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gRPC is a remote procedure call (RPC) framework developed by Google.
Theres aninteresting side notebehind why its named like this.
Its an abstraction that removes the pain of dealing with HTTP calls and other connection terminologies.
gRPC makes communication and data transfer between microservices much easier and faster.
It relies on the HTTP/2 protocol under the hood but makes it easier for developers to connect everything together.
gRPC makes it easy because it supports multiple languages.
It uses protocol buffers as the Interface Definition Language for defining the structure of the message.
Testing gRPC applications ensures that the microservices and other services can talk to each other reliably and efficiently.
It ensures that all the services, though written in different languages, can communicate without a language barrier.
Its possible because gRPC uses protocol buffers that are language-neutral.
Error handling and exception handling also become clear when you test your tool.
Now that you know about gRPC, lets look at some gRPC testing tools.
Kreya
Kreyais an API client with a graphical user interface for gRPC as well as REST APIs.
Its gRPC client supports request streaming, unary calls, validation, and more.
To test the API, it’s possible for you to also generate fake data within Kreya itself.
Kreya lets you define tests by writing scripts in order for you to test the API on every call.
ghz supports a proto file, a prebuilt protoset bundle, or a server reflection.
With the help of template variables in Go, it allows you to add custom data to requests.
you might view the test results in various file formats such as CSV, JSON, andHTML.
At the time of writing, the web interface it provides is still in beta stage.
In Postman, you could write tests for individual requests or collections or folders in a collection.
you could also use code snippets to write tests faster.
Insomnia
Insomniais a tool to design, test, and debug APIs.
It supports REST, GraphQL, WebSockets, and gRPC requests.
You also need to add a.protofile to define your messages.
From unary requests to bidirectional streaming, Insomnia supports almost all request types, including client and server streaming.
Note that Insomnia uses the Mocha framework for unit testing and Chai for assertions.
Stackhawk
Stackhawkis an API security testing tool that also provides a solution for gRPC services.
With the help of this tool, you might ensure the security of your API endpoints.
To scan a gRPC system using Stackhawk, you need todefine astackhawk.ymlfile with required configurations.
Stackhawk offers a free tier with modern DAST-integrated automated testing in the CI/CD pipeline for a single utility.
gRPCurl
gRPCurlis an open-source command-line utility for connecting to gRPC-enabled servers.
As the name suggests, its termed as curl for gRPC servers.
cURL only deals with JSON strings.
Smartbears ReadyAPI
ReadyAPIby Smartbear supports gRPC API testing but only unary operations.
so you can test a gRPC service, you first need to set up theAPI connectiontest step.
By doing so, you’re able to then send requests and receive responses from your gRPC service.
you’re able to run your tests with different inputs and verify outputs in the interface.
It offers a 14-day free trial for testing two concurrent service users.
Choosing the right tool is important because it impacts your API functionality directly.
Look out for gRPC-specific features when choosing a testing tool.
Next, check out the bestAPI load testing platformsto improve performance.
