Selenium is still a well-developed framework for web automation testing. it’s an open-source automated testing framework used to validate web applications in different browsers and platforms. Selenium only helps in testing web applications and it guarantees Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC) process agility and transparency among cross-functional teams. There are many tools available for testing desktop and mobile applications, such as IBM’s RFI, HP’s QPI, Appium, etc. A selenium automation tool is a suite of automation.
Selenium automation framework gives you the fluidity to use different programming languages like C#, Ruby, Perl, Java, and Python, Selenium offers less involvement of hardware and it has a user-friendly interface that makes it simple to build and execute test scripts. The test suites may be reused and tested on a variety of browsers and operating systems.
Selenium provides excellent visibility for testing end-to-end apps and Its flexibility is enhanced by features such as test case regrouping and refactoring. Individual web programs can use Selenium to test the applications and code. Professionals can debug and perform visual regression tests as per the requirement of the website or code and it’s the job of Quality Analyst(QA) engineers to test web applications by using Selenium. They are required to write test scripts that can help in maximizing accuracy and test coverage to make changes in the project and maintain the infrastructure of the test.
Four types of selenium suites are there
- Selenium IDE
- Selenium WebDriver
- Selenium RC
- selenium Grid
1. Selenium IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
Selenium IDE is the easiest to learn and it’s the simplest framework in the selenium suite. Selenium IDE is not a perfect tool but the good part is that it is much more than a recording & playback tool. Programming experience is not required in IDE, though knowledge of HTML and DOM is needed. Test execution is slow compared to that of selenium RC and WebDriver. Testers can record their actions on the web application and track the results of their tests and improve their test scripts. Selenium IDE was earlier available to test on Firefox browsers and it's also available to test on Chrome browsers. IDE comes with cross-browser support and also supports parallel testing in Selenium.
Selenium WebDriver
It is the most important component of the selenium tool’s suite. it's the remote control interface component that allows programs to interact with browsers and control the behavior of the User Agent. WebDriver is a simpler installation than Selenium RC and it communicates directly to the browser. No need for a separate component such as the RC server. Selenium WebDriver is a faster execution time than IDE and RC. WebDriver has a built-in implementation of the Geckodriver (Firefox Driver). For another browser, you need to plug in their browser-specific drivers to communicate and run the test.
These are the most commonly used WebDriver
- Google Chrome Driver
- Internet Explorer Driver
- Opera Driver
- Safari Driver
- HTML Unit Driver (a special headless driver)
Cons
- Installation is more complicated than Selenium IDE
- Requires Programming Language
- Cannot readily support new browsers
- No built-in mechanism for logging runtime messages and generating text results.
Selenium RC (Remote Control)
It was the flagship testing framework of the whole Selenium project for a long time and it's the first automated web testing tool that allowed users to use a programming language they prefer.
Pros
- Cross-browser and cross-platform
- Can perform looping and conditional operations
- Can support data-driven testing
- Has matured and complete API
- Can readily support new browsers
- Faster execution than IDE
Cons
- Installation is more complicated than IDE
- Must have programming knowledge
- Needs selenium RC server to be running
- API contains redundant and confusing commands
- Browser interaction is less realistic
- Inconsistent results and uses JavaScript
- Slower execution timer than Selenium WebDriver
Selenium Grid
It's a WebDriver management and distribution system and It's consists of multiple nodes that communicate with each other to discover, manage, and distribute the tests across different environments. Selenium Grid is exceptionally flexible and integrated with other suite components for simultaneous performance. The Selenium Grid consists of a hub connected to several nodes and It receives the test to be executed along with information about the operating system and browser to be run on.
Then the Grid picks a node that conforms to the requirements (browser & platform) and passes the test to that node and it runs the browser and executes the Selenium commands within it. There are two ways to verify the hub is running, one was through the browser, and the other was through the command prompt. Control of triggering the test case is on the local machine and when the test cases are triggered, they are automatically executed by the remote machine.
Now that you've seen how Selenium testing tools can help your automation testing process. Hopefully, Selenium Automation Testing tools can increase the depth and scope of tests to help improve software quantity and UI testing is another testing method that can be done with this automation tool. We provides Selenium test automation services with a team of Selenium experts. At Sanesquare Technologies, We offer a wide range of Selenium automated testing services. If you have any questions or comments, you can contact us.
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