Selenium is a well-known open-source testing automation framework. Selenium allows web apps and websites to be automated across multiple browsers and operating systems. Selenium is compatible with multiple programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, and C#. This allows testers to automate website testing using any programming language they are familiar with.
Selenium framework allows testers to produce test cycles quicker by automating repetitive test cases. When integrated with CI/CD pipeline, Selenium can help ensure a stable, bug-free release delivery pipeline.
All About Selenium WebDriver
WebDriver is a code library that supports many programming languages, including Java, C# Ruby, Python, Python, and JavaScript. Selenium IDE and WebDriver have one major difference. WebDriver classes the browser as an object. To create and start tests, developers will use object-oriented programming. This allows them to send commands to browser objects such as open, click, type, or AssertTextPresent.
WebDriver allows flexibility in the programming language area. Testers can use their existing IDE or programming language to decide which programming environment they want. The tests in WebDriver are code. They can be used in version control alongside the production code and branch along with it.
All of this is beyond the scope of Selenium IDE. Programmers might not be interested in writing code to test their software. They could end up being days or even weeks behind production code by the time they write these tests. Instead, you can assign WebDriver testers and expect a gradual ramp-up followed by spaghetti code. This might work well enough for a small project. Selenium IDE may be a better alternative.
WebDriver is a simple code-based program that can be integrated with other systems. You can write code to verify that results match a database query or a microservices call. You can also do the work again in a machine-learning framework to verify that the results match. However, it is often more practical to test at a lower level.
WebDriver is a programming tool. It allows for more flexibility and more advanced tasks. WebDriver is a good choice if you need to store a hundred conditions and expected results and run the same tests on each row.
All About Selenium IDE
Selenium IDE, also known as Selenium Recorder, was released in 2006. It provides an Integrated Development Environment for recording and playing back test scripts. SeleniumIDE can be downloaded as an add-on for Mozilla Firefox or as a Google Chrome plugin.
Selenium IDE was created to make regression testing easier for manual testers. Selenium IDE allows you to simply hit the record button, run the test in your browser, and then stop recording. You can playback the recording to see the browser automate the test case the next time.
Selenium IDE tracks your test cases and automatically generates a Selenese code for each interaction you make with the browser.
All About Selenium Grid
Selenium Grid is a tool that allows you to run Selenium tests in parallel on multiple machines, allowing you to scale your test execution. It is particularly useful for testing web applications that need to be tested across multiple browsers and operating systems.
To use Selenium Grid, you need to set up a hub and one or more nodes. The hub acts as a central point of communication and dispatches tests to the appropriate node. Each node is a machine that has a web browser, and the Selenium WebDriver is installed, and it connects to the hub to receive tests to execute.
Once the hub and nodes are set up, you can use the Selenium API to send commands to the hub, which will then be forwarded to the appropriate node for execution. The node will then execute the test and send the results back to the hub, which will pass them on to the client that initiated the test.
Selenium Grid allows you to run tests in parallel, significantly reducing the time it takes to execute a suite of tests. It also allows you to test your application across multiple browsers and operating systems, ensuring it works as expected in different environments.
Importance of Selenium Automation Testing
It is not a good idea to release a product too quickly, as it can cause team anxiety. Extensive testing is usually required when the process involves manual labor. The process can take anywhere from a few days up to several weeks, depending on how large the testing team is. Inefficiency is not something that any company can afford. Selenium automation testing can be a great way to speed up the development process.
1) Cross Browser Testing Becomes Faster
Your web application can be accessed by your users from any browser they choose. Therefore, making your website compatible with all browsers is important. This will ensure your users have a seamless experience regardless of their browser. Cross-browser testing is the process of testing your web app across different browsers. This can be a nightmare for manual testers who may need to test hundreds of browsers every time they update their web applications. Selenium makes it possible to automate browser testing.
Selenium WebDriver allows you to automate browsers across Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari, as well as Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. It even supports Internet Explorer! These are the leading players in the browser wars. What more could you ask for than an open-source framework that allows testing automation to be compatible with all browsers?
Selenium makes browser testing easier for web testers all over the world.
2) Selenium Supports Multiple Programming Language
Selenium can be used in multiple programming languages, allowing testers to master the test automation framework quickly.
What programming languages are supported by Selenium?
You can do browser testing with Selenium using almost any programming language. However, it has the perks of being very popular. You can find bindings for JavaScript, JavaScript, and C# as well as Python, Ruby, PHP, and Python on the official Selenium project.
3) Supports Multiple Operating Systems
Selenium can be used on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. This allows you to test your web app on multiple browsers and OS.
4) Integrated With CI/CD Pipelines
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery are required to ensure fast and frequent delivery of new builds. Imagine yourself as the person responsible for ensuring cross-browser compatibility of your web app after each build has been passed through your CI/CD pipelines. It won’t cost you any bandwidth. Don’t forget about the possibility of human error. There is a better way with Selenium.
The team does not have to wait for iterations of browser automation using the Selenium tool. CI engines keep each team member informed about code and infrastructure changes. The team can detect potential deployment problems early if they occur.
Selenium automation is helpful in performing repetitive, functional, and compatibility testing. You can also debug quickly by providing almost immediate feedback to developers.
Features of Selenium Tools
- Selenium WebDriver Features
i) Broad language support: Allows your team to use their native language without additional training.
ii) Multi-browser compatibility: Allows testing on multiple browsers to accommodate all users.
iii) Open-source: This is where you can access all the knowledge and tools that have been accumulated over time to solve any problem.
iv) Community support: You can get the help you need when you have questions, encounter problems, or need additional tools and innovation for your tests.
v) Easy Implementation: Selenium’s installation and configuration are simple, making it easy to implement and use.
vi) Compatible with many frameworks and other testing systems: You can add features to the framework that you already use.
Selenium WebDriver offers many options. It’s a powerful tool that can be used to automate the testing of your applications.
- Selenium IDE Features
i) It acts as a plug-in for your browser.
ii) Accessible via point-and-click.
iii) This tool allows you to create test grids for parallel execution.
iv) This allows remote testing. This is a huge advantage for multiple test cases that require testing.
v) Capable of recording user behavior and playing it back for review and QA purposes.
vi) As a test step, you can capture interactions within the application.
vii) Before failing a test, the application will test multiple locators. Although the test may take longer than expected, it works.
viii) Selenese is used to run tests and test broken links.
ix) Allows for the creation of test cases using a codeless system.
WebDriver is simpler than WebDriver. This is great news for those members of your team who don’t have programming experience at a higher level.
- Selenium Grid Features
i) Selenium Grid allows you to run tests in parallel on multiple machines, reducing the time it takes to execute a suite of tests.
ii) Selenium Grid is relatively easy to set up and use, with a simple architecture that consists of a hub and nodes.
iii) Selenium Grid uses the Selenium WebDriver API, so tests written for Selenium WebDriver will work with Selenium Grid.
iv) Selenium Grid can be used with various programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, and more.
v) Selenium Grid can be used with a variety of testing frameworks, such as JUnit, TestNG, and more.
Conclusion
LambdaTest is the fastest-growing cloud platform for cross-browser testing. LambdaTest enables 160,000+ happy companies worldwide to ensure that their websites and applications work seamlessly on all devices and browsers.
Apart from a cloud Selenium Grid with 3000+ browsers, you can also benefit from live-interactive manual and responsive testing. A single session can capture full-page screenshots from your websites, up to 25 browsers, and OS. Visual regression testing can be performed between screenshots from your web application in order to compare pixels.
It is important to understand the history and timeline of Selenium. Since Selenium was made available to the testing community, it has evolved. Hopefully, by now, you have got a brief idea about Selenium and its different tools useful for automation testing.
Lucas Noah, armed with a Bachelor’s degree in Information & Technology, stands as a prominent figure in the realm of tech journalism. Currently holding the position of Senior Admin, Lucas contributes his expertise to two esteemed companies: OceanaExpress LLC and CreativeOutrank LLC. His... Read more