What is Selenium and How to Use it for Automated Testing?

What is Selenium?

Selenium WebDriver is a common open-source framework that allows automated testing of web apps. It’s widely utilized by software developers & testers to automate web browsers & perform functional testing. In this article, we will discuss the steps involved in downloading plus installing Selenium WebDriver.

Step 1: Verify your operating system

Before you start the download & installation process of Selenium WebDriver, you will be required to verify your operating system. Remember Selenium WebDriver is compatible with all main operating systems like Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Step 2: Download the up-to-date version of Selenium WebDriver

After operating system verification, you are required to download the newest version of Selenium WebDriver from the official website of Selenium. Select the right version for your operating system.

Step 3: Download & Install Java

Before installation of Selenium WebDriver starts, you should ensure that you’ve installed the latest version of Java Development Kit (JDK) on your computer. Download the JDK from Oracle’s official website.

Step 4: Setting up the environment variables

Step 5: Install an IDE (Integrated Development Environment)

You can utilize any Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse to write & run Selenium WebDriver scripts. Download & install an IDE you prefer.

Step 6: Setting up a project in your IDE

LAfter the successful installation of an IDE, you should set up a project in your IDE for Selenium WebDriver scripts. Create a new project in your IDE plus add Selenium WebDriver to it as a dependency.

Step 7: Download a WebDriver Implementation

Selenium WebDriver is compatible with numerous programming languages, including Python, C#, Java, Ruby, etc. You should download a WebDriver implementation for the programming language which you’re using.

For example, if you’re using Java, you need to download the Java WebDriver implementation from their official website Selenium. The download link is available on their website’s homepage.

Step 8: Configure the WebDriver

After downloading the WebDriver implementation, you require to configure it before you start utilizing it. The configuration process includes adding the WebDriver executable file to the system’s PATH environs variable.

To configure WebDriver, you need to follow the steps below:

Create a new folder on your computer and name it maybe “WebDriver.”
Extract the downloaded WebDriver implementation file to the newly made folder.
Click on the Start menu & search for “Environment Variables” in the search box.
Click on “Edit system environment variables.”
Click on the “Environment Variables” button.
In the “System Variables” section, scroll down to the “Path” variable & click “Edit.”
Click “New” & add the complete path to the folder where you extracted the WebDriver implementation file. For instance, if you extracted the file to C:\WebDriver, then you will add C:\WebDriver to the Path variable.
Click “OK” to save the changes made.

Step 9: Setting Up a Selenium Project

Now that you’ve downloaded & configured the WebDriver, you should set up a new Selenium project in your desired code editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

If you’re utilizing Java, you can work with the Java IDE like IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse to set up a new project. Below are the steps you should follow

Open Java IDE & create a new Java project.
Right-click on the project name & choose “Properties.”
Click on “Java Build Path” and then go to the “Libraries” tab.
Click on “Add External JARs” & browse to the folder where you extracted the WebDriver implementation file.
Choose the JAR file for WebDriver implementation & click “OK.”
Click “Apply” & “OK” to save the changes made.

Step 10: Write Your First Selenium Test

At this point you’ve successfully set up your Selenium project thus, you can begin writing your first Selenium test. Below is a simple example of a Selenium test written in Java language:

                          
<import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
<import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
  <public class MyFirstSeleniumTest {
  <public static void main(String[] args) {
    <// Set the path to the chromedriver executable
    <System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "C:\\WebDriver\\chromedriver.exe");
    <// Create a new ChromeDriver object
  <WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
  <// Navigate to the Google homepage
  <driver.get("https://www.google.com");
  <// Close the browser
  <driver.quit();
  <}
<}

This test will create a new ChromeDriver object, move to the Google homepage, and then exits the browser.

Conclusion

To download & install Selenium WebDriver, you require to download & install Java, download a WebDriver application for your desired programming language, then configure the WebDriver, and finally set up a Selenium.