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Selenium

Basics of Selenium WebDriver

Selenium WebDriver is the heart of web automation testing, providing a simple and effective API to interact with web elements and automate browser actions. In this chapter, we will dive into the basics of Selenium WebDriver, covering how it works, how to locate elements, and how to interact with web applications.

What is Selenium WebDriver?

Selenium WebDriver is a web automation tool that enables developers and testers to programmatically control browsers. It allows you to simulate user interactions such as clicking, typing, and navigation, making it indispensable for automated testing of web applications.

Key features of Selenium WebDriver include:

  • Language Support: Works with Python, Java, C#, and more.
  • Browser Support: Compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, etc.
  • Cross-Platform: Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Flexible API: Provides methods to handle web elements dynamically.

How Selenium WebDriver Works

At its core, Selenium WebDriver communicates with the browser through a browser-specific driver. Here’s a simplified workflow:

  1. The test script sends commands to the WebDriver API.
  2. The WebDriver communicates with the browser driver (e.g., ChromeDriver for Chrome).
  3. The browser driver executes the commands in the browser and sends back the response.

Setting Up Selenium WebDriver

Before using Selenium WebDriver, you need to set up the environment:

  • Install Selenium Library
pip install selenium
  • Download Browser Driver
    • For Chrome: Download ChromeDriver
    • For Firefox: Download GeckoDriver
    • Ensure the driver version matches your browser version.
  • Write a Basic Script Here’s a simple Python script to open a browser and navigate to a webpage:
from selenium import webdriver

# Set up the WebDriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path="/path/to/chromedriver")

# Open a webpage
driver.get("https://www.example.com")

# Close the browser
driver.quit()

Locating Web Elements

Interacting with web elements is a critical part of test automation. Selenium WebDriver provides multiple ways to locate elements:

  • By ID (Fastest and most reliable)
element = driver.find_element(By.ID, "element_id")
  • By Name
element = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "element_name")
  • By XPath (Flexible but slower)
element = driver.find_element(By.XPATH, "//tag[@attribute='value']")
  • By CSS Selector
element = driver.find_element(By.CSS_SELECTOR, "tag[attribute='value']")
  • By Class Name
element = driver.find_element(By.CLASS_NAME, "class_name")
  • By Tag Name
element = driver.find_element(By.TAG_NAME, "tag_name")

Interacting with Web Elements

Once an element is located, you can interact with it using WebDriver commands:

  • Clicking an Element
element.click()
  • Typing into an Input Field
element.send_keys("Test Input")
  • Clearing an Input Field
element.clear()
  • Retrieving Text
text = element.text
  • Getting Attribute Values
attribute_value = element.get_attribute("attribute_name")

Handling Waits in Selenium

Sometimes elements take time to load, especially in dynamic web applications. Selenium provides two types of waits to handle such scenarios:

  • Implicit Waits Sets a default wait time for all elements:
driver.implicitly_wait(10)  # Waits up to 10 seconds
  • Explicit Waits Waits for specific conditions to be met:
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC

wait = WebDriverWait(driver, 10)
element = wait.until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, "element_id")))

Conclusion

Selenium WebDriver is a powerful tool for automating browsers, and mastering its basics is essential for successful web test automation. By understanding how to locate and interact with elements, you’ve taken your first step toward building robust test scripts. In the next chapter, we’ll dive into Pytest and learn how to structure and run test cases effectively.