This is a series of articles related to a Web API that is registered on Azure Identity Platform, and consumed over there.
- Web API in Azure (1), Register an application
- Web API in Azure (2), Set a Client Credential Secret
- Web API in Azure (3), Consume Web API with a Security Token --- this article
A - Introduction
In this article, we will describe how to set and get a new Client Credential Secret in Azure Identity Platform:
- A - Introduction
- B - Tools to Access Web API
- B - 1, Web Browser
- B - 2, Swagger
- B - 3, PostMan
- B - 4, Fiddler from Telerik
- C - Set Security with Postman
- D - Run the POST Request in Postman
B - Tools to Access Web API
The tools chosen to Access Web API include such as
- Web Browser
- Swagger
- PostMan
- Fiddler from Telerik
is depending on the complexity of the access to the Web API.When we talk about REST Web API [ref], we usually mean a resource (URI) accociated with an action, where
- RUI is a noun to identify the Resource,
- Action is a verb to identify the action associated with the Resource.
i.e., a REST API endpoint is a combination of resource (noun) and action (verb), such as: for resource user:
on the other hand, REST Web API requries the output is either JSON format or or XML, or atom, OData, etc. (lightweight data) [ref], therefore some App, such as MVC modele, returning video or images, they are not REST Web API.
Based on the REST Web API concept, we discuss about the tools to access Web API.
B - 1, Web Browser
REST Web API, by default, the verb is GET: that can be accessed by any browsers, such as
In Google Chome:
In Microsoft Edge:
Besides Get method, Web Browser also supports PSTE method, but it will be quite troublesome to bring parameters in through queriy stiring. And furthermore, all Web Browsers will not support PUT/DELETE methods.
B - 2, Swagger
Swagger (OpenAPI) is a language-agnostic specification for describing REST APIs. It allows both computers and humans to understand the capabilities of a REST API without direct access to the source code. Swagger UI offers a web-based UI that provides information about the service using the generated OpenAPI specification. Swagger UI is an alternative to Postman.
Swagger is primarily used for API design, documentation, and testing based on development [ref], it seems it is not a ready tool to test an existing Web API. Swagger can access all verbs for REST Web API, but hardly to access security auehntication.
Join the conversation! Your thoughts help the community grow.