For a rapidly evolving product, how would you approach API versioning to balance innovation with stability?
- Avoid versioning altogether and continuously update the existing API to maintain compatibility.
- Create separate APIs for each feature to allow independent versioning and updates.
- Implement versioning only when absolutely necessary to minimize complexity.
- Use a combination of versioning strategies such as path versioning and header versioning to offer flexibility.
Balancing innovation with stability in a rapidly evolving product involves using a combination of versioning strategies. Path versioning and header versioning provide flexibility, allowing for gradual updates without compromising stability. Avoiding versioning can lead to compatibility issues, while implementing versioning only when necessary may not provide enough flexibility for innovation. Creating separate APIs for each feature allows independent versioning and updates, enhancing both innovation and stability.
If a new version of an API is being released, how can contract testing be used to ensure backward compatibility with existing consumers?
- By assuming that backward compatibility is automatic and doesn't require testing.
- By creating and maintaining backward-compatible contracts and running contract tests against both the new and old versions.
- By deprecating the old API version immediately upon release of the new version.
- By notifying consumers to update their systems to match the new API version without testing.
Contract testing helps ensure backward compatibility by creating and maintaining backward-compatible contracts. Running contract tests against both the new and old versions verifies that changes in the new version do not break existing consumers. Notifying consumers without testing, deprecating immediately, or assuming automatic compatibility can lead to unforeseen issues.
What is a major security advantage of SOAP over REST APIs?
- REST has better security due to its simplicity and clear standards.
- REST relies on external security measures like HTTPS.
- SOAP lacks security advantages over REST.
- SOAP provides built-in security features like WS-Security.
SOAP has a major security advantage through features like WS-Security, providing a standardized way to implement security measures. In contrast, REST relies on external mechanisms like HTTPS for security. The built-in security features of SOAP make it advantageous in scenarios where secure communication is a top priority.
GraphQL’s ability to handle _______ queries efficiently makes it a popular choice for modern web applications.
- Complex
- Hierarchical
- Random
- Simple
GraphQL's ability to handle hierarchical queries efficiently is a key factor in its popularity for modern web applications. It allows clients to request only the data they need, minimizing over-fetching and under-fetching of data.
At which stage of API development is performance testing typically introduced?
- Deployment phase
- Design phase
- Development phase
- Testing phase
Performance testing is typically introduced during the testing phase of API development. This stage allows developers to assess how well the API performs under different conditions and to identify and address any performance-related issues before deployment.
What is an important consideration when designing a mock API to accurately simulate a real API?
- Ignoring security measures
- Providing simplified and limited functionality
- Randomly changing response times
- Replicating the exact behavior of the real API
Designing a mock API to accurately simulate a real API involves replicating the exact behavior of the real API. This ensures that the client application undergoes realistic testing scenarios, improving overall system reliability.
In positive testing, which aspect of the API is primarily verified?
- Error handling
- Functional behavior
- Performance metrics
- Security vulnerabilities
Positive testing in API focuses on validating the expected functional behavior. This includes checking if the API responds correctly to valid inputs, executes the intended operations, and produces the expected outputs. It helps ensure that the API functions as intended under normal conditions.
What role does a refresh token play in OAuth and API security?
- A token used for encryption purposes
- A token used for initial authentication
- A token used for user identification
- A token used to request a new access token
In OAuth, a refresh token is used to request a new access token when the original token expires. It enhances security by reducing the exposure of the access token.
To maintain data consistency in microservices, _________ strategies are often employed.
- CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation)
- Event Sourcing
- Load Balancing
- Saga
To maintain data consistency in microservices, Saga strategies are often employed. The Saga pattern helps manage distributed transactions by breaking them into a series of smaller, independent steps or compensating transactions. It ensures that the system remains consistent even when multiple microservices are involved in a transaction, and failures occur.
_________ testing in GraphQL is essential to verify that the API enforces proper access control to its data and operations.
- Authorization
- Performance
- Regression
- Unit
Authorization testing is crucial in GraphQL to ensure proper access control to data and operations. This involves checking if only authorized users can perform specific actions, helping to secure the API against unauthorized access.