How to Write Automated Test Scripts Using Selenium?
Delivering high-quality apps quickly is crucial in today’s fast-paced software development environment. Test automation is one of the most important methods for achieving this objective. Test automation offers effective and repeatable validation of software functionalities, assisting in the early detection of flaws. Selenium stands out as a strong and well-liked option for automating web-based applications among the readily available automation tools. This thorough manual will cover the creation of successful Selenium-based automated test scripts.
What Is Selenium?
Selenium is a widely used open-source test automation framework for web applications. Selenium WebDriver is the most widely used Selenium tool, which enables testers to interact with web elements and replicate user behaviors, including clicking buttons, filling out forms, and moving across websites. Selenium is versatile and widely used within the software testing community because it supports multiple programming languages and web browsers.
Selenium allows you to validate software functionality, helping you spot bugs early repeatedly. Selenium is still one of the most popular tools for web testing and delivering quality online applications due to its robust features.
Why Use Selenium For Automation Testing?
Selenium is often used for automation testing due to the following reasons:
- Free and Open-Source: Selenium is an open-source framework; no fees are associated with utilizing it. This makes it economical and accessible to teams with different financial constraints.
- Support for Multiple Browsers: Selenium works with various browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and more. This enables testers to validate that their web applications work correctly across various browsers.
- Interaction with Web Elements: Selenium WebDriver enables precise interaction with web elements, allowing testers to carry out various tasks like clicking buttons, filling out forms, and confirming the content of web pages.
To leverage the true capability of Selenium testing, the use of a cloud-based platform like LambdaTest can be helpful. It is an AI-Powered test orchestration and test execution platform that builds on scalable online Selenium Grid infrastructure. Its integration with Selenium can ease the way to write automated test scripts. It allows you to run tests across 3000+ browsers and OS combinations.
Getting Started With Selenium Automation Scripts: The Prerequisites
There are a few conditions that you need to have in place before you start writing Selenium automation scripts. These requirements will guarantee that your test scripts are set up and run without error. Let’s investigate them:
1. Basic Programming Knowledge:
It’s crucial to have a fundamental understanding of programming ideas. Numerous programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, JavaScript, etc., are supported by Selenium. Pick a language that you are comfortable speaking or are ready to learn.
2. System PATH Configuration:
Make sure the PATH environment variable on your system has the browser drivers added. The WebDriver can now find the drivers during test execution thanks to this step.
3. Test Framework (Optional):
To arrange your test scripts, oversee test execution, and produce test reports, think about using a testing framework like TestNG, JUnit, or PyTest.
4. Build Tools (Optional):
Manage project dependencies, handle test setups, and simplify CI/CD integration by using build tools like Maven or Gradle.
5. Test Scenarios and Test Cases:
Have a clear knowledge of the test scenarios and test cases you want to automate before building your scripts. Planning effectively makes sure that your test scripts cover the essential features of your online application.
6. Basic HTML/CSS Knowledge (Optional):
The ability to locate online elements using locators like XPath and CSS selectors might be aided by having a rudimentary understanding of HTML and CSS, while it is not necessary. By meeting these requirements, you’ll be well-equipped to begin writing Selenium automation scripts and start your path to effective and efficient web application testing.
Writing Your First Selenium Test Script
Modern software development has become impossible without automated testing, which enables teams to produce high-quality apps quickly. Selenium stands out as a strong and well-liked option among the different automation tools available for automating web-based applications. The most popular tool for online testing is Selenium WebDriver, which is part of a toolkit offered by Selenium.
Now that we have a basic understanding of Selenium WebDriver let’s write test scripts and interact with web elements.
Step 1: Create the ambiance
It’s crucial to set up the environment properly before you begin developing Selenium test scripts. Here are the essential actions to get you going:
- Install Prerequisites: Verify your computer has Java Development Kit (JDK) installed. A recommended Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA is also required.
- Download Selenium WebDriver: Download Selenium WebDriver by going to the Selenium website and downloading the Java, Python, C#, or other language binding for Selenium WebDriver.
- Install a Browser Driver: Selenium WebDriver communicates with browsers via drivers that are specific to each one. For the browser, you want to automate, download the appropriate browser driver (such as ChromeDriver for Google Chrome or GeckoDriver for Mozilla Firefox). The driver executable must be added to your system’s PATH.
- Create a Project: Set up a new project in your IDE and configure it with the downloaded Selenium WebDriver library.
Step 2: Import Continuities
We will import the required dependencies in our test script at this point. Depending on the programming language you are using, the specific requirements will vary, but they usually include the Selenium WebDriver libraries.
Step 3: Install WebDriver
You must initialize the WebDriver object after importing the needed dependencies. Between your test script and the web browser you want to automate, this object serves as a link.
Step 4: Write the test script.
You can begin writing your first Selenium test script now that the environment has been set up. The sequence of web page operations you want to automate should be included in this script, including accessing the application URL, interacting with web components (such as clicking buttons and filling out forms), and conducting verifications.
Step 5: Search for Web Elements
Accurately finding web items is a critical part of Selenium test scripting. With the help of Selenium, you can find elements on a web page using a variety of methods based on their properties, including ID, name, class name, XPath, CSS selector, and more.
Step 6: Use web elements to interact
You can use WebDriver ways to communicate with the web elements once you’ve discovered them. You can carry out operations with these techniques, including as clicking on items, typing text into input fields, and extracting data from elements.
Step 7: Conducting Waits
It could take a while for websites to load or for users to interact with them. Explicit waits should be used in these situations. To ensure smooth operation and prevent timing-related errors, explicit waits enable your test script to wait until a certain condition is satisfied before continuing.
Step 8: Set Up Test Code
Organizing your test code becomes increasingly important as your test suite expands. Use testing frameworks like TestNG or JUnit to manage test execution, handle test dependencies, and generate test results after dividing your tests into logical test cases.
Step 9: Implementing test suites
You can launch a test suite once you have several test cases. Using test suites, you may run several test scripts simultaneously for more thorough testing and simpler management.
Key Factors To Keep In Mind
When writing your first test script, bear the following important considerations in mind:
- Begin modestly. Try not to immediately attempt to develop a thorough test script for the entire application. Start by creating a straightforward test case for a single functionality.
- Be succinct and clear. Your test script needs to be simple to read and comprehend. Avoid overusing jargon and speak in plain, succinct terms.
- Please comment. You can use comments to explain the actions and logic of your test script. This might be very useful if you need to recall the purpose of your test script in the future.
- Employ variables. Your test script might become more reusable and maintainable with the aid of variables. For instance, instead of hard-coding the URL of your application into your test script, you can put it in a variable.
- Check with several browsers. You should test your test script in each browser if your application is made to work across different web browsers. By doing this, you can make sure that your application operates consistently across all browsers.
- Check for various gadgets. You should test your test script on each device that your program is intended to be utilized on. This will make it easier to guarantee that your application operates consistently across all devices.
Conclusion
To sum up, every software tester and developer should be able to build automated test scripts with Selenium. Begin your automation journey with the step-by-step instructions in this blog! Selenium is one of the most powerful and widely used automation tools. It is highly adaptable, interoperable across browsers, and supports multiple languages. It simplifies and streamlines the testing process by seamlessly connecting with Continuous Integration Tools (CI) and Testing Frameworks (TLDs).
