The Selenium WebDriver is an excellent web application testing tool. It automates testing procedures and thus, ensures that a friendly API is created. The latest Selenium is the easiest to use and allows you to create tests, maintain them and improve them in a periodic manner.
WebDriver is designed for testing JAVA codes. There are several classes that can be implemented for testing. These classes allow for testing in various browser environments, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Here, we look at some details that improve our understanding of the new, Selenium automation tool.
An Introduction
The WebDriver is an improvement over the previous version, since it allows for a simple process, which works in the form of a concise programming interface. It addresses the limitations of the previous versions and allows for the creation of dynamic web pages. It is especially designed for testing out web pages that may have constantly changing elements.
The WebDriver provides immediate support and ensures that this API can resolve most of the problems that appear in testing web-based applications. This testing application directly uses the native support built in different internet browsers. The direct calls allow the browsers to provide the support for the features that you are employing in your program.
Why Use WebDriver with Selenium Server
WebDriver changes direction from the previous RC version, as it now provides support directly from each browser’s functionality of providing automation support. It can be used on any system, but works well with the Selenium Server. There are various reasons to use it with this special server.
One reason is that it allows you to employ the Selenium Grid facility. This is a method that allows testing over multiple machines. These machines may be physical or virtual and may be hosted in any server setting. This speeds up testing and ensures that the application will produce integrated results that are valid for all types of machines.
You are not bound with using Java and can implement testing processes in other languages, such as C# and Python. It allows for the use of a HtmlUnit Driver that creates testing procedures for use in a variety of settings.
Using WebDriver Projects
Installing the Selenium WebDriver provides you access to a development environment with the support for several important programming languages. We start with Java in this regard. The ideal way to use WebDriver is to use the Maven Java project development environment. Developers and testers can get Java based libraries and dependencies that are available in Maven. Once a file is created, you can use any IDE to further develop the Java project.
Another popular option is to use C# for programming and creating projects that you need to test. WebDriver has the latest dependencies available which allow for creating an ideal C# program and then test it out in any development environment, such as Visual Studio.
You can also use Python for amazing test automation needs. Selenium WebDriver can be easily installed using a command line tool of:
Pip install selenium
This works when you have the Pip and Setuptools installed on the physical or virtual system which has the Python IDE.
Selenium WebDriver is here to stay. It is best that you understand that using WebDriver will become essential in creating the ideal automation testing environment.
