Testing in software development is an important step to make sure that applications perform properly. Selenium WebDriver is possibly one of the most widely used tools in this space. So
Selenium WebDriver is essentially a highly powerful tool for automating web applications, with its core purpose being testing. It gives access to the programmable way of creating and executing test scripts mimicking a user’s function over a browser.
IMAGE: UNSPLASH
Understanding Selenium Webdriver
Selenium Web Driver is a browser automation framework that connects automation programs to web browsers. The main difference between WebDriver and Selenium RC (Remote Control) is that it doesn’t need your browser’s API; rather, it talks to their servers instead. Therefore, they may be tested more consistently and economically.
Selenium Webdriver Important Features
Browser Compatibility
Selenium WebDriver is compatible with most web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge.
Language Support
The main feature that people like to use the Selenium WebDriver for is the fact that you can test the built website in many programming languages. There is support for multiple languages, Java, C#, Python, Ruby, and so on.
Flexible And Powerful
WebDriver enables testers to ‘fake’ real user behaviour by interacting with web elements. It works for lots of actions, like clicking buttons, typing, selecting drop-down list elements, and even complex ones like drag and drop.
Support For Dynamic Web Applications
Most modern web applications are built based on technologies like Ajax and JavaScript. When dynamic elements are the issue, Selenium WebDriver is built to handle that problem out of the box, so the testers can wait for these elements to become visible or interactable before executing an action.
Integration With Testing Frameworks
Selenium WebDriver can easily integrate with JUnit, TestNG, and NUnit. It facilitates organising tests, reporting, and management better to make the testing process as a whole more effective.
Parallel Test Execution
Selenium Web Driver can be used along with Selenium Grid to speed up the testing process. The feature also lets you do regression testing by the parallel running of multiple tests on different machines or browsers, drastically speeding up the process.
Support For Headless Browsers
Selenium WebDriver also provides headless browsers (Chrome Headless and PhantomJS) for environments where you don’t have a graphical user interface (i.e., the environment has been set up for continuous integration). This capability allows for testing without the UI and suits automated environments perfectly.
Robust Error Handling
Built-in exception and error handling in Selenium WebDriver. It makes for more robust tests that are forgiving of unexpected situations like an entire page not loading.
Improved Team Collaboration
Selenium WebDriver makes collaboration between the…