What is Fluent Wait in Selenium?

Selenium has rock web automation testing that has allowed testers to mimic interactions with web applications that users may have performed in the past. Yet, one of the drawbacks of automated testing is that dynamic web elements may not be generally available during testing or appear inconsistent.

To resolve this issue, we are here with the Wait Commands in Selenium.

What are Wait Commands in Selenium?

In selenium, there are mainly three types of Wait commands:

Implicit wait:

The implicit wait tells WebDriver to wait a certain amount of time before throwing an exception when positioning elements. This is set globally for the lifetime of the WebDriver instance. If the element is not immediately available, Implicit Wait will wait the specified amount of time before throwing a “NoSuchElementException”. It is important to note that implicit waits can result in longer execution times. . if it is set to an unnecessarily large value. When searching for elements, WebDriver will wait for a specified amount of time before throwing a NoSuchElementException if the element is not immediately available in the DOM.

Explicit wait:

Explicit wait allows you to wait for a certain condition to be met before proceeding with the next steps in the test script. Unlike implicit wait, direct wait waits for a certain condition to be fulfilled within a certain time This is only used for certain elements where a condition is expected. You can define custom conditions using the ‘ExpectedConditions’ class, such as element visibility, clickable element, element presence, etc. Unlike Implicit Wait, which applies globally to all elements, Explicit Wait is applied selectively to specific elements or actions, offering more precise control. It is achieved by defining custom conditions using the ExpectedConditions class, such as element visibility or clickability, and specifying a maximum wait time. Explicit Wait enhances the reliability and stability of test scripts by ensuring actions are performed only when the desired conditions are met, thus improving the accuracy of test execution.

Fluent Wait:

Fluent Expectation is an enhancement to Explicit A wait that provides wait conditions over more flexibility and control. It is also known as Fluent Wait. It allows you to specify the maximum time to wait for a condition and the frequency of checking the condition. Fluent Wait is useful when dealing with dynamic elements or conditions that can change over time, during test execution. Unlike explicit wait, Fluent Wait can allow some type of wait period to ignore exceptions, making it more efficient at handling unexpected scenarios.

Why do Users Need Selenium to Wait for Commands?

Users need Selenium to Wait for commands due to the asynchronicity of web applications and the potential variability of load times and element availability.

Here are some reasons why waiting is essential for Selenium automation:

Dynamic loading of content:

Many modern web applications use AJAX, JavaScript, or other asynchronous techniques to dynamically load content without refreshing the entire page. Therefore, elements may not be immediately available in the DOM when the page is first loaded.

Page Load:

Web pages can take varying amounts of time to load depending on factors such as network speed, server response time, and page. complexity Page elements cannot be touched until the page is loaded.

Element visibility and interaction:

Users interact with web page elements such as buttons, text fields, and links. Selenium commands (eg click, sendKeys) can only be executed on visible and interactive elements. Waiting ensures that elements are displayed and ready for interaction before commands are executed on them.

Asynchronous operation:

Some web page functions trigger asynchronous operations, such as data serving, updates, or animations. Selenium must wait for these operations to complete before continuing with the next steps in your automation script.

Stability and Reliability:

Waiting before interacting with elements helps improve the stability and reliability of your automation scripts by reducing the possibility of errors. timing issues or elements not ready for interaction.

What is Fluent Wait in Selenium?

Fluent Wait is one of the mechanisms available at Selenium WebDriver that permits testers to set the maximal time for a condition to be accomplished and the frequency of their attempts to check the condition. Unlike such waits as Implicit Wait or Explicit Wait, Fluent Wait offers more flexibility since programmers can change the wait conditions according to the complications and situations during the runtime. Fluent wait is an explicit wait in Selenium that pings the web driver to wait for a circumstance and how regularly to check that scenario before returning an “ElementNotVisibleException” exception. To better understand, a fluent wait is also called a smart wait because it does not “wait” out the whole predetermined time as coded. Rather, the test proceeds to run as soon as the element is visible.

Syntax of Fluent Wait in Selenium

In Selenium, you can use the Fluent Wait function to dynamically wait for a condition to be met within a specified period of time at a specified polling interval.

Here is the Java Fluent Wait syntax:.

Syntax of Fluent Wait in Java

In this syntax:

Import the necessary classes/interfaces:

org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver

org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.FluentWait

org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.Wait

org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions

java.time.Duration

Initialize the WebDriver instance (e.g., ChromeDriver).

Define the Fluent Wait object with the WebDriver instance:

• Specify the maximum wait time using withTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(timeoutInSeconds)).
• Set the polling interval using pollingEvery(Duration.ofSeconds(intervalInSeconds)).
• Optionally, specify exceptions to ignore during the waiting period using ignoring(Exception.class).

Define the expected condition to wait for. In this example, we’re waiting for the visibility of an element located by its ID.

Use the until() method of the Fluent Wait object to wait until the condition is met or the timeout occurs. The until() method returns the desired element when the condition is satisfied.

Different Features of Fluent Wait

Fluent Wait in Selenium WebDriver provides several different features compared to other wait types such as implicit wait or explicit wait. Here are some key features that make Fluent Wait stand out:

Dynamic Polling Interval:

Fluent Wait allows you to set a custom polling interval, which means you can specify how often WebDriver should check if a condition is met. This dynamic polling interval gives you more control over the wait behavior and allows you to adapt to different scenarios where wait times can vary.

Custom Wait Conditions:

Fluent Wait allows you to set custom wait conditions through the ‘ExpectedCondition’ Interface. This means that you are not limited to the predefined conditions provided by Selenium’s ‘ExpectedConditions’ class. You can create custom conditions based on your specific testing requirements, increasing the flexibility and customization of your automation commands.

Ignoring Certain Exceptions:

Fluent Wait allows you to ignore certain types of exceptions while waiting. This feature is especially useful when dealing with intermittent problems or unexpected behavior that may occur during testing. By overriding certain exceptions, you can make your automation script more reliable and resilient to transient failures.

Chaining of wait conditions:

Fluent Wait supports chaining of multiple wait conditions using the till() method. This allows you to wait for certain conditions to be met before continuing with the next steps in the test script. Chaining wait conditions can be useful when dealing with complex web page interactions or workflows.

Timeout handling:

Fluent Wait provides a built-in timeout handler that allows you to set the maximum time to wait for a condition to be fulfilled. If the condition is not met within the specified time, Fluent Wait throws a ‘TimeoutException’, which allows you to gracefully handle timeout situations in your automation scripts.

Flexible configuration:

Fluent Wait provides several configuration options, including maximum timeout, polling interval. , and exceptions to ignore. This flexibility allows you to customize the wait behavior according to the specific features of your web application and the requirements of your test scenarios.

Overall, Fluent Wait provides a powerful and versatile mechanism for waiting when automating Selenium WebDriver. Its dynamic query, custom conditions, exception handling and flexible configuration options make it an essential tool for dealing with asynchronous behavior and improving the reliability of test scripts.

Example of Selenium Code

Let’s delve into the implementation of Fluent Wait in Selenium WebDriver using Java:

Java

import java.time.Duration;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.TimeoutException;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.FluentWait;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.Wait;

public class FluentWaitTest {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        // Set the path to ChromeDriver
        System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver",
                           "yourPath/to/chromedriver");

        // Initialize WebDriver
        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();

        // Navigate to the webpage
        driver.get("https://somewebsite.com");

        // Define Fluent Wait with a maximum timeout of 30
        // seconds and polling every 2 seconds
        Wait<WebDriver> wait
            = new FluentWait<>(driver)
                  .withTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(40))
                  .pollingEvery(Duration.ofSeconds(3))
                  .ignoring(TimeoutException.class);

        try {
            // Wait until the element with ID "my_element"
            // is clickable
            WebElement element = wait.until(
                ExpectedConditions.elementToBeClickable(
                    By.id("my_element")));

            // Once the element is clickable, perform
            // desired actions
            element.click();
            System.out.println(
                "Element clicked successfully!");
        }
        catch (TimeoutException e) {
            System.out.println(
                "Timed out waiting for element to be clickable..");
        }
        finally {
            // Quit the WebDriver
            driver.quit();
        }
    }
}

Output

Output

Explanation of the above Java Code

Import Statements:

• Import necessary Selenium WebDriver and support classes/interfaces for interacting with web elements, waiting for conditions, and handling exceptions.

Class Definition:

• Define a class named FluentWaitExample which contains the main method.

WebDriver Initialization:

• Set the system property to specify the path to the ChromeDriver executable.
• Initialize a new instance of the ChromeDriver, which launches a new Chrome browser session.

Navigation:

• Use the get() method to navigate to the specified URL (“https://example.com”).

Fluent Wait Configuration:

• Define a Fluent Wait with the WebDriver instance.
• Set the maximum timeout duration to 30 seconds using with Timeout(Duration.ofSeconds(30)).
• Specify the polling interval as 2 seconds using polling Every(Duration.ofSeconds(2)).
• Ignore the ‘TimeoutException’ during the waiting period using ignoring(TimeoutException.class).

Waiting for Element to be Clickable:

• Use the until() method of the Fluent Wait object to wait until the element with ID “my_element” is clickable.
• The ‘ExpectedConditions’ class provides various expected conditions to wait for, and elementToBeClickable() ensures that the element can be clicked.
• Once the element is clickable, store it in the WebElement object named element.

Performing Action on Element:

• If the element is clickable within the specified timeout, perform the desired action, which is clicking the element using the click() method.
• Print a success message indicating that the element was clicked successfully.

Exception Handling:

• Catch any TimeoutException that may occur during the waiting period.
• If a TimeoutException occurs, print a message indicating that the waiting timed out for the element to be clickable.

WebDriver Cleanup:

• Use the quit() method to close the browser window and terminate the WebDriver session, ensuring proper cleanup.

NOTE:

Ensure you have the Selenium WebDriver Java bindings and ChromeDriver configured correctly in your project. You can download the WebDriver Java bindings from the Selenium website and ChromeDriver from the ChromeDriver website.

Conclusion

Fluent Wait in Selenium WebDriver provides a flexible and robust solution for handling dynamic web elements and asynchronous behavior in test automation. Fluent Wait improves the reliability and stability of automation scripts by allowing testers to set maximum wait times, polling intervals, and custom conditions. Its dynamic nature and exception handling capabilities make it a valuable tool for ensuring accurate and efficient testing of web applications. Incorporating Fluent Wait into your Selenium workflows can significantly improve the efficiency and reliability of your test automation..

Start incorporating Fluent Wait into your Selenium test automation workflows today and experience the difference. to ensure the stability and reliability of your web applications.

Frequently Asked Questions on Fluent Wait in Selenium

What is Fluent Wait in Selenium WebDriver?

Ans: Fluent Wait is a dynamic wait mechanism provided by Selenium WebDriver that allows testers to specify a maximum wait time and polling interval for certain conditions before proceeding to the next steps in their automation commands.

How does Fluent Wait differ of other wait types, such as implicit wait and explicit wait?

Ans: Unlike implicit wait, which sets a global wait time for the entire WebDriver session, and explicit wait, which waits for a specific condition to be met, Fluent Wait offers greater flexibility by allowing testers define custom intervals and dynamic polling conditions.

When should I use Fluent Wait in my Selenium tests?

Ans: Fluent Wait is especially useful for dynamic web elements and asynchronous operations. or scenarios where the timing of item availability may vary. Fluent Wait is recommended if you need more control over the wait behavior and conditions of your automation commands.

How to enable Fluent Wait in Selenium WebDriver?

Ans: To enable Fluent Wait, you need to create an instance of Fluent Wait. WebDriver object and set parameters such as maximum duration, polling interval, and exceptions to throw. Then use the ‘ExpectedConditions’ function to specify the condition you want to wait for, and use the till() method to wait until the condition is met.

What are the advantages of using Fluent Wait over other waits?

Fluent Wait offers several advantages , including dynamic polling intervals, custom wait conditions, exception handling, and flexible configuration options. These features make Fluent Wait more stable and adaptable to different test scenarios, especially complex or asynchronous behavior.

Can I ignore certain exceptions when using Fluent Wait?

Yes, Fluent Wait allows you to specify certain exceptions to ignore. waiting time This feature is useful for dealing with temporary failures or intermittent problems that may occur during testing, making your automation script more robust and reliable.

Is Fluent Wait suitable for all types of web applications?

Although Fluent Wait is versatile and easy to use . in many test scenarios, so it is important to evaluate the features of your web application and the specific requirements of your test cases. In some cases, depending on the nature of the application and the behavior of its elements, other types of expectations or synchronization techniques may be more appropriate.