The Selenium WebDriver architecture is built to facilitate parallel and cross-browser testing. Selenium WebDriver has interfaces with several frameworks, including Maven and ANT, to make code compilation easier. In order to enhance reporting and automation testing, it also interfaces with testing frameworks like TestNG.

One of the essential members of this family, Selenium Webdriver, is well-known for both its versatility and stability for web automation. Over 80% of businesses use Selenium Webdriver, which has kind of established itself as the standard for UI automation.

The open-source APIs known as Selenium WebDriver enable users to communicate with any current web browser and subsequently automate user operations within that browser. Of the selenium family, it is a crucial part. As we all know, Selenium isn’t a standalone tool; rather, it’s a group of tools that together make up the Selenium suite. Selenium was born when the two projects, Selenium RC and WebDriver, were combined.

In order to address some of Selenium RC’s drawbacks, WebDriver was combined with it, and as a result, it has come to be the standard for web automation. It’s important to know that new versions of Selenium 2 have been published. They’ve arrived at Selenium 4 by this point.

Selenium WebDriver Architecture

An in-depth comprehension of Web-UI automation with Selenium WebDriver requires knowledge of the architecture of Selenium WebDriver. We must first grasp the four elements that make up this framework in order to comprehend the architecture.

• Selenium Client Library

Selenium WebDriver’s creators have made it feasible to handle a variety of programming languages. We can develop Selenium automation scripts in the language of our choice, such as Java, Python, C#, Ruby, Javascript, etc., thanks to the Selenium Client Library or language bindings component of the Selenium WebDriver architecture.

• Browser Drivers

We have a unique browser driver for every supported browser in Selenium. These drivers pass commands to the appropriate browsers after receiving them from the Selenium scripts.

These browser drivers enable communication between the Selenium script and the various browsers in this fashion. Additionally, the communication takes place without revealing the browsers’ internal workings.

FirefoxDriver, ChromeDriver, InternetExplorerDriver, SafariDriver, OperaBrowser, EdgeDriver, and HtmlUnitDriver are a few of the Selenium browser drivers.

• JSON Wire Protocol over HTTP

For storing and distributing data, a lightweight format known as JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is used. Data transport between the client and server over the internet is possible thanks to the JSON wire protocol.

Communication between the Selenium scripts and the Browser Drivers in the WebDriver architecture takes place using the JSON wire protocol.

• Browsers

The Selenium Webdriver architecture’s Webdriver component is a rather simple structure. In order to carry out the intended automation task, the browsers call the appropriate method after receiving the command. Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge, Safari, Opera, and many other browsers are supported by Selenium.

Selenium WebDriver might therefore be categorized as a tool rather than a framework, despite the fact that it is not a standalone program. It is compatible with a wide range of tools, components, libraries, and test runners and may be used to create scalable test frameworks.

Wrapping Up

So, this was all you needed to know about Selenium WebDriver architecture. 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. Enroll in our comprehensive courses to dig deep into the vast field of SQT. Connect with our experts to learn more about our services today!