This blog post goes into greater detail on the Selenium WebDriver. The favorite tool for automated testing, as it is a “automated” test framework. It is open source and may be used with any popular programming language, including Python, Java, C#, and Perl. Additionally, it automates browser actions. This article explains all you need to know about testing web apps with Selenium WebDriver. We offer comprehensive Selenium training for Selenium certification. Naresh I Technologies is also the leading computer training institute in Hyderabad and one of the top five in India.
In this Selenium Tutorial, we will discuss what Selenium WebDriver is and if it is easy or difficult to learn. We will then go over what it does and its fundamentals. Next, we’ll look at the Selenium RC disadvantage and how WebDriver came to be, followed by a discussion of the browser elements. We then look at how to find the browser elements on the web page. We conclude with a look at the actions we conduct on browser components.
This blog post provides a comprehensive overview of the main topics required for Selenium certification.
What Is Selenium WebDriver?
The Selenium web-based automated testing framework tests web pages in various web browsers and operating systems. In fact, you have the ability to develop test scripts in a variety of computer languages, including Java, Perl, Python, JavaScript, PHP, and C#. It’s worth noting that the Selenium WebDriver uses Mozilla Firefox as its default browser.
However, newcomers may have doubts, as shown below.
Is “Selenium” easy to learn?
Selenium is actually extremely easy to learn. And to grasp it, you must have a fundamental understanding of any popular programming language, such as Java, C#, Perl, Python, or PHP. If you have “knowledge” of any of the aforementioned programming languages, you may easily create test cases. However, if you don’t know any, don’t worry because Selenium IDE is a GUI-based application that you can use for “huge effect.”
What does the Selenium software do?
The following are some of the interesting applications of the Selenium software.
Automated Testing: This is useful when dealing with “bigger” projects where, if not “Selenium,” the tester manually tests each capability. Each manual task is mechanized using Selenium. And this reduces the burden and stress on the testers.
Cross Browsers Compatibility:Selenium supports practically all browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari.
Increase Test Coverage: Test automation reduces testing time, allowing the tester to spend more time testing diverse test cases.
It decreases test execution time: Using “Selenium,” you can run several tests concurrently. This significantly reduces the test execution time.
Supports “numerous OS”: This testing tool is compatible with a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Unix, Linux, and Mac. The Selenium WebDriver allows you to create test cases on Windows and then execute them on Mac OS.
What are the basics of “Selenium?”
The WebDriver has existed since Selenium version 2.0. In Selenium v1, there were only three options: IDE, Grid, and RC. However, the “major output” of the Selenium project was WebDriver and its use as a replacement for Selenium v2. However, with version 3, RC no longer exists and has been relocated to the legacy package. However, you can still “download” and use the RC. However, you should not expect any help with it.
In a nutshell, the WebDriver provides the following advantages over the RC:
It supports the majority of computer languages, web browsers, and operating systems.
You overcome some Selenium 1 disadvantages, including file upload, pop-ups, download, and dialog barrier.
We have easier commands than RC and a “more powerful API.”
It allows batch testing, data-driven testing, and cross-browser testing.
However, unlike the RC, you cannot produce test reports. The RC provides you with a “report.”
The test script calls the Selenium WebDriver, which automates web browsers; we’ve already identified the programming languages and web browsers that are supported. Test scripts can be created in any of the programming languages supported.
However, you may wonder why we need Selenium WebDriver. In the next section, we will analyze the disadvantages of Selenium RC, which are the “reason” for the birth of the WebDriver.
The emergence of Web Driver and the limitations of RC
You might be surprised to learn that Selenium RC was an instant success upon launch. It’s because it overcame the same-origin policy issue. It was the biggest issue encountered while testing web apps with Selenium Core. However, do you comprehend the term “same-origin policy?”
It is the rule that implements the web application security model. If the JS and web page are hosted on the same domain, the web browser permits the JS codes to use the web page elements.
Selenium core was a JS-based testing tool that was limited by its inability to test all web pages.
However, with the introduction of the Selenium RC, testers were no longer subject to the same-origin policy issue, however the question remained: how did the RC accomplish this? It accomplished this through the use of another component known as the Selenium RC server. As a result, RC is made up of both the Selenium RC server and the Selenium RC client.
The Selenium RC server is an HTTP proxy server that is meant to mislead the browser into believing that Selenium Core and the web application being tested are on the same domain. As a result, the JS code is not interrupted during the website’s inspection and testing.
Despite the fact that the Selenium RC was a huge success, there were a few difficulties. The primary one was the time spent on test execution. The Selenium RC server is in the middle of the Selenium command-browser communication cycle. Furthermore, test execution takes a significant amount of time. Aside from the time factor, the RC architecture is a little tricky.
The architecture includes the injection of the Selenium Core into the web browser. The Selenium core receives instructions from the RC server and translates them to JS commands. The JS code accesses and tests web components.
Selenium WebDriver was created to address the concerns listed above. The WebDriver is faster since it communicates directly with the browser. You will not locate any external proxy servers. You will see simplicity in architecture and browser control at the OS level.
Another advantage of using the WebDriver is that it enables for HTML unit driver testing, which is a headless driver. The headless driver means that the browser has no GUI. However, the RC does not support it. And that is why WebDriver outperforms RC.
Before we can understand Selenium ideas, we need to be familiar with Java or any other object-oriented programming language. Languages supported include C#, Java, PHP, and Python. Currently, the Selenium WebDriver is the most popular among C# and Java developers.
Let’s move on to the next section of the course, where we will learn about browser elements. We define “elements” and describe how they are tested on the web.
What Are Browser Elements?
Elements are one of the various components that may be found on web pages. The browser’s most popular “elements” are:
- Test boxes
- Images
- CTA Buttons
- Hyperlinks
- Images
- Text area/error messages
- Web table/HTML table
- Frame
- Radio buttons/Checkboxes
And “testing” each of the aforementioned implies determining whether they perform properly and respond as predicted. For example, if we test text boxes, what do you “test.”
- We can send text or numbers using the text boxes.
- We retrieve the text entered into the text boxes, etc.
When we test an image, we must download or upload it. Alternatively, we might click on the image link or retrieve the image title.
As a result, we can apply a variety of operations to each of the elements listed above. However, we only do “operations” and begin testing after the “elements” have been discovered on the web pages, correct? As a result, in the following part, we will discuss element location approaches.
Locating Browser elements on Web pages
Each element on the webpage contains attributes or properties. There can be more than one attribute, and the “majority” is different for each “element.” For example, suppose the pages to be made up of two elements: text and photos.
And each of these elements has the Name and ID properties. These attribute values require values for each of the “elements.” As a result, the two “elements” cannot share an attribute value. However, two components may have the same class name value.
In our example, the text box and picture cannot have the same ID and Name values. However, you will see several traits shared by a set of components on the page. You will learn about these characteristics later in this article. However, let us list “8 attributes,” using which we can locate the pieces. These include the ID names, Class Name, Link Text, Tag Name, CSS, XPath, and Partial Link Text.
Since these elements have these qualities, we refer to them as locators. And they are:
By.id
Syntax: driver.findElement(by.id(“zzz”);
Similarly, we have syntax for the locators listed above.And the syntax above will explain why the locators are known as inner methods. So, before we go any farther, we need to learn the “methods,” functions, and browser instructions. It is used for executing operations on elements.
Operations on Browser Elements
Keep your Eclipse IDE open, with the Selenium package installed.
To begin web page testing, we require the “opening of the browser” and then navigate to the web page via the URL. Use the code below to reproduce this. The Firefox browser is initially launched, and then we travel to the NareshIT homepage.
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver; This is a library package that starts the loading of a certain driver.
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver; This is the library package containing the FirefoxDriver class, which is necessary for the FirefoxDriver to start when the browser is initiated by the WebDriver.
System.setProperty(“webdriver.gecko.driver”, “files/geckodriver.exe”); This command informs the run-time engine that the Gecko driver is located at the supplied path. Since Firefox 35, we have downloaded the Gecko driver to function with the WebDriver. If you need to test Chrome, you can download the ChromeDriver, which is an exe file, and specify the path in the code lines. We must repeat this process for each browser.
WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver(); – This command initiates the Firefox driver object.
get(“https://www.nareshIT,in/”); – We use this approach to open the aforementioned URL.
Driver.getTitle(); – This command returns the title of the current tab.
driver.quit(); – Closes the browser driver.
However, suppose you need to navigate to another URL and then conduct the testing. In this scenario, we utilize the navigate.io () function, as described in the excerpt below. And if you need to return to the previous page. And you may return to this using the navigate.back() function. Similarly, we can reload the current page with the navigate.refresh() command.
As with most of the basics, let us move on to the next topic. We need to discover an element on the web page, and then you must operate as efficiently as feasible.
Open a WordPress.com account. We’ll show you how to get into WordPress without using any of the code’s credentials.
The WordPress.com login page includes two text fields: one for the email address and one for the password. We must first locate these two elements, then enter our credentials, and finally discover the third element, the Login button, which we must click
On closer inspection, you’ll notice that (Ctrl + Shift + i) opens the identical window in the browser. All of the “elements” on the page are now displayed beneath the elements. Additionally, their characteristics are displayed. However, three areas are highlighted. The first highlighted element is the email text field, then the password text field, and finally the Login button.
If you recall, we explained before that these elements are located using the element locator. Let us now make use of these elements to offer field values. Here’s the syntax for locating the element: driver.findElement(By.id(“zzz”));
To provide the values, we need to use the sendKeys(“credentials”).
To tap the button, we need to use the click() method.Let’s start by locating the elements, and then we’ll run the operations through them. The code is as follows.
In line 1, we identify the email using its name attribute and send it the EmainID.
In line 2, we locate the password element using the “Name” attribute and feed it the password.
In line 3, we locate the login button element using its unique ID and then tap on it using the click () method.
However, simply writing these lines is insufficient. Because of the “page dynamics,” it does not reply immediately, and by the time the page loads, the WebDriver has terminated and thrown a timeout exception problem. This issue may not occur on the WordPress.com website because it is so fast, but it may occur on various E-commerce sites and other dynamic web sites.
To overcome this problem, we must employ advanced techniques. We instruct the WebDriver to wait after we visit the page, and once it has fully loaded, we locate the element. And then we carry out the acts.
If the WebDriver needs to wait until an element loads on the web page before closing the browser, we can use the driver.wait() or Threads.sleep() methods. However, if you write more complicated code, we can use both implicit and explicit waits. However, in this case, we use the following command:
However, while we work on the wait conditions, you should import the following library:
We use this as the class for the wait, which includes such methods.
The entire code is as follows.
When you supply the credentials in the original and execute this code, the WordPress.com page will open in a new window. After providing the credentials, it logs in to accounts.
Congratulations, we have successfully logged in, and our entire code runs correctly.
We used the ID and Name properties to specify the placement of components. You can also utilize alternative locators, such as XPath. You can use any element locator as a prerequisite.
Thus, we learned about the limitations of Selenium RC and why we chose Selenium WebDriver instead. We discussed in detail the benefits of the WebDriver over the RC. Then, we showed how we replaced the RC with the WebDriver to automate testing. Then we demonstrated how to get in to the WordPress site using the Eclipse IDE’s “selenium” command. And that completed our tutorial.
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