Selenium Version 2

Selenium version 2, also known as the Selenium WebDriver was a huge advancement forward in the world of Web Automation. It addressed most of the limitations available in Selenium Version 1, its predecessor, making it the most preferred application for the Automation and Testing purpose. The Web Driver provided a more intuitive and user-friendly API. It can directly interact with the browser, without the need of JavaScript injection, which was one of the major limitations in case of Selenium RC. This direct interaction with the web browser increased the execution speed, making it more efficient for test and automation purpose as compared to it’s previous version.

Architecture of Selenium WebDriver

Here is the Architecture of the Selenium web-driver:

1. Selenium Client Libraries: Selenium supports various programming languages such as Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and more. These libraries provide bindings or APIs that allow you to interact with Selenium and control the browser using the chosen programming language.

2. JSON Wire Protocol: JSON Wire Protocol is a RESTful web service that acts as a communication bridge between the Selenium Client Libraries and the Browser Drivers. It defines a standard way for sending commands to the browser and receiving responses. These commands include actions like clicking a button, filling a form, navigating to a URL, etc. The protocol uses JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) as the data interchange format for communication between the client and the server (browser).

3. Browser Drivers: Browser Drivers are executable files or libraries specific to each browser (ChromeDriver for Chrome, GeckoDriver for Firefox, etc.). They act as intermediaries between the Selenium Client Libraries and the actual browsers. The client libraries communicate with the browser drivers, and the drivers, in turn, control the respective browsers.

4. Real Browsers: Real Browsers are the actual web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc. The browser drivers launch and control these real browsers based on the commands received from the Selenium Client Libraries. The browser drivers establish a communication channel with the browsers to automate user interactions. The real browsers execute the commands, perform actions on web pages, and return the results to the browser drivers, which then pass the information back to the Selenium Client Libraries.

Features of Selenium WebDriver

• Cross Browser Testing – Selenium WebDriver works on multiple renewed browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, etc which lets the developer test their application in multiple types of browsers to check if that is working perfectly in all of them or showing any kind of error.
• Supports Multiple Programming Languages – Selenium WebDriver supports multiple programming languages like Java, C#, Python, Ruby, Scala, etc, so that the developers can use their favorite language to write test scripts.
• Advanced Interactions – Selenium WebDriver supports complex and advanced interactions with the web elements, such as mouse hover, drag and drop, handling keyboard events, etc.
• Parallel Test Execution – WebDriver supports parallel test execution which reduces time and increases the efficiency of tests.
• Direct Communication with Browser – In the case of Selenium RC, there was a need for Selenium Server to communicate with the Web Browser. But Selenium WebDriver could directly interact and communicate with browsers using the browser’s native drivers.
• Support for Headless Browsers – WebDriver provides support for headless browsers like Google Chrome Headless and Fire-Fox Headless, which allows faster test execution without a visible browser window.
• Continuous Integration Compatibility – Due to its improved performance WebDriver seamlessly works with CI/CD pipelines, allowing automated testing as part of SDLC.

Limitations of Selenium WebDriver

• Limited Support for Desktop Applications – Selenium WebDriver was designed to automate and test web applications primarily, it has limited capability and support for Desktop Applications.
• No built-in report generation – Selenium WebDriver doesn’t support built-in report generation, some other third-party applications or frameworks are needed to generate the report of the test.
• Steep Learning Curve – Using Selenium WebDriver requires technical expertise, so those who are new to the field of automation might find it complex to understand.
• Browser Compatibility – Although WebDriver supports most of the renowned browsers, sometimes updates of those browsers can break the code that was running fine in the last version. Then that code and the Selenium driver should be updated which would be compatible with the browser version.
• No Built-in Image Testing – WebDriver doesn’t support built-in Image-based testing, verification of Visual Elements requires external libraries and frameworks.
• Limited Mobile Support – Selenium WebDriver was primarily built to test Web Applications, although it has a software called Appium for mobile testing, it is not as good as those that are primarily built for mobile testing.

Selenium is a suite of software widely used in the field of automation and testing, it has been a key player in the field of automation for a long time. This article will deep into Automation and discuss the difference between Selenium version 1 and Selenium version 2, highlighting their differences, advantages, and disadvantages.

Whether the user is an experienced Selenium user in the field of Automation testing for a long time or a completely new and who is curious or entering the real-time of automation, knowing the difference between the two versions is always a plus point.