Why is Selenium the Best Tool for Automation?

The adoption of agile processes in the software development process reduces overall software development time, time-to-delivery (TTD), time-to-market (TTM), and also development expenses. The demand for automation testing solutions has risen rapidly in order to ensure efficiency and quality in the testing process. Selenium is one of the most extensively used web application testing technologies among the many automation testing solutions available. There are many online training centers across India like Selenium Training In Chennai which aids the aspirants in upskilling the knowledge to work with selenium. In this article, we are going to cover the topics which incorporate the topics of understanding the Selenium tool, supporting browsers and platforms for selenium, and the significance of employing selenium rather than other automated testing tools. Now let us try to comprehend the tool Selenium.

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a free and open-source framework for testing web applications. For building test scripts, the Selenium framework uses "Selenese," a default test domain language that also assists testers. This framework comprises a diverse set of software test automation tools, each with unique capability tailored to a given application or project. The Selenium test suite consists of the following components:

• Selenium WebDriver
• Selenium RC or Remote Control
• Selenium IDE
• Selenium-Grid

Why is Selenium Used?

Selenium is an automated testing tool that works on various web browsers. Selenium WebDriver endorses various browsers, including Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Mozilla, and Internet Explorer, and enables you to easily automate the browser testing over different browsers. On your computer screen, you can watch live automated tests being run. Let's see what Selenium has to give if you want to win this game.

Features of Automated Testing with Selenium 

1) Support of Framework and Language 

JavaScript, C#, Java, Python, Perl, and Ruby are all supported by Selenium. Your scripts can be written in any programming language, and Selenium will turn them into Code that is compatible with Selenium. Each Selenium-supported language has its own framework for developing Selenium test scripts.

2) Open Source Availability 

As an application is open-source, Selenium is a freely available automation framework without upfront costs. As Selenium is open source, you can modify the code for better code management and improve the functionality of predefined methods and classes. It's so simple to create test scripts to evaluate functionality, Selenium has become the most trusted web automation tool.

3) Support for Multiple Browsers 

"As it's so simple to create test scripts to evaluate functionality, Selenium has become the most trusted web automation tool. Safari, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera are the most used browsers worldwide, as per StatCounter. All of the browsers mentioned are supported by the Selenium script.

4) Support for Multiple Operating Systems

Selenium test suites can be written on any platform, including Windows, and then run on another platform, like Linux or Mac. This allows software testers and developers to create test automation scripts without worrying about the platform they'll be operating on.

5) Reusability and Integrations

Test suites for Selenium automation could be reused and run on different operating systems and various browsers. Selenium isn't an inclusive solution for web automation testing. Third-party add-ons and frameworks are needed for expanding the scope of testing. You'll need to combine Selenium with CI/CD technologies like Docker, Maven, and Jenkins to achieve continuous testing.

Selenium Supported Browsers and Platforms 

The following is a list of platforms and browsers that Selenium supports, as mentioned in the Selenium official sources guide:

• Safari
• HtmlUnit

On Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are supported. Internet Explorer 6 is no longer supported. The driver supports running 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the browser where applicable.

• Google Chrome
• phantomJS
• Firefox
• Opera
• iOS (with ios-driver or appium)
• Android (with Selendroid or appium)

Why should you use Selenium instead of other automated testing tools?

As per the report produced by transparency market research, in between 2017 and 2025, the global test automation market will grow at a healthy 15.4 percent CAGR, reaching a value of US$ 109.69 billion in 2025, up from US$ 30.45 billion in 2016."

Selenium motivates testers to build test scripts in a single programming language and run (re-use) them across multiple browser platforms. WebDriver is becoming a W3C standard for all browsers, allowing developers to create browsers that support Selenium by default. The noteworthy part of this test automation tool is that it uses testers to test user interface modules, provides a huge number of alternatives for testing, compares the results, and then checks if they match the expected application behavior. The "SENDKEYS" method in Selenium converts test scripts written in several languages into a Selenium-friendly format.

While Selenium has numerous advantages, the following are a few of the most important ones:

• Transparency: Ensures SDLC process transparency and agility among cross-functional teams (operations, quality assurance, developers, clients, and the management).
• Platform Independent: It saves the software tester time by eliminating the need to write test scripts for each platform that has to be tested. It works on any platform because it is based on the notion of writing only one test script.
• Quickens TTD and TTM: Manual testing is a time-consuming and risky process, and as a result, product delivery and time-to-market schedule are often missed. This raises the project's overall cost. Selenium, on the other hand, minimizes the need for testers to write test scripts for each platform. As a result, time is saved and regression testing is avoided. This reduces testing time and improves TTD and TTM.  
• Facilitates the efforts of Continuous Integration: The modern agile enablers of the software development process are continuous integration and continuous delivery. Selenium can function as a catalyst for organizations' efforts to successfully embrace Continuous Integration (CI) practices by automating the complete test process. 
• End-to-End Testing Visibility: Selenium provides excellent visibility for testing end-to-end apps.
• Minimizes Turnaround Time: The Selenium framework allows testing teams to run many test cases in parallel across multiple browser platforms. This minimizes the turnaround time by ensuring high-quality testing.
• Other Tools Integration: Selenium with Java is as well-known as the other jars accessible, such as Appium, Sikuli, ExtentReports, and so on. The Selenium tool allows testers to integrate with these jars to expand the tool's capabilities to new heights.
• The Integration of Selenium with "ExtentReports" can provide graphs and reports that can be used to offer clients more information about the testing status.
• Selenium and "Sikuli" can be used to test web applications that contain videos and images.
• Selenium with Appium may be used to test web apps on Android and iOS platforms.

Conclusion

The key to a successful business is selecting the correct automated testing tool. Selenium has already been proved as the best automation tool and is most widely incorporated by business corporations. In this article, we have comprehended selenium and its usage along with its features, supporting browsers such as chrome, firefox, opera, and so on. The importance of selecting Selenium from other automation tools and its benefits and capabilities have also been discussed.