How to write API documentation and tests using API Blueprint specifications in PHP

With the rapid development of the Internet, the use of Web API has become more and more common. In order to facilitate users to get started quickly, it is crucial to write good API documentation and tests. API Blueprint is an API document specification written using Markdown markup language, which can help us write API documentation and tests in a standardized way, making the API easier to understand and use. This article will introduce how to use API Blueprint specifications to write API documentation and tests in PHP.

Install API Blueprint

Before we start, we need to install API Blueprint first. We can introduce API Blueprint into PHP projects through Composer. Execute the following command in the terminal to install:

composer require apiaryio/php-codex

Write API documentation

Define endpoints

One of the main features of API Blueprint is that it can help us define API endpoints. We can use ## to represent a new API endpoint. For example:

## 用户

以下API端点针对用户进行操作。

### 获取用户列表 [GET /users]

获取用户列表。

+ Response 200 (application/json)
    + Headers
        Link: <http://example.com>; rel="self"
    + Body

            [
              {
                "id": 1,
                "username": "user1",
                "name": "User One"
              },
              {
                "id": 2,
                "username": "user2",
                "name": "User Two"
              }
            ]

The above defines a user endpoint and an API endpoint for obtaining the user list, and defines the return data structure, error code and other information for the API endpoint.

Define request parameters

We can use Parameters to define request parameters. For example:

+ Parameters

    + page (int, optional, default: 1) ... 页码
    + per_page (int, optional, default: 10) ... 每页数量

The above indicates that the API endpoint supports two request parameters: page and per_page. The data type of page is integer, optional, and the default value is 1; the data type of per_page is integer, optional, and the default value is 10.

Define the request body

We can use Request to define the request body. For example:

+ Request (application/json)

    {
      "username": "user1",
      "password": "123456"
    }

The above indicates that the API endpoint needs to pass a request body in JSON format, containing two parameters: username and password.

Define return data

We can use Response to define return data. For example:

+ Response 200 (application/json)
    + Headers
        Link: <http://example.com>; rel="self"
    + Body

            {
              "id": 1,
              "username": "user1",
              "name": "User One"
            }

The above indicates that the return data of the API endpoint is in JSON format and contains three parameters: id, username and name.

Define error code

We can use Response to define the error code. For example:

+ Response 400 (application/json)
    + Headers
        Link: <http://example.com>; rel="self"
    + Body

            {
              "error": "请求参数错误"
            }

The above indicates that when the request parameters are incorrect, the API endpoint will return HTTP status code 400 and the error message is Request parameter error.

Writing API Tests

Another main feature of API Blueprint is that it can help us write API tests. We can use [Dredd](https://dredd.org/en/latest/) to run API Blueprint tests.

Install Dredd

Execute the following command in the terminal to install:

npm install -g dredd

Write a test script

We can define the test script in API Blueprint. For example:

## 用户

以下API端点针对用户进行操作。

### 获取用户列表 [GET /users]

获取用户列表。

+ Request

    + Headers

            Authorization: Token abcdefg

    + Parameters

        + page (int, optional, default: 1) ... 页码
        + per_page (int, optional, default: 10) ... 每页数量

+ Response 200 (application/json)
    + Headers
        Link: ; rel="self"
    + Body

            [
              {
                "id": 1,
                "username": "user1",
                "name": "User One"
              },
              {
                "id": 2,
                "username": "user2",
                "name": "User Two"
              }
            ]

+ Response 401 (application/json)
    + Body

            {
              "error": "您没有访问该接口的权限"
            }

+ Request

    + Headers

            Authorization: Token abcdefg

    + Body

            {
              "username": "user1",
              "password": "123456"
            }

+ Response 200 (application/json)
    + Headers
        Link: <http://example.com>; rel="self"
    + Body

            {
              "id": 1,
              "username": "user1",
              "name": "User One"
            }

+ Response 400 (application/json)
    + Body

            {
              "error": "请求参数错误"
            }

The above defines a user endpoint and an API endpoint to obtain the user list, and defines a test script in the API Blueprint, including sending requests, verifying responses, and HTTP status codes.

Execute the test script

Enter the directory where API Blueprint is located in the terminal, and execute the following command to perform API testing:

dredd api.apib http://localhost:8000

The above means running the test script of API Blueprint and sending a request Go to the local port 8000 and check whether the API complies with the agreed specifications.

Conclusion

By using the API Blueprint specification to write API documentation and tests, we can more clearly define API endpoints, request parameters, request bodies, return data, error codes and other information, making the API more clear Easy to understand and use. At the same time, using Dredd for API testing can effectively ensure that the API complies with the agreed specifications.

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