International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)

Volume 167 – No.2, June 2017

Web Service Testing Automation using SoapUI Tool

Meenakshi Garg Niveta Lavhate
Department of MCA Department of MCA
VESIT VESIT
Mumbai, India Mumbai, India

ABSTRACT development process and he decided to develop it. He worked

In today’s world, web services have become an integral part on SOAPUI in his free time and when Ole and his colleagues
of web. A web service is a service offered by one device to realized what SOAPUI can do they made it available to other
another device electronically, for communicating with each people working with SOA and result was the open source
other over the World Wide Web. The web services can be SOAPUI version got released. [7] Eviware Software was
also act as an API which facilitates various services for acquired by SmartBear later in 2011.The open source
devices over network. Today majority of web applications SOAPUI tool is licensed under European Union Public
which keep running makes the use of web services and use License. This tool is downloaded 2,000,000 times since its
service-oriented architecture. A service-oriented architecture initial release. SoapUI NG Pro is a commercial version of
(SOA) is a way of designing software where services are SAOPUI which focuses on additional functionalities and
provided to the other components by application components, enhanced productivity. The SOAPUI tool is completely
through a communication protocol over the network. The developed using Java platform which makes it cross-platform.
testing of these web services should be considered as an It makes use of Swings framework for user interface. IDEA,
important factor now. Testing the web service manually Eclipse and Net Beans are also supported by SOAPUI at
becomes complicated. The solution is test automation! Web today’s date. SOAP, REST web services, JMS, AMF can be
services can be tested by using test automation frameworks. tested by using SOAPUI and it can also be used for making
SOAPUI is such an open source tool which can be used for HTTP(S) and JDBC calls.
testing of web services. SOAPUI provides a variety of testing
facilities. This tool provides the web service tester a modern
3. CHOOSING THE SOAPUI TOOL
way through which he can save his time and perform testing There will be a lot of reasons available for choosing SOAPUI
efficiently. tool. SOAPUI is an open source tool which means it is freely
and easily available for use by anybody. This tool is also
Keywords available in a commercial version called SoapUI NG Pro with
SOAP, SOAPUI, REST, Automation testing, Web Service extra functionalities for mission critical web services.
Testing SOAPUI is considered as a standard for API testing in today’s
world. With this tool, functional testing, load testing,
1. INTRODUCTION regression testing, performance testing, interoperability
Test automation has become a trend in today’s world. testing and many more things are possible. [8] It aims on
Automation tests are more efficient and exact when contrasted testing to be easy. For instance, we can just right click on
with the manual testing. [1] There are various open source functional test and run it as a load test, it is that simple to use.
tools available for web service testing. SOAPUI is one most Web services can be simulated by using this tool. Test
commonly used tool for web service testing. It can discover recording and later reusing are most convenient features
the imperfections which can be easily missed out while available in SOAPUI. Code stubs from WSDL can be created
manual testing. It can be used for web service and API using it. Even the creation of the REST specifications
testing. [2] It can provide instant and accurate results. Testing (WADL) from recorded communication is possible.
is a basic necessity of any application since it gives chance to
measure the quality of programming. There is no other way to 3.1 Platforms supported by SOAPUI
check if the web service is serving its purpose or not. The web As the SOAPUI is java based tool, it can be easily run across
service is not used only by a single system; it is used widely various operating systems, it has been tested with multiple
by multiple systems. [3] It becomes necessary to test the web Windows versions, Mac and multiple Linux dialects. So, the
services efficiently as they serve a large number of software operating system will not be an issue for those who are
systems in order to guarantee the reliability. Web services do willing to make use of this tool. The basic requirements are
not have any user interface which becomes another obstacle 1.6+ versions of the JRE (Java Runtime Environment), at
in testing of web services. [4] Web service testing includes least 1GB memory and 100MB of disk space which are again
functional testing, regression testing, load/stress testing and not difficult to be available. [8]
monitoring. In any scenario, manual testing requires excessive
human efforts and it is prone to fail due to human mistakes.
4. SOAPUI TOOL IMPLEMENTATION
[5], [6] whenever the programming code changes everything There is multiple ways for implementing the web services.
needs to be retested. Manually testing it again and again Two of the most common approaches are –
becomes tedious and unreasonable. a) SOAP - (Simple Object Access Protocol)
b) REST-(Representational State Transfer architecture)
2. REVIEW OF SOAPUI
The SOAPUI appeared in 2005. The person behind its XML format is used by SOAP for sending and receiving
existence is Ole Lensmar. [7] He was working in Eviware request and data is platform independent. Exchange of
software’s as an architect of a huge SOA project and he messages between SOAP provider applications and receiving
realized that there is no test tool available for testing agile applications happens in the form of SOAP envelopes. [9]

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 167 – No.2, June 2017

SOAP messages do not get block by the firewall because it new change is introduced. It is carried out to find out if new
makes use of simple http transport protocol. In case of REST, changes are causing any problems in expected working of the
its architecture runs over HTTP. REST uses simple URL in web service. [11] Using SOAPUI tool tester can execute the
some cases instead of using XML requests. REST requests are test suits to check if the existing functionalities are working
faster and hence used in mobile and web applications. In fine.
order to understand SOAPUI, it is necessary to have
knowledge about WSDL. WSDL is Web Service Description 4.1.4 Security Testing
Language. It is based on XML and used for describing the SOAPUI can perform complete vulnerability scan set.
services provided by the web service. All the operations SOAPUI ensures authorization and authentication for request
provided by a particular web service are described in a XML and response web service model. Features that SOAPUI
format by WSDL. It also specifies that how the services can supports under Security testing are listed below
be called i.e. what is the value for input and what response we
should get for each type of service. 4.1.4.1 Cross Site Scripting
It scans as well as detects any exposure related to service
So, in addition with functional testing SOAPUI also provides
non-functional testing such as performance and security parameters in structure message during cross site scripting.
testing. 4.1.4.2 Securing database
4.1 SOAPUI Features SOAPUI scans for any potential l SQL injection that could
cause possible harm to the database. Hence provides the
Commonly used features of SOAPUI are listed below
secure database.
4.1.1 Functional Testing 4.1.4.3 Stack overflow
Testers are allowed to write functional API tests using
SOAPUI can scan and detect large documents and can find
SOAPUI. It has drag and drop feature which makes the script
out the stack overflow related defects.
development faster. [10] SOAPUI allows test debugging. It
also provides support for data driven tests. It supports more 4.1.4.4 Lifesaving scans
than one environment hence it is not difficult to switch These scans are done to support unsteady behavior of some
between QA, Production or Dev environment. It supports APIs. SoapUI NG Provides fuzzy scans, boundary scans etc.
advanced scripting which makes easy for testers to develop
their own custom code in necessary scenarios. Using SOAPUI 4.1.5 Load Testing
tester can use a large number of features. Some of them are SOAPUI can be used to distribute the Load Tests across
listed below multiple numbers of LoadUI Agents. It can simulate real
world and high volume load testing easily. To capture
4.1.1.1 Drag and Drop performance parameters, it provides advanced custom
It is the best feature in perspective of new testers for building reporting options. End to end system monitoring is also
test automation. [11] It speeds up the script development for enabled by SOAPUI. The features provided by load testing
test automation. are:
4.1.1.2 Custom Scripts: 4.1.5.1 LoadUI Agent
SOAPUI allows custom test script writing for test automation SOAPUI NG has something called LoadUI agents in large
scripts development which is an advance scripting option that number on which load can be distributed and performance
provides flexibility for writing the scripts for test automation. analysis, server monitoring and visualizations can be done.
4.1.1.3 Environment Switching 4.1.5.2Monitoring Performance
SOAPUI allows testing the web API by switching in SoapUI NG provides advance reporting system for
multiple environments such as UAT (User Acceptance capturing various performance parameters in load testing.
Testing), QA (Quality Assurance), SIT (System Integration) Apart from this it also provides performance monitoring
etc. for end-to-end system load testing.
4.1.1.4 Test Debugging 4.2 Supported Protocols/Technologies
SOAPUI helps tester in debugging the test scripts and
SOAPUI supports most comprehensive set of protocols which
allows user to write data driven tests. Tester can put
is depicted in Fig 1.
multiple check points to check that the test is getting executed
as expected or not.

4.1.1.5 Robust Tool

By considering all the above scenarios SOAPUI is a robust
testing tool for sure.

4.1.2 Compliance Testing

SOAPUI allows tester to validate the compliance tests and
automate those test scripts. Compliance testing consists of the
tests related to the source and the data authentication by using
license and certificates etc. It is also related to various service
level agreements.

4.1.3 Regression Testing

Regression testing is performed to analyze any
malfunctioning happening within the web services after any
Fig 1: SoapUI Supported Protocols

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 167 – No.2, June 2017

SOAP –Simple Object Access Protocol resources privacy related terms of use and about the version
WSDL – Web Service Description Language of software.
REST – Representational State Transfer
HTTP – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol 4.4.2File
HTTPS – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure As shown in Fig 3, SOAPUI tool has a visual and handy
AMF – Action Message Format structure of the File menu. Below the Menu bar there is
JDBC – Java Database Connectivity shortcut for File which allows single click solution for all
JMS – Java Messaging Service options present under the File menu. User can directly use
these options by clicking on it instead of going into File menu
4.3 SOAP-Integration again and again.
SOAP can be integrated with many tools like Maven, Hudson,
Junit, Apache Ant and many more. Few of them are described
as under -

4.3.1 Maven
Apache Maven is a tool for project management that can Fig 3: SOAPUI shortcut for File
manage the builds of project, documentation and repository
from a central location. SOAPUI tests can b e executed using 4.4.3 Navigator
Maven with simple command. The Navigator filed on SOAP UI tool allows navigating
across various projects. Fig 4 shows a snapshot of SOAPUI
4.3.2Hudson Navigator. Navigator allows switching between the projects
Hudson is a java based continuous integration tool which and services of the project.
integrates with CVS, Subversion, Git, Perforce and RTC.
SOAPUI integrates with Hudson to find out the bugs that any
developer commits while developing the software.

4.3.3Junit
SOAPUI test flow can be controlled by Junit testing
framework which is used for testing modules.

4.3.4ApacheAnt
It is a command-line tool used for software building. Using
SOAPUI’s command line Ant automated tests can be
executed.

4.4 SOAPUI Overview

A brief overview of SOAPUI features is provided here which
includes [12] Menu Bar, Navigator, Interface Viewer, Request
and Response Panel, Test Suit, Properties Windows and
various types of Logs maintained by SOAPUI

4.4.1Menu B ar
The File menu which is depicted in Fig 2 has various options
for creating new projects for SOAP or REST requests. It also
has options to import existing project. Apart from this it Fig 4: SOAPUI Navigator
allows to open, close and save projects. [12] The file menu
provides us an option for setting global SOAPUI preferences. 4.4.4 Interface Viewer
All the menus in SOAPUI has tool tip text which tells what an It provides the important information about SOAP/REST
option does by hovering over it. service. It also provides details about WSDL, Service
endpoints and WSDL content.

Fig 2: SOAPUI Menu Bar

The Project menu on the menu bar has various options
regarding projects. It allows to add WSDL and WADL (Web
Application Description Language) to an existing project. It
also provides an option for adding new rest service from URI.
This menu allows user to create the SOAP and REST Mock
Services. Apart from this it also allows to launch Test Runner,
LoadTestRunner, HTTP Monitor and Security Test Runner.
Suite, Case and Step menus are specific to a Test Suite, Test
case and Test Step respectively. They become active only on
selecting the Test suit, Test case or Test Step.
Tools menu allows doing required configurations for the
project. Finally, the Help menu provides address of helpful Fig 5: Interface Viewer

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 167 – No.2, June 2017

Interface Viewer is depicted in Fig 5. This can be opened by 4.4.6 Assertions

double clicking on the SOAP/REST service. Assertion means act of affirming or stating something[12] it
The Request panel has various options. The first green run can be seen as a check point or a validation point. Window for
button is used for hitting the request. The required input value adding Assertion is shown in Fig 7. Assertions have many
is given in the inputs fields which initially contains the types like Property Content, Compliance, Status and
question mark(?) sign. As soon as the request is hit, the Standards, Script, SLA, JMS and Security. Each assertion has
response is shown in the response panel. The response then its description given in SOAPUI. So, the user can go and
can be validated. The request and response can be viewed in select the appropriate assertion.[12]
two formats that are Raw and XML. Both tabs can be used to
see the different versions of same request. The bottom line
fields on these panels are Authorization, Headers,
Attachments, WS-Addressing and WS-Reliable messaging.
These fields are used for authentication and other security or
header related settings.[11]

Fig 7: SOAPUI Assertions

4.4.7 Properties
At the end of the Navigator there is a tab called Properties.
Properties tab is shown in Fig 8. This field provides the
details of Name, Description, file address, Resource Root,
Cache Definitions, Project password, Script Language and
Hermes Configuration.[13]
Fig 6: Request and Response Panel
4.4.5 Test Suit
The Test Suit in SOAPUI can be created by right clicking on
the project. After creating Test Suit, Test cases are added into
it. Each test case can contain multiple test steps. The test step
can be a SOAP request, REST request, HTTP request, AMF
request or JDBC request as shown in the Fig 7.

Fig 8: Properties
4.4.8 Logs
SOAPUI displays various logs like SOAPUI log, http log, and
memory log at the bottom of the tool interface. These logs are
Fig 7: Adding Test step in test case depicted in Fig 9, Fig 10 and Fig 11 respectively.
The major role in test step is played by Assertions. SOAPUI 4.4.8.1 SoapUI log
allows user to add assertions of various types. By double The SoapUI log is used for displaying the information of
clicking on the test step, test step is opened in new window response from the web server. This information is stored
which has a green ‘+’ sign and it can be used for adding inside the soapui.log file which is stored under the SoapUI
assertions. installation folder under the ‘bin’ directory.

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 167 – No.2, June 2017

 It provides the data driven testing to save time for

checking numerous real-world conditions.
 SoapUI NG Pro manages the multiple environment
related configuration at one central location which
makes it easy to witch between environments
without much overhead.
 It provides test coverage which can be used for
positive and negative tests and non-functional tests.
 SoapUI NG Pro provides the API refactoring, API
discovery and API monitoring.
 It provides test history, test debugging and result
comparison. It gives functionality of Point-and-
click testing, Code completion, Global events.

5. SOAPUI (OPEN-SOURCE)
DRAWBACKS
SOAPUI has got certain drawbacks also . Some of them are
listed below -
Fig 9: SoapUI Log
 SoapUI gives issues when working with JSON
4.4.8.2 Http Log: response if it contains special characters. So, it is
It is used for displaying the HTTP packet transfer. The not easy to add assertion on JSON response.
information is shown in RAW format in HTTP Log.  Work flow testing and Load testing are difficult to
perform.
 SoapUI is easy for testing but difficult for
documentation.
 It is also observed that the SoapUI customer support
response is late.

6. CONCLUSION
SoapUI is an open source tool which is easily available for
everybody to use. It also has a commercial version with the
additional features. Continuous improvement of the SoapUI is
going on and making it stronger day by day. As it is an open
source tool various intelligent people are contributing towards
Fig 10: Http Log it and making it more efficient to use. Due to existence of
such tool it has become easy to test the web services and web
APIs. A lot of time and efforts required by manual testers are
4.4.8.3 Memory Log saved due to this. SoapUI can be seen as a solution for
The memory log monitors the memory consumption and automation of API testing. Going forward more and more
displays it in the form of the charts. When any memory people will start making use of it and it will become an
intensive operation is performed this type of log plays an inseparable part of automation testing of web services. Rather
important role. we can say that it has already become an integral part of the
web service and API testing.

7. REFERENCES
[1] Shariq Hussain, Paper on Web Service Testing Tools: A
Comparative Study
[2] Ravi Kumar, Research article on A Comparative Study
and Analysis of Web Service Testing Tools
[3] Evan Martin, Paper on Automated Robustness Testing of
Web Services

Fig 11: Memory Log [4] Mustafa Bozkurt, Testing Web Services: A Survey

Apart from all these SoapUI also provides the operations of [5] Vinod Patil, Introduction to Testing Web services
jetty log, error log and wsrm log also. [6] Tanuj Wala, A Comparative Study of Web Service
Testing Tools
4.5 SOAPUI NG Pro features
SoapUI NG Pro has additional features such as more number [7] SmartBear Software Further Expands by Acquiring
of views like HTML, JSON, Outline and Overview including World’s Most Widely Used Web Services Testing Tool
basic XML and Raw view tabs. It also has more number of soapUI https://smartbear.com/news/press-releases/
assertions.[14] Its additional features are listed below - smartbear-acquiring-web-services-testing-tool/

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 167 – No.2, June 2017

[8] Getting Started With SoapUI [12] Introduction for the SoapUI Newbie
https://www.SoapUI.org/getting-started/introduction https://www.soapui.org/getting-started/10-tips-for-the-
.html/ soapui-beginner.html
[9] Understanding SOAP and REST Basics And Differences [13] Installation and Configuration of SoapUI
https://blog.smartbear.com/apis/understanding-soap-and- http://www.softwaretestingclass.com/installation-and-
rest-basics/ configuration-of-soap-ui-complete-guide/
[10] Why use SoapUI Pro for Functional Testing? [14] Advanced SOAP and REST API Functional Testing with
https://www.soapui.org/functional-testing/getting- SoapUI NG Pro https://www.soapui.org/professional/
started.html soapui-ng-pro.html
[11] API Testing Features https://www.soapui.org/open-
source/features.html

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