soapUI Pro – How to test a web service

soapUI is a headless functional testing tool from SmartBear software. It comes in two flavors:
- free open source version
- pro version.
Two versions of soapUI
Since the free version is open-source, you can actually gain access to the full source code and modify as needed. The pro version is more user-friendly and has additional functionality including a form editor, an assertion wizard for XPath, and SQL query builder. Also – the pro version is dirt cheap at just $349 per year. That’s thousands of dollars less than HP’s Service Test! (You can try the soapUI Pro version out for yourself free of charge for 14 days.)
How to use soapUI Pro to test a web service
For this example, I’ll be using the flight web service sample application that comes with HP Service Test 11.
- First, start the sample application and get the WSDL endpoint.

-
Create a new project in soapUI. Enter:
- Project Name = HP_FLIGHTS
- Initial WSDL/WADL = http://localhost:24240/HPFlights_SOAP?WSDL
- From the Project tree view select the GetFlights operation and rename the request to getFlight
-
In the Form view enter:
- DepartureCity = Frankfurt
- ArrivalCity = Los Angeles

- Right click on the ‘getFlights request and add to TestCase

- Name the ‘TestSuite’ HP_FLIGHTS
- Name the ‘TestCase’ Flights
- For the Add Request to TestCase screen take the defaults and OK
- From the Project tree view select the CreateFlightOrder operation and rename the request to createFlightOrder
-
In the Form view enter:
- Class = First
- CustomerName = Joe,Colantonio
- DepartureDate = 1/31/2013
- FlightNumber = leave blank for now
- NumberOfTickets = 1

- Right click on createFlightOrder and add to TestCase HP_FLIGHTS – Flights. Take defaults and OK
- Click on the Flights TestCase

- Under the Flights ‘Testcase’ dbl click on CreateFlightOrder

- Right click on the ‘FlightNumber’ field and select the Get Data..-> GetFlights –> Property[Response]

- For the get a ‘Missing property value, use default value instead? Click Yes
- In the Select Xpath window select hp:FlightNumber

-
Add XPath Match Assertion

-
Select XPath icon

-
For expected value enter 112

-
Run the Flights test case

You should get a green bar that says finish and both test should have green status!
Joe Colantonio is the founder of TestGuild, an industry-leading platform for automation testing and software testing tools. With over 25 years of hands-on experience, he has worked with top enterprise companies, helped develop early test automation tools and frameworks, and runs the largest online automation testing conference, Automation Guild.
Joe is also the author of Automation Awesomeness: 260 Actionable Affirmations To Improve Your QA & Automation Testing Skills and the host of the TestGuild podcast, which he has released weekly since 2014, making it the longest-running podcast dedicated to automation testing. Over the years, he has interviewed top thought leaders in DevOps, AI-driven test automation, and software quality, shaping the conversation in the industry.
With a reach of over 400,000 across his YouTube channel, LinkedIn, email list, and other social channels, Joe’s insights impact thousands of testers and engineers worldwide.
He has worked with some of the top companies in software testing and automation, including Tricentis, Keysight, Applitools, and BrowserStack, as sponsors and partners, helping them connect with the right audience in the automation testing space.
Follow him on LinkedIn or check out more at TestGuild.com.
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