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Introduction to Selenium

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P.Dhivyabharathi
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Q.NO.1. Explain the difference between Selenium IDE Selenium WebDriver and Selenium grid

Selenium IDE :

A record and playback tool for creating visual examples of tests. It's suitable for less technical testers and can be used for smoke tests and as a starting point for larger tests. It's available as an extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers.

Selenium WebDriver:

A complete system for building test requirements. It's suitable for more complex tests that require looping, setup, or interaction with external systems. It requires some programming skills to run.

Selenium Grid :

A server that allows tests to run on remote machines. It's a central unit that manages incoming test requests and directs them to individual nodes for execution. A server that allows tests to use web browser instances on remote machines. It helps perform tests across various web browsers and platforms simultaneously, reducing the time needed for comprehensive testing.

Differences between Selenium IDE, Selenium WebDriver, Selenium Grid:

Selenium IDE, Selenium WebDriver, and Selenium Grid are all components of the Selenium suite of software for web app testing. Selenium IDE is a record and playback tool, while Selenium WebDriver is a code library for browser control. Selenium Grid is a server that allows tests to use web browser instances on remote machines.

  • Selenium IDE

    A Firefox plugin that allows users to record and playback interactions with web applications. It's easy to learn and install, and is suitable for less technical testers.

  • Selenium WebDriver

    An open-source code library with APIs for controlling browsers. It's more powerful and flexible than Selenium IDE, but requires coding. It's suitable for more complex tests that involve looping, setup, or interaction with external systems.

  • Selenium Grid

    A server that allows tests to use web browser instances on remote machines. It allows users to combine different machines into a single grid, and run tests in different environments.

\>Selenium IDE Requires no programming to use, but WebDriver Requires programming skills

\>Simple installation and quick-start capabilities in under 30 minutes in IDE, whereas WebDriver is Harder to learn and will take roughly a week to become an effective user.

\>Possible to run CI in IDE. WebDriver is Well integrated with CI

\>IDE Exports into a programming language, whereas WebDriver Looping constructs, recursion, machine learning and AI possibilities

\> IDE Requires some CSS/XPath knowledge and visual Interface. WebDriver Requires web programming knowledge and writing computer code.

\>IDE is Easy for non-programmers and WebDriver is Familiar for programmers.

\>Selenium WebDriver is a tool for automating web application testing across browsers, while Selenium Grid is a tool that allows WebDriver scripts to run on remote machines. Selenium Grid can also be used for parallel testing on multiple machines, cross-platform testing, and testing on different browser versions

\>Selenium WebDriver is often used for more complex tests that require looping, setup, or interaction with external systems. However, some programming skills are required to run the tool. Selenium Grid routes commands from the client to remote browser instances, allowing WebDriver scripts to run on those machines. Selenium Server is also required to execute WebDriver tests on remote machines using Selenium Grid.

\>Selenium IDE and Selenium WebDriver can be used together to create a testing environment. For example, Selenium IDE can run tests within the WebDriver server to speed up execution. The two tools can also be used to check each other, with different test cases helping to identify issues in either tool.

Q. No.3. what is Selenium? How it is useful in automation testing ?

Ans: Selenium is a free, open-source tool that helps automate web application testing. It can be used to test web applications on many different browsers and operating systems, including Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. Selenium tests can be coded in multiple programming languages, including Java, Python, Perl, PHP, and Ruby. Selenium is an open-source suite of tools and libraries that is used for browser automation. Selenium us used to:

  • It allows users to test their websites functionally on different browsers.

  • Perform Cross browser testing to check if the website functions consistently across different browsers.

Selenium can be used for functional testing, which automates user interactions like clicking buttons, filling out forms, and navigating pages. It can also be used for cross-browser testing, which ensures that a website functions consistently across different browsers and browser versions.

Selenium includes tools like the Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which records user interactions to build automated test scripts, and Selenium WebDriver, which configures and controls browsers on the OS level. Selenium tests can be rerun without manual input, and can test all components of an application, from the backend to the frontend, from a user's perspective.

Selenium is cost-effective because it requires fewer human resources to execute automated test cases than manual testing. It's also resourceful because it's community-based, which means that upgrades and updates are readily available and don't require specific training.

Selenium can help overcome the obstacles of manual testing, which can be repetitive and monotonous. It can also help save time and money by reducing the need for human resources to execute automated test cases. Some other benefits of Selenium include:

  • Cross-browser testing: Selenium can test websites to ensure they function consistently across different browsers.

  • Platform-independent: Selenium can be deployed on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh.

  • Test case flexibility: Selenium features like regrouping and refactoring of test cases make it easier to make quick code changes, reduce duplication, and improve maintainability.

Selenium includes the following tools:

  • Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

    An easy-to-use interface that records user interactions to build automated test scripts.

  • Selenium WebDriver

    A cross-platform testing framework that can configure and control browsers on the OS level

  • Selenium Grid

    A server that allows tests to run on remote machines. It's a central unit that manages incoming test requests and directs them to individual nodes for execution. A server that allows tests to use web browser instances on remote machines. It helps perform tests across various web browsers and platforms simultaneously, reducing the time needed for comprehensive testing.

Importance of Testing in Selenium

Manual testing can be time-consuming and prone to human errors. Selenium Automation allows tests to be executed quickly and accurately, reducing the likelihood of human mistakes and ensuring consistent test results.

Selenium allows developers and testers to automate the testing of web applications across different browsers and platforms.

  1. Language Support: Selenium allows you to create test scripts in different languages like Ruby, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, JavaScript, and C#, among others.

  2. Browser Support: Selenium enables you to test your website on different browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Internet Explorer (IE), etc.

  3. Scalability: Automated testing with Selenium can easily scale to cover a wide range of test cases, scenarios, and user interactions. This scalability ensures maximum test coverage of the application’s functionality.

  4. Reusable Test Scripts: Selenium allows testers to create reusable test scripts that can be used across different test cases and projects. This reusability saves time and effort in test script creation and maintenance.

  5. Parallel Testing: Selenium supports parallel test execution, allowing multiple tests to run concurrently. This helps reduce the overall testing time, making the development process more efficient.

  6. Documentation and Reporting: Selenium provides detailed test execution logs and reports, making it easier to track test results and identify areas that require attention.

  7. User Experience Testing: Selenium can simulate user interactions and behaviour, allowing testers to assess the user experience and ensure that the application is intuitive and user-friendly.

  8. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Selenium can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to automate the testing of each code change. This integration helps identify and address issues earlier in the development cycle, allowing for faster and more reliable releases.

Q.No.4. what are all the browser driver used in Selenium.

Selenium is a widely used open-source framework for automating web browsers. It provides a set of tools and libraries that allow testers and developers to interact with web elements, simulate user actions, and perform automated testing on web applications. One of the key aspects of Selenium is its ability to work with various browsers, ensuring cross-browser compatibility and allowing tests to be executed on different browser environments.

Selenium supports a range of popular browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Opera. Each browser is supported through specific WebDriver implementations, which act as a bridge between Selenium and the browser.

Selenium WebDriver is a web framework that supports multiple browser drivers, including:

  • Chrome Driver: For executing Selenium scripts on Chrome

  • Firefox Driver: For executing Selenium scripts on Firefox

  • Internet Explorer Driver: For executing Selenium scripts on Internet Explorer

  • Safari Driver: For executing Selenium scripts on Safari

  • Opera Driver: For executing Selenium scripts on Opera

  • Edge Driver: For executing Selenium scripts on Edge.

Q.No.5. what are the steps to create a simple WebDriver script? explain with code.

//Launch the browser

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

//Load a URL

driver.get ("https://www.google.com/");

// Maximize the Browser

driver.manage().window().maximize();

// Find the Search Box

driver.findElement(By.id("APjFqb")).sendKeys("Web Driver",Keys.ENTER);

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