When it comes to automated testing, Selenium is usually a topic of discussion. Selenium is well-liked by developers and testers all around the world as one of the greatest technologies for automated testing. However, the issue remains as to why there are so many automated testing solutions on the market that produce nearly identical findings. So, why is Selenium the only element mentioned?
This is something that we will go over in depth later in the blog. With this comprehensive blog, you’ll be able to identify all of the advantages of using Selenium for automation testing, as well as why it’s better than other automation testing technologies. Get Selenium Certification and kick start your career towards this field.
First let’s talk about what exactly is Selenium.
Introduction to Selenium
Selenium is an open-source automation-testing framework that is frequently used. It is a collection of tools that is used to test software applications. It is not a single tool. It’s used to ensure that online applications run smoothly across a variety of browsers and systems. You may utilize a variety of programming languages, including C#, Java, PHP, Python, and others.
The key components of Selenium are :
- Selenium Integrated Development Environment(IDE)
- Selenium Remote Control(RC)
- Selenium Webdriver
- Selenium Grid
Now, we will understand what Selenium WebDriver is.
Selenium WebDriver
Selenium WebDriver is a web framework for performing cross-browser testing. This software is used to test web-based applications to ensure that they work as intended. It allows you to develop test scripts in whatever programming language you like. Both the language bindings and the implementations of the individual browser controlling code are referred to as Selenium WebDriver.
Benefits of Selenium WebDriver for Automation Testing
1. Easy to Implement
One of Selenium WebDriver’s most commonly praised advantages for automated testing is its user friendliness. Because the application is open source, users may write their own extensions, allowing them to create bespoke actions that can be modified after they acquire a certain degree of expertise.
2. Open Source
Automated testing using Selenium WebDriver has the advantage of being open source. It has all of the functionality of QTP, plus a few more, and it’s absolutely free. It may be downloaded straight from the official site, and because it is community-based, it also has assistance.
3. Language Support
One of the main advantages of Selenium WebDriver for automated testing is its language support. WebDriver is compatible with all of the programming languages that testers should be familiar with, including Python, PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript. It has its own scripting language, but it also includes interfaces for each and every popular programming language. Providing developers with the ability to work in whatever programming language they are familiar with.
4. Cross-browser Compatibility
The advantages of automated testing using Selenium are numerous. WebDriver’s support for automated cross-browser testing has been enhanced. It works with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, Edge, Yandex, and many more browsers. WebDriver provides an automated approach for cross-browser testing of a website.
5. Faster Go-To-Market and Parallel Test Execution
The primary goal of utilizing Selenium as an automated testing tool is to reduce the amount of time and effort required to test web applications. We may run several tests in parallel to test apps with the aid of Selenium Grid, which reduces test execution time.
6. Cross-Device Testing
Another key advantage of automated testing using Selenium WebDriver is cross-device testing support across various devices. In order to solve cross-device concerns, automated test cases can now be built for testing on iPhones, Blackberrys, and Androids.
7. Flexibility
In the testing life cycle, test management is vital. With selenium, it becomes easier and more productive. We can perform abrupt development in code, eliminate redundancy in code, reduce intricacy in code, and increase readability of code by using selenium as a testing tool. When contrasted to other tools, Selenium is more adaptable.
8. Taking Advantage of the Code
Another significant advantage of automated testing using Selenium WebDriver is the ability to accelerate test cycles by utilizing development code. Testing team can use the same language that developers do. For instance, rather than doing an indirect verification by going to some other page, a tester may retrieve the data model used by the application and validate the date field that is changed in the database without having to worry about automating the flow of data.
9. Interactions in the Browser Advanced
You may even replicate complex interactions using WebDriver, such as clicking the browser’s back and forward buttons. For this type of circumstance, there are no open-source solutions that can enable automated testing. This is particularly handy for testing fintech applications that involve online money transfers or banking apps that don’t keep cookies or cache.
10. Support from the Community
Selenium provides community support in the form of regular upgrades and updates. When necessary, updates are provided.
Conclusion
Selenium is the most effective test automation tool because of its many benefits, including open source, support for many languages, easy integration with many platforms, support for cross-browser testing, and is best suited to test web applications. As a result, organizations should consider selenium as a favorable test automation tool for web application testing.