Within the world of software engineers, Selenium has become one of the most well-liked automated testing frameworks. Selenium, a set of technologies that includes the IDE, RC, WebDriver, and Grid, has become a market leader in the test automation space quite quickly. 

Selenium took advantage of the shortcomings of earlier frameworks like HP QTP and Mercury’s Astra QuickTest, which forced users to create scripts in VBScript and were primarily designed for desktop-based tests. 

Because it supports a wide range of languages, including Java, Python, C#, Perl, Ruby, etc., it is well-liked by both independent testers and corporations like Netflix, Google, HubSpot, and Fitbit, among others.

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a tool used to test web applications. Selenium tests are executed directly within browsers. Browsers like IE (7, 8, 9, 10, 11), Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, Edge, etc., are supported. 

This tool’s primary uses are to evaluate apps’ compatibility with browsers and to determine how well they perform across a range of operating systems and browsers. 

Test system functionality and develop regression tests to confirm software features and user needs. Support automatic action recording and automatic production of Net, Java, Perl, and other test scripts in many languages.

What Benefits Come From Using Selenium So Extensively?

The framework’s bottom layer, which simulates real people operating the browser, uses JavaScript to do this. The browser will automatically click, enter, open, check, and carry out other actions in accordance with the script code when the test script is executed. 

Automate browser compatibility testing by testing the application from the end user’s point of view, much like real users do, even when there are small variations across the various browsers. You can create use-case scripts using simple programming languages like Python, Java, and others.

• Without any limitations for business customers, Selenium is a fully open-source framework. It contains mature community and learning documents, facilitates distribution, and all of that.
• Windows, Linux, and Macintosh users can conduct Selenium tests on Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. No other testing tool is capable of supporting as many systems. Selenium’s use and the ability to run tests in browsers have a lot of additional advantages.
• You can write use case scripts in a variety of languages that are simple to use, including Python, Java, Perl, PHP, Ruby, and C#.
• Linux, Windows, and Mac platforms can all be used to create Selenium test environments.
• Selenium can be connected with Maven, Jenkins, and Docker to accomplish Continuous Integration/Continuous Integration (CI/CI).
• As a further option for test management, it can be integrated with programs like JUnit and TestNG.
• You can test apps from the end user’s perspective by building a Selenium test

Running testing in various browsers makes it simpler to identify browser incompatibility. JavaScript is used in Selenium’s core code, which is also referred to as the browser BOT. 

Test scripts can now execute in supported browsers thanks to this. The test script, which is either written in an HTML table layout or a recognized programming language, is responsible for transmitting commands to the browser BOT, which is in charge of carrying them out.

This makes it possible for you to develop reliable browser-based regression automation suites and tests as well as to distribute and extend scripts across many settings. 

Tips for Writing Effective Selenium Scripts

Following are a few tips to keep in mind when writing Selenium scripts:

• Try to pass the initialization variables from a configuration file at all times to make your tests more generic.
• ‘wait. Until ()’ can help guarantee that the page loads entirely.
• You might attempt to ‘get’ the web element size to see if an element is present. Always use a return value that is greater than 0.
• Text, index, or value selections are used to choose dropdown menu options.
• You can use the method driver to switch to a new pop-up window after calling getAllWindowsHandles().switchTo()
• It is preferable to handle the desired web element using the Actions() class.
• Utilize the driver’s DeleteAllCookies() function. If necessary, use Manager() to delete all cookies before executing your test scripts.

Wrapping Up

So, this was all you needed to know about creating test scripts with Selenium WebDriver. Being a subsidiary of Sambodhi Research and Communications Pvt. Ltd., Education Nest is a global knowledge exchange platform that empowers learners with data-driven decision making skills. 

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