Why is Selenium the Best Automation Tool?
Tags: selenium, automation, testing, python
Published: 2022-03-02 05:18:10


How can you acquire more knowledge about automation testing? What are the various tools used for automation testing? Is Selenium the best automation testing tool? We understand that you have any questions in your mind and are looking out for their answers. We have curated this article for all of you to get a little clarity around it.

We all know that we have now entered the information age, and we can see automation in almost every industry. Both automation and Artificial Intelligence have taken over the world. Most of our day-to-day operations are becoming partly or fully automated with the help of all the new technologies emerging these days.

Those days when we were entirely dependent on doing manual testing are behind us as it required a lot of code editing, reviewing log files, searching for errors that took a lot of time and effort. Automation provides comfort and flexibility to developers worldwide since it automates all the activities listed above. The developer does not need to spend a lot of time looking for glitches or bugs.

Unless you are living under a rock, you must be aware of what [Software Testing](https://www.mygreatlearning.com/academy/learn-for-free/courses/software-testing-fundamentals1) is- a process of ensuring and validating that the software or app is free of any bug or error. The end goal is to make sure the software meets the technical requirements, and customer needs effectively and efficiently. A tester executes various tests to identify and rectify the bugs.

This blog is curated to cover all the aspects of automation testing and the most popular tool associated with it, Selenium.

So, let's begin the journey!

## Why Automation Testing?

IT developments are almost incomplete without incorporating automation. Yes, automation remains the biggest challenge for QA specialists worldwide since many changes are expected in the application after every release. Technology is evolving and, with it, numerous other things.

Manual testing is being overtaken by automation testing. We are not saying that we will go completely automated as it is not reasonably possible due to a lack of resources. Hence, we will witness a combination of both manual and automation testing. 

## Benefits of Automation Testing

It will enhance the quality and effectiveness of the applications.
Manual testing requires a lot of money and cost compared to automation testing, and it eliminates the need for human intervention to some level, making testing execution more rapid.
It will help you identify bugs in the early stages of SDLC.

## Selenium: A Brief Introduction 

It became widespread among testing professionals due to the numerous benefits it offers. If we talk about automated testing, it is usually the first thing that comes to our minds. After being launched in 2004, Selenium has made the life of automation testers easier. They have started to like using this tool since it is easy to use and readily available. Now, without further ado, let's get to the main topic and discuss what Selenium is all about and its offer.

You can also get your hands on the [free online Selenium basics course](https://www.mygreatlearning.com/academy/learn-for-free/courses/selenium-basics) to get a fair idea of what Selenium is all about. 

You must have already figured it out by now- Selenium is an open-source automation testing tool. Here is the catch: it is used to test only the web application, which means it is not meant to test software or mobile testing applications. The testing professionals must have extensive coding skills and scripting knowledge to use this tool.

## Who invented Selenium?

Jason Huggins created it in 2004, an engineer at ThoughtWorks. He came up with this idea when a software he was working on required constant testing, and he realized that the repetitive testing was making the application inefficient. So he developed a JavaScript program called javascriptrunner which became so successful when he turned it open source, and today we know it as Selenium Core. So now that we know how the idea of Selenium was hatched let's understand more about Selenium.

## Selenium Suite of Tools

It offers 4 components popularly known as the Selenium suite of tools. It contains the following-


![Selenium Suite of Tools](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ovkyl9wzp7dboalr5lb0.jpg)

**Selenium WebDriver:** It is a web automation tool that enables you to write automated tests of web applications. It is used to automate the test process of web applications accessed through a web browser. Selenium can test the functionality, usability, and accessibility of web apps.

**Selenium Grid:** It is a tool that enables you to run Selenium tests in parallel. Selenium Grid is used to run Selenium tests on multiple computers in parallel. This can speed up the testing process because it enables you to execute more than one test simultaneously.

**Selenium IDE:** It is a tool that enables you to record and automate playback tests. Selenium IDE can record your steps to test a web application and then play back those steps automatically. This can be helpful to automate the testing process.

**Selenium Remote Control:** It is a tool that enables you to control browsers remotely. It enables you to execute Selenium commands from a remote machine and view the results in a browser on the remote machine. It can be used to automate the testing of web applications.

## What are its various benefits?

**Learning Selenium-specific language not required:** You can write your scripts in Java, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Perl, and more, and in no time, Selenium will convert them into codes that are compatible with it. That way, you do not have to learn any selenium-specific language. 

Besides, every language provided by Selenium has dedicated frameworks that help to write a test script for selenium automation testing. You know that if you choose Selenium as an automation testing tool, you don't have to think about language and promoting the system since you are already sorted that way.

**Open-source tool:** As it is an open-source tool, it does not require any cost of licensing, which directly makes it far better than any other automation testing tool. So, this is how you can save a good amount of money and use it elsewhere.

The Selenium community continually helps developers and software engineers automate the features and functionalities of web browsers. This is why it has become the most widely used tool and is also reliable amongst testers from all around the world.

**Supports various browsers and OS:** Yes, you do not need to write different test scripts for all browsers. Selenium has got you covered that way as it supports almost all the browsers- be it chrome, firefox, opera, safari, internet explorer. It is also compatible with all of these OS like Linux, windows, mac, etc. This makes writing the scripts easy for the tester as they do not have to worry about which platform they are writing for.

**Flexible & easy to learn:** Writing Selenium is comparatively easy as it requires only writing a few pieces of code to automate the functions of your website. Test cases regroup and refactor. This enables developers and testing professionals to modify the code quickly, reducing duplication, eliminating complications, and increasing maintenance, making it flexible and usable.

**Supports mobile testing:** You can test native, hybrid, or mobile web apps with Selenium, just with the help of extra software. like Appium and Selendroid. Both tools are open source, and the main difference is that Appium supports iOS, Android, and Windows devices while Selendroid primarily focuses on Android.

Amid its advantages, there are a few **disadvantages** associated with it too:

**Difficult to understand for non-coders:** All of us are aware that the whole idea behind automation is to minimize the requirement of coding skills. In short, anyone with extensive knowledge of programming should perform testing functions. Tools like Ranorex, TestComplete, etc., allow codeless testing. However, the same cannot be said for Selenium as it requires a good grasp of one of the programming languages.

**No technical support:** Since it is an open-source tool, its creators or anyone from the company does not provide tech support. You can find answers or solutions to your problems by joining the community where people who are still learning or experienced people might see your query and answer you.

**No reporting facility:** So, if you are facing any issues with the tool, you can't report it and send it to the team. You might have to take a screenshot of it and then contact the team that might diagnose your problem.

## Career opportunities in Selenium Testing

Over the past 10 years, Test Automation has undergone so many changes. Selenium is the best testing tool for software, and its demand is at its peak right now. There is a high demand for skilled professionals making it the right time to land in the market.

If you already possess some technical experience, learning and getting a Selenium specific will not be a significant issue. Also, if you have previously worked in manual testing, you can make easy use of that and advance your knowledge by learning about Selenium. Using Selenium is not an expensive affair because it is an open-source tool.

## Skills required to get into Selenium Testing

**Technical Skills**

**SQL:** As Software systems contain massive amounts of data in the background, it is true. SQL queries ranging from simple to complex can verify if appropriate data is stored in the specific backend database.

**Automation:** With the growing complexities and various issues in the application, it is difficult to perform a particular task by just being dependent on manual testing. Testers need to learn automation for checking browser consistency, performance, etc. It is essential in this era of growing technology to have automation skills.

**Linux Commands:** A good understanding of Linux commands is essential for testers to progress in their careers. It is required due to software like Web-services, Databases, and App servers.

**Soft skills**

**Creative Thinking:** The organizations must serve the consumer and fulfill their needs. As a testing professional, you need to recognize this and work on it accordingly to provide your customers with what they want within the time limit.

**Good Communication (written and spoken):** You should effectively communicate with clients, such as updating the project's status to customers, reminding the team about specifications, communicating problems to developers, translating requirement documents to test cases, and preparing reports.

**Team management:** You may be asked to work with developers, clients, and customers in the testing team. Therefore, you must acknowledge the necessity of working closely with non-experts to ensure a good product release.

**Flexibility:** You should face any challenge in the software testing environment. If the job requires software training, they should do that too.

## Conclusion

How many times has it happened that you found your favorite movies or TV shows online for free without having to spend money to buy a subscription fee? Feels good. Now, what would happen if Selenium suddenly is not a free tool anymore? We might not feel wrong about its cons anymore since we will miss having a free and efficient tool. Selenium is not perfect, but it is still doing fine with the testers that are not following the codeless trend.

Selenium is by far the most popular tool, and even though it has some disadvantages associated with it, it is still preferred by most testers worldwide. So, if you are planning to learn to work on Selenium, this is your chance, and this would also be the best time to do so. Want to expand your knowledge of Selenium? Learn [Selenium with Python](https://www.mygreatlearning.com/academy/learn-for-free/courses/selenium-with-python) and see how it works.