Test Client for testing WCF Rest services or just use browser?

Question

I have written my first rest services and currently i am testing them in a browser.

Is there a test client or some sort that provides additional features or is this the normal way of testing i.e. in IE, Firefox etc?

Answer 1

You may want to consider testing them through a unit testing framework instead of through the browsers. E.g. NUnit or - depending on your Visual Studio edition - MS Test might be options.

You may be able to avoid the WCF protocol overhead and talk straight to the service implementations, unless you specifically want to test the protocol.

Automating the test will help you to test more often and increase the test coverage, so you can move faster.

Answer 2

I use Fiddler. Browsers are a real pain to try and test with.