api.
appendEntityConfig	Appends a configuration of an entity. This method is helpful when you create a general functionality and need to test it for different configurations without creating a test entity for each of them. Please note that the configuration is restored after each test, and thus, you do not need to do it manually.

Note

By default, HATEOAS is disabled in functional tests, although it is enabled by default in production and API Sandbox. It was done to avoid cluttering up the tests with HATEOAS links. In case you want to enable HATEOAS for your test, use HTTP_HATEOAS server parameter, e.g. $this->cget(['entity' => 'products'], [], ['HTTP_HATEOAS' => true]).

Testing Batch API

To simplify the creation of the functional test for REST Batch API resources that conforms to JSON:API specification, the RestJsonApiUpdateListTestCase test case was created. The following table contains the list of the most valuable methods in this class:

Method	Description
processUpdateList	Sends PATCH request for a list of entities (see update_list action) and executes all message queue processors required to process Batch API operation.

Example of a functional test for Batch API:

public function testCreateEntities()
{
    $this->processUpdateList(
        Lead::class,
        [
            'data' => [
                [
                    'type'       => 'leads',
                    'attributes' => ['name' => 'New Lead 1']
                ]
            ]
        ]
    );

    $response = $this->cget(['entity' => 'leads'], ['fields[leads]' => 'name']);
    $responseContent = $this->updateResponseContent(
        [
            'data' => [
                [
                    'type'       => 'leads',
                    'id'         => '<toString(@lead1->id)>',
                    'attributes' => ['name' => 'Existing Lead 1']
                ],
                [
                    'type'       => 'leads',
                    'id'         => 'new',
                    'attributes' => ['name' => 'New Lead 1']
                ]
            ]
        ],
        $response
    );
    $this->assertResponseContains($responseContent, $response);
}

To simplify the creation of the functional test for synchronous REST Batch API resources that conforms to JSON:API specification, use the RestJsonApiSyncUpdateListTestCase test case.

Example of a functional test for synchronous Batch API:

public function testCreateEntities()
{
    $response = $this->cpatch(
        ['entity' => 'leads'],
        [
            'data' => [
                [
                    'type'       => 'leads',
                    'attributes' => ['name' => 'New Lead 1']
                ]
            ]
        ],
        ['HTTP_X-Mode' => 'sync']
    );

    $responseContent = $this->updateResponseContent(
        [
            'data' => [
                [
                    'type'       => 'leads',
                    'id'         => 'new',
                    'attributes' => ['name' => 'New Lead 1']
                ]
            ]
        ],
        $response
    );
    $this->assertResponseContains($responseContent, $response);
}

Load Fixtures

You can use Doctrine and Alice fixtures:

class InventoryLevelTest extends RestJsonApiTestCase
{
    protected function setUp()
    {
        parent::setUp();
        $this->loadFixtures([@OroInventoryBundle/Tests/Functional/DataFixtures/inventory_level.yml']);
    }

Fixture file:

dependencies:
  - Oro\Bundle\WarehouseBundle\Tests\Functional\DataFixtures\LoadWarehouseAndInventoryLevels

Oro\Bundle\InventoryBundle\Entity\InventoryLevel:
  warehouse_inventory_level.warehouse.1.product_unit_precision.product-1.primary_unit:
    warehouse: '@warehouse.1'
    productUnitPrecision: '@product-1->primaryUnitPrecision'
    quantity: 10

You can use the dependencies section if a fixture depends on another Doctrine or Alice fixtures. References are shared between Alice and Doctrine fixtures.

Alice References

You can use references in Alice fixtures:

@product-1

Use methods of properties with references:

@product-2->createdAt->format("Y-m-d\TH:i:s\Z")

YAML Templates

A YAML template is a regular YAML file. The only difference is that you can use references and fakers in values. They will be processed by Alice and replaced with the appropriate real values. For details, see the Alice documentation.

Assert the Expectations

Assert the expected response by using YAML templates.

A YAML template:

data:
    -
        type: inventorylevels
        id: '@warehouse_inventory_level.warehouse.1.product_unit_precision.product-1.liter->id'
        attributes:
            quantity: '10'
        relationships:
            product:
                data:
                    type: products
                    id: '@product-1->id'
            productUnitPrecision:
                data:
                    type: productunitprecisions
                    id: '@product_unit_precision.product-1.liter->id'
            warehouse:
                data:
                    type: warehouses
                    id: '@warehouse.1->id'

In php test:

public function testGetList()
{
    $response = $this->cget(
        ['entity' => 'inventorylevels'],
        [
            'include' => 'product,productUnitPrecision',
            'filter' => [
                'product.sku' => '@product-1->sku',
            ]
        ]
    );

    $this->assertResponseContains('cget_filter_by_product.yml', $response);
}

YAML Templates for a Request Body

You can use an array with references for a request body:

public function testUpdateEntity()
{
    $response = $this->patch(
        ['entity' => 'inventorylevels', 'product.sku' => '@product-1->sku'],
        [
            'data' => [
                'type' => 'inventorylevels',
                'id' => '<toString(@product-1->id)>',
                'attributes' => [
                    'quantity' => '17'
                ]
            ],
        ]
    );
}

Alternatively, you can store YAML in a .yml file:

public function testCreateCustomer()
{
    $this->post(
        ['entity' => 'customers'],
        'create_customer.yml' // loads data from __DIR__ . '/requests/create_customer.yml'
    );
}

Process Single Reference

To process a single reference, for example, to compare it with another value:

self::processTemplateData('@inventory_level.product_unit_precision.product-1.liter->quantity')

The processTemplateData method can process a string, an array, or a YAML file.

Dump the Response into a YAML Template

When you develop new tests for REST API, it may be convenient to dump responses into a YAML template:

public function testGetList()
{
    $response = $this->cget(
        ['entity' => 'products'],
        ['filter' => ['sku' => '@product-1->sku']]
    );
    // dumps response content to __DIR__ . '/responses/' . 'test_cget_entity.yml'
    $this->dumpYmlTemplate('test_cget_entity.yml', $response);
}

Important

Do not forget to check references after you dump a response for the first time: there can be collisions if references have the same IDs.

Base Test Cases for Unit Tests

To simplify unit testing of API processors, you can use one of the following base classes:

Class	Action
GetProcessorTestCase	get
GetProcessorOrmRelatedTestCase	get
GetListProcessorTestCase	get_list
GetListProcessorOrmRelatedTestCase	get_list
CreateProcessorTestCase	create
UpdateProcessorTestCase	update
UpdateListProcessorTestCase	update_list
BatchUpdateProcessorTestCase	batch_update
BatchUpdateItemProcessorTestCase	batch_update_item
FormProcessorTestCase	create, update
DeleteProcessorTestCase	delete
DeleteListProcessorTestCase	delete_list
GetSubresourceProcessorTestCase	get_subresource, get_relationship
GetSubresourceProcessorOrmRelatedTestCase	get_subresource, get_relationship
ChangeSubresourceProcessorTestCase	update_subresource, add_subresource, delete_subresource
ChangeRelationshipProcessorTestCase	update_relationship, add_relationship, delete_relationship
CustomizeLoadedDataProcessorTestCase	customize_loaded_data
CustomizeFormDataProcessorTestCase	customize_form_data
OptionsProcessorTestCase	options
UnhandledErrorProcessorTestCase	unhandled_error
ConfigProcessorTestCase	get_config
MetadataProcessorTestCase	get_metadata