CRO API Testing Project

A simple web application to test the Companies Registration Office (CRO) API with a search interface. This project was developed using a test-driven development approach to ensure API functionality works correctly.

Features

• Status check to verify if the CRO API services are running
• Company search with various filtering options:
  • Search by company name or number
  • Filter by company type (companies, business names, or both)
  • Search type options (exact match, starts with, contains)
  • Address filtering
  • Pagination and sorting
• Detailed company information view

Installation

1. Clone the repository
2. Create a virtual environment and activate it:

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   

3. Install the required packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

Usage

1. Start the application:

   python app.py
   

2. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:50187
3. Use the search form to find companies and view their details

API Endpoints

The application interacts with the following CRO API endpoints:

• Status Check: https://services.cro.ie/cws/status
• Company Search: https://services.cro.ie/cws/companies?[parameters]
• Company Details: https://services.cro.ie/cws/company/{company_number}/{company_bus_ind}

Testing

The project includes comprehensive tests for both the API client and the web application. To run the tests:

python -m pytest

API Limitations and Issues

• The API requires at least 3 characters for company name searches
• Either company name or company number must be provided for searches
• The API has rate limiting, so excessive requests may be blocked
• Authentication is done using Basic Auth with Base64 encoded credentials

License

This project is for demonstration purposes only.

Credits

Developed for the CRO API Testing Project.