Know about the differences – Selenium vs. Scriptless Testing
Tags: selenium, scriptlesstesting, testgrid
Published: 2024-06-20 08:38:50

With the emergence of Agile, it’s no secret that the way engineers build and test software has evolved considerably in recent years. Traditional methods of testing will no longer suffice as software becomes more advanced. Test Automation was created with the advancement of technology to speed up the testing process by automating test cases and situations. In this blog, we will understand the difference between Selenium and Scriptless testing.

## What are Selenium and Scriptless Testing?

Scriptless testing refers to test automation that is performed without the use of a script or code. This sort of testing is commonly referred to as codeless testing.
Selenium is an open-source web browser automation tool. It provides a single interface for writing test scripts in various programming languages, including Ruby, Java, NodeJS, PHP, Perl, Python, and C#.

## Selenium Automation Testing

Selenium is a web browser automation technology that you can use on various platforms to automate browsers. Despite its extensive capabilities, its prime use is to automate web programs for testing purposes. It’s the foundation for a slew of other APIs, browser automation tools, and testing frameworks.

## Benefits of Selenium Automation Testing

Selenium runs on all kinds of browsers and operating systems, and you can control it using a variety of programming languages and frameworks. It can also automate time-consuming web-based administration operations.
It also allows for the creation of tests without the need to learn a test scripting language. Selenium also includes a test domain-specific language that you can use to write tests in Java, Ruby, C#, PHP, Python, and Perl, among other popular programming languages. After that, you can conduct the tests on the most recent and current web browsers.
Selenium is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It is made up of various components that play a distinct role in developing web application test automation. Selenium Grid, Selenium IDE, Selenium WebDriver, and Selenium RC are the four tools available.

### Scriptless Automation Testing

The term “scriptless” refers to the absence of scripting and programming. This may be deceptive to the audience, particularly newcomers to software testing. Scriptless testing does not replace scripting and is incompatible with any test automation tool’s actual coding. It’s a very adaptable testing framework with very little code exposure.
In simple words, scriptless testing is a method of conducting testing without the need for scripts or coding in any programming language. It cuts the time it takes to create automated tests in half by reducing the amount of scripting required.
Read also: [Scriptless Test Automation – The Complete Beginner’s Guide](https://testgrid.io/blog/scriptless-test-automation/)

### Pros and Cons of Scriptless Automation Testing

Testers can design better automation scripts that illustrate the application’s essential functionality with scriptless Test Automation. The number of licenses for testing tools will undoubtedly come down as a result of this form of testing. Product development businesses, where they use the same resources for numerous activities, will find scriptless test automation more effective.

Despite their many benefits, scriptless test automation frameworks contain complicated underlying codes that you need to maintain and update on a regular basis. Those frameworks aren’t accessible; they have upfront and ongoing expenditures that exceed the cost of the instrument.

As a result, the only manual effort you require is to select the appropriate framework for your business needs. The testing team does not require any coding or scripting experience to generate automated tests using Scriptless Test Automation technologies. However, providing the flexibility to customize as a framework is an intelligent approach.

## Scriptless Testing vs Selenium: Features Comparison

Let us now compare the features of Selenium and Scriptless Testing.
To keep up with quality, Selenium must be built on long-term test automation. If the testing team wants to reuse test scripts, for example, they should utilize Selenium IDE. Selenium IDE is a Selenium component that allows you to record, edit, and debug functional test scripts. Because testers must create test scripts from scratch, they must be familiar with programming or scripting.

Scriptless Automation Tools, on the other hand, already include ready-to-use automated test cases and reusable code components. These functionalities are mostly available out-of-the-box in Scriptless Test Automation tools. Testers don’t need to have any programming or scripting experience. It gives testers and business users the ability to automate tests without having to bother about code. The Scriptless Test Automation tool has already taken care of the coding difficulty.

When it comes to debugging test scripts, Scriptless Test Automation tools minimize the need to continually debug scripted test code because the tool does it for you. In contrast, Selenium automation testers must manually debug test scripts when they find mistakes.

Selenium test environments are tough to set up. Selenium requires various plugins to facilitate Test Automation. Thus, system owners and administrators must manually update and configure everything. Scriptless test environments are easier to build and manage, allowing for a hassle-free upgrade process.

As a result, a Scriptless Test Automation solution is ideal for Agile and DevOps Test Automation.

## Why are Scriptless Automation Tools Better?

In general, Scriptless Test Automation Tools outperform Selenium. Scriptless test automation solutions are simple to set up and maintain, and unlike Selenium, they don’t require any plugins. It is much faster than Selenium in handling large numbers of test cases.

Scriptless Test Automation Tools don’t demand scripting or programming knowledge from their users. Users can conduct their QA operations using the platform’s “ready-to-use” test stages. Unlike Selenium, one must install Selenium IDE to use the playback tool, which provides users with a capability similar to the reusable codes scriptless provides. When it comes to scalability and flexibility, scriptless is the way to go. Everything you require is already on hand. Selenium, for the most part, necessitates the use of other components to use it properly.

Source : This blog is originally published at [TestGrid](https://testgrid.io/blog/comparing-selenium-and-scriptless-testing/)