Selenium WebDriver Tutorial | Working, Benefits and Limitations

Selenium WebDriver is one of the most important part of of the Selenium test suite and this Selenium WebDrive Tutorial will provide you with the answer to why it is the most important Selenium suite, along with all the basic concepts.

Selenium is an open-source program that automates web browsers. Selenium Webdriver is mainly used to execute the scripts according to the browser we are using. Selenium is a powerful tool for controlling web browsers through programs.

It is functional for all browsers, works on all major OS, and its scripts are written in various languages, i.e., Python, Java, C#, etc., we will be working with Python. Selenium has four major components Selenium IDE, Selenium RC, Selenium Web driver, and Selenium GRID.

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a widely used tool for testing Web-Based Applications that checks if they are doing as expected. It is a prominent preference amongst testers for cross-browser testing and is viewed as one of the most reliable systems for web application automation evaluation. Selenium is also platform-independent, so it can provide distributed testing using the Selenium Network. Its features, reach, and strong community assistance make it a powerful device for effective web application testing.

1. Versatility: Java is one of the most typically used languages for web automation examining. It holds a massive matter of libraries and programs under Selenium WebDriver.
2. Compatibility and Stability: Selenium has superior service Java making it a very compatible and robust integration.
3. Ease of Learning and Use: Java is known for its readability and ease of learning, rendering it accessible for both amateurs and advanced coders.
4. Large Community: Java has a large group of developers and inspectors using Selenium and Java which furnish valuable information, maintenance, CE, and solutions to common issues and struggles encountered by Selenium users.

Selenium Components

Selenium has been in the industry for a long time and is used by automation testers all around the globe.

Let’s check the four major components of Selenium

• Selenium IDE
• Selenium RC
• Selenium Web driver
• Selenium GRID

Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is the major tool in the Selenium Suite. It is a complete integrated development environment (IDE) for Selenium tests. It is implemented as a Firefox Add-On and as a Chrome Extension. It allows for recording, editing, and debugging of functional tests. It was previously known as Selenium Recorder.

Selenium RC (Remote control)

Selenium Remote Control (RC) is a server, written in Java, that accepts commands for the browser via HTTP. RC makes it possible to write automated tests for a web application in any programming language, which allows for better integration of Selenium in existing unit test frameworks. To make writing tests easier, the Selenium project currently provides client drivers for PHP, Python, Ruby, .NET, Perl, and Java. The Java driver can also be used with JavaScript (via the Rhino engine). 

Selenium Web Driver

Selenium WebDriver is the successor to Selenium RC. Selenium WebDriver accepts commands (sent in Selenese, or via a Client API) and sends them to a browser. This is implemented through a browser-specific browser driver, which sends commands to a browser and retrieves results. Most browser drivers launch and access a browser application (such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, or Microsoft Edge); there is also an HtmlUnit browser driver, which simulates a browser using the headless browser HtmlUnit. Selenium WebDriver does not need a special server to execute tests.

Selenium GRID

Selenium Grid is a server that allows tests to use web browser instances running on remote machines. With Selenium Grid, one server acts as the hub. Tests contact the hub to obtain access to browser instances. The hub has a list of servers that provide access to browser instances (WebDriver nodes) and lets tests use these instances. Selenium Grid allows running tests in parallel on multiple machines and managing different browser versions and browser configurations centrally (instead of in each test). The ability to run tests on remote browser instances is useful to spread the load of testing across several machines and to run tests in browsers running on different platforms or operating systems.

Now lets move to our Selenium WebDriver Tutorial.

What is Selenium WebDriver? 

Selenium WebDriver is a robust open-source framework for automating web browsers, primarily aimed at easing the testing and verification of web applications. As an important part of the Selenium suite, WebDriver offers a programming interface to interact with web browsers, allowing developers and testers to automate browser actions seamlessly.

Unlike its predecessor, Selenium RC (Remote Control), WebDriver directly communicates with the browser, providing a more stable and efficient means of automation

Selenium WebDriver Framework Architecture

It has four main Components:

1. Selenium Client library
2. JSON wire protocol over HTTP
3. Browser Drivers
4. Browsers

Selenium WebDriver Framework Architecture

1. Selenium Client Libraries:

• Selenium supports various programming languages such as Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and more. These libraries provide bindings or APIs that allow you to interact with Selenium and control the browser using the chosen programming language.
• For example, if you are using Java, you would use the Selenium Java client library, and if you are using Python, you would use the Selenium Python client library.

2. JSON Wire Protocol:

• JSON Wire Protocol is a RESTful web service that acts as a communication bridge between the Selenium Client Libraries and the Browser Drivers.
• It defines a standard way for sending commands to the browser and receiving responses. These commands include actions like clicking a button, filling a form, navigating to a URL, etc.
• The protocol uses JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) as the data interchange format for communication between the client and the server (browser).

3. Browser Drivers:

• Browser Drivers are executable files or libraries specific to each browser (ChromeDriver for Chrome, GeckoDriver for Firefox, etc.).
• They act as intermediaries between the Selenium Client Libraries and the actual browsers. The client libraries communicate with the browser drivers, and the drivers, in turn, control the respective browsers.
• The browser drivers interpret the commands from the Selenium Client Libraries and convert them into browser-specific actions. They also send information back to the client libraries about the status of the commands executed.

4. Real Browsers:

• Real Browsers are the actual web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.
• The browser drivers launch and control these real browsers based on the commands received from the Selenium Client Libraries. The browser drivers establish a communication channel with the browsers to automate user interactions.
• The real browsers execute the commands, perform actions on web pages, and return the results to the browser drivers, which then pass the information back to the Selenium Client Libraries.

Basic Steps in a Selenium WebDriver Script

Step 1: Setting Up Selenium IDE: To set up Selenium IDE in your browser you can visit the Selenium IDE website or click on this link to add the extension.

Step 2: Create a New Project: Open the installed Selenium IDE extension to access its default interface. Then, click “Create a New Project“.

Step 3: Name your project: The next step is to assign a name to your project. You can give any name that reflects your project’s identity.

Step 4: Creating a New Test Case: To begin the process of creating a test case for your website, add a new test case by clicking ‘+’ on the Tests tab and name your Test.

Step 5: Adding Playback base URL: A playback base URL is required to execute your test case, your test case will start from the URL that you will give. Add a playback base URL e.g., https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/ in the tab as shown in the image below.

Step 6: Recording Your Test Case: To start the recording of your Test Case, click the recording button available. It will capture every interaction with the web application in real-time.

Step 7: Performing Actions: Visit the website you intend to test and carry out the specific actions you wish to incorporate into your test case. Selenium IDE will record these actions as steps in your test case.

For example, Initiate a search for “Selenium IDE” in the search bar on the Geeks for Geeks website and press Enter to initiate the search. Click the first article that will redirect you to the Selenium IDE article webpage.

Step 8: Stopping Recording: Once you’ve completed your interactions, click the “Stop Recording” button in Selenium IDE.

Step 9: Running Your Test Case: Click the “Run current test” button to execute your test case and it will replay the actions that you performed. Observe the interactions and you can identify any issues during the test run.

Step 10: Evaluate: You can easily evaluate the summary of your test case by checking the ‘log’ section below, which will help you identify whether any steps have failed or passed.

Step 11: Export Your Test Case: Click on the three dots located on the right side of your test and select ‘Export‘ to export your test case in your desired language so that you can use it with other Selenium tools and frameworks for various testing and automation purposes.

Note: It will give you options to export your test case in the given languages. You can choose any of the given languages to export your test case.

How Selenium WebDriver Works

Selenium requires a web driver to interface with the chosen browser. Web drivers are a package to interact with a web browser. It interacts with the web browser or a remote web server through a wire protocol which is common to all. You can check out and install the web drivers of your browser choice.

Selenium Web Driver automates and controls initiated by the web browser. It does not rely on JavaScript for automation. It controls the browser directly by communicating with it.

• Chrome: https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/chromedriver/downloads
• Firefox: https://github.com/mozilla/geckodriver/releases
• Safari: https://webkit.org/blog/6900/webdriver-support-in-safari-10/

Selenium WebDriver Automates Web browsers through a three-step process:

• Command Translation: Your test commands are converted into HTTP requests using a protocol called JSON wire protocol.
• Browser Driver Initialization: Each web browser you want to automate has a corresponding browser driver (e.g., ChromeDriver for Chrome). When you run your Selenium script, the browser driver is initialized, which starts an HTTP server.
• Command Execution: The browser receives instructions through the initialized HTTP server and carries them out.

Example: Launching Chrome and Navigating to a Website

Java:

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();driver.get(“https://www.geeksforgeeks.com”);

Types of Request:

1. GET: GET request is used to read/retrieve data from a web server. GET returns an HTTP status code of 200 (OK) if the data is successfully retrieved from the server.
2. POST: POST request is used to send data (file, form data, etc.) to the server. On successful creation, it returns an HTTP status code of 201.

How to use Selenium WebDriver in Java:

Selenium Program to Login to a Specific Web Page

Java

// Java Program to Login to a specific Webpage 
// Using Selenium WebDriver and ChromeDriver 

// Importing package module to code fragment 
package login_test; 

// Importing required classes 
import org.openqa.selenium.By; 
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; 
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver; 

// Main class 
public class Test { 

    // Main driver method 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 

        // Path of chrome driver 
        // that will be local directory path passed 
        System.setProperty( 
            "webdriver.chrome.driver", 
            "C:\\Users\\Admin\\chromedriver_win32\\chromedriver.exe"); 
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(); 

        // URL of the login website that is tested 
        driver.get("https://auth.geeksforgeeks.org/"); 

        // Maximize window size of browser 
        driver.manage().window().maximize(); 

        // Enter your login email id 
        driver.findElement(By.id("luser")) 
            .sendKeys("xyz@gmail.com"); 

        // Enter your login password 
        driver.findElement(By.id("password")) 
            .sendKeys("xyz12345"); 

        driver.findElement(By.className("signin-button")) 
            .click(); 
    } 
}

Code will perform these Below-mentioned steps:

• Chrome Driver will start successfully and Chrome browser will open.
• It will automatically open the GeeksforGeeks login page and add details for login.
• If the details are valid, it will redirect to its website.

Benefits of Selenium WebDriver

• Open Source and Portable – Selenium is an open-source and portable Web testing Framework.
• Combination of tools and DSL – Selenium is a combination of tools and DSL (Domain Specific Language) to carry out various types of tests.
• Easier to understand and implement – Selenium commands are categorized in terms of different classes which make it easier to understand and implement.
• Reduce test execution time – Selenium supports parallel test execution that reduces the time taken to execute parallel tests.
• Lesser resources required – Selenium requires fewer resources when compared to its competitors like UFT, RFT, etc.
• Supports Multiple Programming Languages – C#, Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, Perl, and JavaScript
• Supports Multiple Operating Systems – Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris.
• Supports Multiple Browsers – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge, Opera, Safari, etc.

Note: Opera is no longer supported by Selenium 4 for Automation purposes.

Limitations of Selenium WebDriver

• No support for desktop applications – Selenium does not support testing for desktop applications.
• Expertise – Selenium requires the expertise of your team — and resources to manage.
• Maintenance and Scalability – Selenium is a maintenance-heavy framework — and is difficult to scale as one grows.
• Open Source Forums – Since Selenium is open-source software, one has to rely on community forums to get your technical issues resolved.
• No support for REST and SOAP Platforms – We can’t perform automation tests on web services like SOAP or REST using Selenium.
• No Reporting capability – Selenium does not have any inbuilt reporting capability, one has to rely on plug-ins like JUnit and TestNG for test reports.
• Image Testing – It is not possible to perform testing on images. One needs to integrate Selenium with Sikuli for image testing.

For more, Check – Limitations of Selenium Webdriver

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Selenium WebDriver is a powerful open-source framework for automating web browsers. It interacts with browsers through browser-specific drivers and a communication protocol called JSON wire protocol. Selenium WebDriver offers advantages such as portability, ease of use, and support for multiple programming languages and browsers. If you’re looking to automate web browser actions for testing purposes, Selenium WebDriver is a valuable tool to consider.

In This Tutorial, you Learned Basic to Advance Concepts of the Selenium Webdriver Tutorial.

More Related Articles on Selenium:

• Selenium
• Automated Testing
• Manual testing

Selenium WebDriver : FAQ

1. What is Selenium WebDriver?

Selenium WebDriver is a powerful tool for automating web application testing. It provides a programming interface for driving the browser and interacting with web elements.

2. How does Selenium WebDriver work?

Selenium WebDriver interacts with web browsers by directly controlling the browser using the browser’s native support for automation.

3. What programming languages are supported by Selenium WebDriver?

Selenium WebDriver supports various programming languages such as Java, C#, Python, Ruby, and more, allowing testers to write automated tests in their preferred language.

4. Can Selenium WebDriver automate testing on mobile devices?

Yes, Selenium WebDriver has the ability to automate testing on mobile devices using frameworks and tools like Appium for mobile automation.

5. Is Selenium WebDriver open source?

Yes, Selenium WebDriver is an open-source tool that is freely available for use and can be modified and extended by the community.

6. What are the advantages of using Selenium WebDriver?

Selenium WebDriver provides cross-browser compatibility, supports multiple programming languages, and allows for distributed test execution, making it a popular choice for web application testing.