Introduction to Selenium:
Selenium is most popular open-source automation testing tool. It allows testers to create automated tests in different programming languages to check the functionality of web applications because it offers compatibility with a variety of programming languages, including Java, JavaScript, Python, C#, and more. Various operating systems and browsers are compatible with Selenium.
On multiple browsers and operating systems, it may be used to test how well web applications work. The Selenium framework helps testers to provide test cycles more rapidly by automating repetitious test cases. Selenium integrates well with CI/CD pipelines and can help with a dependable, bug-free release deployment workflow.
Elements of Selenium:
Selenium can be divided on 3 main elements.
Selenium IDE: We can record automated tests and replay them using the Firefox add-on Selenium IDE. We can easily design and execute automated tests using Selenium IDE thanks to its simple interface. Troubleshooting can be done by using the built-in debugger in Selenium IDE Chrome. Installing the Selenium add-on for Firefox or Chrome is a must for using Selenium IDE. The "Selenium" icon in the Firefox or Chrome toolbar may then be used to launch Selenium IDE.
By selecting the "Record" option after opening Selenium IDE, testing can be recorded. Selenium will then start capturing each and every action those make in the browser. Clicking the "Stop" button will end the test recording. By selecting the "Play" button, we can replay our tests. The activities we captured will all be played back by Selenium at that point.
Selenium WebDriver: Using an open-source tool called Selenium WebDriver, we can automate web browser interaction. We can create tests that mimic user interactions with a web application using Selenium WebDriver. There are several programming languages, including Java, C#, Python, and Perl, for which Selenium WebDriver is available.
A robust and adaptable test automation framework is offered by WebDriver, making it simple to build automated tests for our web applications. Additionally, it has a number of extravagant features including the ability to capture our tests and automatically find parts on websites.
Selenium Grid: Tests are spread over several systems or virtual machines using Selenium Grid (VMs). With Selenium Grid, we can run parallel tests on a variety of hardware or virtual machines, quickly expanding the scope of our test automation. We can run your automated tests considerably more quickly thanks to Selenium Grid, which is an essential component of the entire Selenium testing suite.
A component of Selenium Grid called the Selenium Server can be hosted on a different system or server or installed locally on our device.
What role does selenium play in testing?
Selenium WebDriver functions by simulating a user's interactions. We can describe the activities that we want the user to perform when writing a Selenium test, and Selenium will carry out those actions on the browser automatically.
In order to test a login functionality, for example, we would create a Selenium test that would need users to input their username and password in the relevant areas and click the login button. Selenium would carry out those tasks on the browser automatically and notify any mistakes.
How to use Selenium & Install in the system:
We can create automated tests with the Selenium Testing Tool for Automation testing in a number of different programming languages. We can use this to test how well our web application works in various browsers and OS systems. A fantastic technique to automate web application testing is via Selenium.
The Selenium WebDriver must be installed in order to utilise the Selenium Testing Tool. We can perform Selenium tests on several browsers and operating systems using the Selenium WebDriver, a browser automation tool. We can begin creating our Selenium tests as soon as the Selenium WebDriver has been successfully installed.
Selenium may be easily installed. The steps listed below can be used to install Selenium:
• Navigate to Selenium website: https://www.selenium.dev/
• From the menu, select the "Download" option.
• Choose the browser from the list of browsers provided after selecting the "Selenium IDE" option.
• Select "Download" from the menu.
• Launch the most recent build or "SeleniumIDE 4.0.0.exe" file.
• To install the Selenium IDE properly in system, follow the prompted instructions.
• After installing Selenium, we can start creating our own tests.
Advantages of selenium:
• Effective and exact testing of web applications.
• The capacity to test our web application across many operating systems and browsers.
• The flexibility of simultaneously running many tests.
Time taken to test web application using a Selenium Grid can be reduced. Additionally, we can verify whether web application is completely operational before making it available to consumers by utilising a Selenium Grid. In order to enhance web application testing, think about utilising a Selenium Grid. One of the finest methods to automate web application testing is with this method!