Manual testing, even though it is an extensive testing approach, takes a lot of time, and has more chances of human-prone errors. All these demand a testing approach that can resolve these problems effectively. Automation testing comes as an extensive solution in such scenarios. It enables faster and more consistent testing and is also effective in providing more efficient and accurate testing results. In the automation testing suite, there are many tools with distinct features and capabilities and one of them is Selenium which catches the developer’s eye.
So it is obvious that one might be troubled by questions like what Selenium is, why testers should use selenium, its benefits, components, architecture, etc. We will cover all those doubts in this comprehensive guide, so let’s get started.
What is Selenium?
Selenium is an open-source umbrella framework in the automation testing suite possessing a multitude of features and benefits that are beneficial to testers and developers. This popular framework is known to show ease of compatibility with a wide range of browsers and programming languages.
Automating repetitive tasks, validating application functionality, and integrating with other tools are some of the compelling reasons that make this tool indispensable. It ensures accelerated release cycles and a robust and reliable application.
Selenium is convenient to be used on various operating systems such as Windows, Solaris, Macintosh, and Linux. Besides that, Selenium also shows compatibility with Windows Mobile, Android, mobile application operating systems, and iOS. It works seamlessly with many programming languages including Java, Perl, C#, Python, PHP, Ruby, and others. It provides drivers that are specific to each language. Written in any of the supported programming languages, Selenium test scripts can be directly executed in the majority of present-day web browsers used.
Selenium supports a list of browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox. It can also be used to automate functional tests. Furthermore, it shows seamless integration with other automation test tools like Jenkins, Maven, & Docker and therefore achieves continuous testing. Additionally, Selenium can be combined with tools like TestNG, and JUnit for generating reports and managing test cases. Selenium testing is the commonly used term to refer to the testing done with the Selenium testing tool.
Components of Selenium
Selenium is a collection of tools instead of a single one, where each tool has its specific purpose. The main components of Selenium include:
Selenium WebDriver
Selenium WebDriver is the core constituent of the Selenium testing suite. It offers a programming interface with which testers can build and run automated tests. WebDriver shows direct communication with the browser and can send commands and get back responses. WebDriver does this by making use of the browser’s native support for automation, and thus makes the process more quicker and reliable.
Key features of Selenium WebDriver:
- Language support: WebDriver shows support for various programming languages, enabling developers to write test scripts in any programming language of their choice.
- Browser compatibility: WebDriver shows compatibility with a range of browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari.
- Element locators: It provides several ways for finding components on a webpage, like selectors for CSS, ID, name, and class.
Selenium IDE
IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment. Users can record and replay tests with the help of the browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. Selenium IDE provides a user-friendly interface for creating and managing test cases without writing code, which makes it an excellent choice for testers new to automation.
Key features of Selenium IDE
- Record and playback capabilities: This feature enables users to generate reports and record interactions with a web application automatically.
- Scripting: It also allows customization and enhancement as users can record tests and edit in the IDE.
- Export options: With Selenium IDE, tests can be exported to different programming languages that Selenium supports.
Selenium Grid
For distributing tests across different browsers, and machines, and to carry on parallel testing, Selenium grid can be used. It becomes essential for testing web applications on various browsers and operating systems which minimizes the test execution time and enhances test coverage.
Key Features of Selenium Grid
- Parallel test execution: It enables testers to conduct parallel testing, which means multiple tests can be run at the same time on various machines and browsers, and accelerates the test execution process.
- Load distribution: Selenium Grid can effectively distribute and manage the load of test execution across devices.
- Cross-browser testing: It facilitates testing across a vast array of operating systems and browsers to ensure compatibility and performance in numerous settings.
What is Selenium used for?
Selenium is used by the majority of developers and programmers who build web applications and want to test them frequently. Anyone who builds web applications can take advantage of Selenium to test the code and applications. Additionally, it can be used by professionals for detecting bugs, and even carry visual regression tests as per the rules and demands of the code and website.
In the majority of organizations, quality analyst (QA) engineers are instructed to test web applications by using Selenium. They must write scripts that maximize test coverage and accuracy so that the test framework is preserved and changes can be made later on. QA engineers are in charge of developing test suites that have debugging capabilities and therefore ensure maximized efficiency, optimized productivity, and test coverage.
Why Selenium?
Selenium is a tool that can be used for automated testing on various web browsers. It works efficiently with several types of browsers including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. It enables testers to automate browser testing over different browsers with ease.
There are various other reasons why testers should prefer Selenium. They are
- It assures that the software development life cycle (SDLC) process shows flexibility and transparency between the cross-functional teams.
- It needs minimal hardware requirements.
- It works with all platforms and is open source.
- It has an easy-to-use interface that makes it possible to create and execute test scripts.
- It offers excellent visibility that can be used for comprehensive application testing.
- It is possible to reuse and test the automated test suites across a wide range of browsers and operating systems.
- Features like test case regrouping and refactoring are beneficial in enhancing the flexibility of tests.
Types of testing that can be automated with Selenium
Selenium aids in the automation of numerous types of testing.
Unit testing
When a feature update or bug fixation is done to a part of a web application, testers conduct unit testing. Unit testing can be complicated if the testers have to work on several code changes in a variety of application modules.
When it comes to unit testing, many frameworks are suitable for certain languages, including JUnit for Java, NUnit for Python, and many others for automating the unit testing process. Selenium shows enhanced compatibility with all of these frameworks and therefore enables developers to support their unit testing over diverse combinations of browsers and operating systems.
Black-box testing or system testing
Testers are in charge of examining the system’s compliance as per the specified requirements when it comes to system testing or black-box testing. The functionality of the application’s module needs to be checked by the testers from an end-to-end point of view. No prior tests need to be conducted by testers, and neither do they have a prior context of code. Selenium enables testers to automate the test scripts of black-box testing. Thus, conserves the bandwidth of teams for creativity and effectiveness.
End-to-end testing
QA engineers carry out end-to-end testing of web applications from the end user’s perspective to ensure the proper functionality of web applications across different points. The end-to-end testing process takes a prolonged time particularly when the web application consists of many pages and features which need to be tested on multiple browsers, operating systems, and devices.
Selenium automation eases the process as it enables testers to conduct parallel testing and automate the browser. Along with that, Selenium automation enables developers to generate reports on aspects like test case statuses, performance parameters, etc.
Regression testing
Regression testing enables developers to measure the end-to-end functionality of the given website application when a code is pushed from one condition to another. This makes sure that the new code does not affect the current functionality of the web application. This makes regression testing a go-to testing approach for testers after every release cycle.
Regression testing also ensures that the current application works easily after the integration of new features. However, it is a repetitive process as testers have to test the entire web application although the change is very little. Selenium enables automating the continuous process of regression testing and reduces the overall time for testers.
Load and performance testing
End users have a primary focus on the performance of the web application. The target is set for the performance, and QA engineers are in charge of running different tests to check the application’s functionality according to the user’s demands. Instead of manually running the web application on different browsers and operating systems, testers can utilize Selenium to automate the processes and get the performance parameters of the application.
Benefits offered by Selenium
Selenium offers a rich set of benefits for web application testing:
Integration with cloud platform: Selenium can be easily integrated with cloud-based testing platforms, and maximize the benefits. Numerous cloud testing platforms are available in the testing realm.
Among those is LambdaTest excels in providing versatile and compelling features and capabilities. Its extensive set of features doubles the cross-browser testing facilities for web applications.
LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform that can be used to run manual and automated tests at scale. The platform enables testers and developers to conduct both real-time and automation testing by providing a cloud Selenium grid of over 3000 environments, real devices, and browsers. Testers can conduct tests on an extensive set of operating systems and real browser infrastructure without any maintenance hassle.
Furthermore, other notable features that LambdaTest offers are detailed test analytics, automated screenshot capturing, real-time interactive testing, parallel testing, cross-browser testing, geolocation testing, end-to-end testing, and many more.
For those working with WebDriverIO, LambdaTest offers seamless integration, which enables testers to boost WebDriverIO’s capabilities for script-based automation, as well as access its extensive browser and operating system matrix. This integration ensures efficient and comprehensive testing across diverse environments, along with maximizing the debugging capabilities and delivering robust applications.
Enhanced automation and efficiency: Testers can automate repetitive testing tasks using Selenium, which in turn remarkably minimizes the time and effort as compared to manual testing. This feature gives rise to more frequent testing cycles along with faster test execution.
Integration capabilities: Selenium can easily integrate with other testing tools and frameworks, including Jenkins for CI/CD, and therefore aids a way for automated testing as part of the development pipeline.
Cross-browser testing: Selenium is known to work well with several browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari. This promotes more thorough cross-browser testing and ensures a balanced functionality over diverse environments.
Broad flexibility in language: A wide range of programming languages from Java to Python, Ruby C#, etc., are supported by Selenium. This enables testers to write test scripts in the language they feel the most ease working with and the one that is suitable as per the project needs.
Enhanced scalability: Selenium Grid, enables testers and developers to execute tests in parallel across several browsers and machines thus boosting the scalability and cutting down the total time needed for executing tests.
Conclusion
In summary, Selenium has drastically transformed the automaton testing landscape by offering a multifaceted, open-source framework, supporting various programming languages and browsers. Its evolution from being a simple automation script to a comprehensive testing tool highlights its significance in modern application development.