The SOAtest Smart API Test Generator enables you to capture traffic and create API tests from interactions with a web application. In this section:

Overview

The SOAtest Smart API Test Generator includes the following components:

• SOAtest Traffic Recorder: The traffic recorder is an extension for the Chrome browser. It is installed on the local machine and provides an interface for configuring your connection to SOAtest, as well as starting/stopping recording. 
• Parasoft SOAtest Web Proxy: The proxy is installed on the local machine, processes traffic, and creates a .tst file in SOAtest.
• Parasoft Root Certificate Authority: The CA enables HTTPS traffic to be recorded.

The Smart API Test Generator connects to a SOAtest desktop or server, which enables you to configure and run the test.

Requirements

• SOAtest desktop or server 9.10.5 or later
• Latest version of Google Chrome  

Licensing

You can freely download and install the Smart API Test Generator, but a valid license for the Advanced Test Generation license feature in SOAtest is required to record traffic and generate tests. The following license options are available:

• Advanced Test Generation Desktop: Enables you to create assets from the web proxy on the same machine where SOAtest is installed. Connections from remote machines are not allowed. 
• Advanced Test Generation 5 Users: Up to five users can create assets from any machine that can connect to the SOAtest server.  
• Advanced Test Generation 25 Users: Up to 25 users can create assets from any machine that can connect to the SOAtest server. 
• Advanced Test Generation 100 Users: Up to 100 users can create assets from any machine that can connect to the SOAtest server. 

Contact your Parasoft representative for additional licensing information. 

Installation

Run the parasoft_soatest_smart_api_test_generator_<version>_win32.exe file for installation on Windows. Follow the wizard to complete the installation. See Manual Installation if you are on Mac OS or if you experience issues using the installer.   

During Windows installation, you will be prompted to install the Parasoft SOAtest Web Proxy as a Windows service. This enables you to start and stop the proxy using the services console under the Windows Control Panel, as well as use the SOAtest Web Proxy console in the Windows Start menu (see Starting the Web Proxy). You can also manually start the proxy by running the executable JAR file (see Manually Starting the Web Proxy).

The Windows installer will also prompt you to install the SOAtest Traffic Recorder from the Google Chrome store (Windows shown). See Manual Installation if access to the Google Chrome store is prohibited or if you experience issues using the installer.   

The installer will prompt you to install the Parasoft Root Certificate Authority if it is not detected. The CA is required to record traffic over HTTPS. The CA is normally installed along with the SOAtest/Virtualize desktop application. You can also add the CA manually (see Installing the Parasoft Root Certificate Authority).

After the installer finishes, you will be prompted to enable the extension when you launch Chrome. 

The installer will prompt you to start the Parasoft SOAtest Web Proxy when the installation completes. If you choose to finish the installation without starting the proxy, see Starting the Web Proxy for instructions on starting the proxy on demand. If the proxy is running, see Using the Browser Extension for next steps. The SOAtest server must be running before you can use the extension.

Manual Installation

The following instructions describe how to manually install the SOAtest Smart API Test Generator components if you are unable to use the Windows installer.

1. Download the TrafficRecordingExtension.zip folder (contact your Parasoft representative).
2. Extract the contents of the compressed folder anywhere on your machine. No additional installation is necessary to run the Parasoft SOAtest Web Proxy.
3. Open a Chrome browser window and open the Extensions page (chrome://extensions).
4. Enable the Developer mode option and click Load unpacked extension.
   
5. Navigate to and choose the [TrafficRecordingExtension_INSTALL]/chrome-extension directory to install the extension. The tool will be available in the browser bar.
   

The Parasoft SOAtest Web Proxy and SOAtest server must be running before you can use the extension (see Starting the Web Proxy). If the SOAtest server is running and the default configuration is used to start the proxy, you will be able to start using the extension to record traffic. See Using the Browser Extension if these components are running. You will also need to configure connections to the Parasoft SOAtest Web Proxy and SOAtest server once the browser extension is installed. 

Installing the Parasoft Root Certificate Authority

The Parasoft Root Certificate Authority must be installed as a trusted certificate to enable recording of HTTPS traffic. If the certificate authority is not installed, the browser will not consider the connection secure and may refuse to allow the connection.

Windows

The Parasoft Root Certificate Authority is normally installed automatically by both the SOAtest Windows installer and the SOAtest Smart API Test Generator installer. You can also run the soatestcli with the -installcertificate option to manually install it if necessary. For example:

soatestcli -installcertificate

If SOAtest is not installed on the local machine, you can manually add the certificate to Chrome:

1. Open the Chrome settings page (chrome://settings) and expand the Advanced section.
2. Click Manage certificates in the Privacy and security section. 
3. Click the Trusted Root Certification Authorities tab in the Certificates dialog.  
4. Click Import to click Next when the Certificate Import Wizard opens. 
5. Browse to the [TrafficRecordingExtension_INSTALL]/parasoft.cer file and click Next.
6. Verify that the wizard will place the certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities folder and click Next.
7. Click Finish and confirm that you want to add the Parasoft Root Certificate Authority if prompted.

Mac OS 

1. Open the Chrome settings page (chrome://settings) and expand the Advanced section.
2. Click Manage certificates in the Privacy and security section. The Keychain Access application will open. 
3. Choose login under Keychains and choose Certificates under Category.
4. Choose File> Import items and navigate to parasoft.cer in the [TrafficRecordingExtension_INSTALL] directory.
5. Right-click the Parasoft Root Certificate Authority when it appears and choose Get Info.
6. Expand the Trust section and choose Always Trust from the When using this certificate drop-down menu.
7. Enter your credentials when prompted to save the configuration.

Starting the Web Proxy

If you installed the Parasoft Web Proxy as a Windows service, you can use the SOAtest Web Proxy console to start and stop the proxy. 

1. Choose SOAtest Web Proxy from the Windows Start menu or double-click the desktop icon (if you chose this option during installation).
2. Click Start in the General tab.

The web proxy API will be started on port 40090 by default. The proxy port used for recording will be assigned by scanning for open ports starting with port 40443. You can configure port numbers and other options when starting the proxy in the web proxy console. See Proxy System Properties for additional information.

Open the console and click Stop to shutdown the proxy.  

Manually Starting the Web Proxy 

The web proxy is a JAR file that you can run with the java command:

%INSTALLDIR%/jre/bin/java -jar com.parasoft.traffic.proxy.jar

The web proxy API will be started on port 40090 by default. The proxy port used for recording will be assigned by scanning for open ports starting with port 40443. You can specify system properties to configure port numbers and other options when starting the proxy. See Proxy System Properties for additional information.

Using the Browser Extension

The browser extension provide the interface for configuring connections to the SOAtest server and the web proxy, starting and stopping traffic recording, and saving the traffic as .tst files. 

Configuration

1. Right-click the Parasoft icon and choose Options to open the configuration settings. You can also access the configuration settings by clicking the Options link on the chrome://extensions homepage.
2. Specify the proxy API port (see Proxy System Properties) and SOAtest server connection settings. 
   
   
   
   Enable the Secure (HTTPS) option to communicate with SOAtest over HTTPS. 
3. Click Test Connection to verify your settings and click Save if successful. 

Usage

1.  Navigate to the web application you want to generate tests from and click the Parasoft icon.
2. Choose Start Recording and begin your test scenario.
   
3. When finished, click the logo and choose Stop Recording.
4. Specify information for the test when prompted. Test names must be unique. You can also associate tests with artifacts in your requirements and/or defect tracking system. 
   
5. Click Create Test Asset when ready or Discard Recording to exit the test creation window without generating the test file.

6. When the SOAtest Traffic Recorder finishes processing the recorded traffic, you can review the test file in the TestAssets project of the SOAtest Test Case Explorer or in the API Testing module in CTP. Parasoft .tst files will appear under the TestAssets/users/<username> directory, where the /users/<username> sub-directory is created based on your CTP username.
    
   If you are using the Smart API Test Generator with a local instance of SOAtest, your tests will appear in the TestAssets/users/anonymous directory.

Advanced Configuration and Usage

You can configure the proxy port, specify test creation options, and access the API so that the tool can be used in automated workflows. 

Proxy System Properties

You can configure the web proxy by specifying system properties in the Manage Web Proxy console or from the command line when executing the .jar file. You can specify the following properties:  

Manage Web Proxy Example

Add the system properties to the Java Options field in the Java tab. The following example sets the API port to 45000 and enables debugging:

Command Line Example

Specify the configuration options on startup from the command line. The following startup command sets the API port to 10090, scans for a range of port numbers, and enables debugging:

%INSTALLDIR%/jre/bin/java -DapiPort=10080 -DproxyPortStart=20443 -DproxyPortRange=10 -Ddebug=true -jar com.parasoft.traffic.proxy.jar

Test Creation Properties

You can determine how the recorder generates tests by defining properties in the [TrafficRecordingExtension_INSTALL]/tst_creation.properties configuration file. This file should be in the same directory as the com.parasoft.traffic.proxy.jar file so that it can automatically be read during test creation. You can specify the following settings: 

Example tst_creation.properties File

includeContentTypes=application/json
excludeContentTypes=image/png,font/ttf,text/css,application/javascript
disableDiffCreation=false
disableDiffParameterization=false
disableEnvironmentCreation=false
disableDataBankCreation=false
# Ignore values that start with "time", "date", "url" or "href" in diff tool, case insensitive
diffToolIgnoreNames.1=(?i)^(time|date|url|href).*
# Ignore values that end with "time", "date", "url" or "href" in diff tool, case insensitive
diffToolIgnoreNames.2=(?i).*(time|date|url|href)$
# Ignore values like a timestamp in diff tool, e.g. 2018-03-21T07:00:00.000Z
diffToolIgnoreValues.1=[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}([.][0-9]{1,3})?(([+-][0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2})|Z)?

Using the API

After starting the web proxy, you can go to the following URL to review the API defintions:

http://<host>:<port>/api/openapi.json