Why Selenium is becoming so popular?

Why Selenium is becoming so popular?

 A number of recent reports have highlighted the rise in the use of Selenium as a software testing framework for internet applications.

Despite being a portable framework, Selenium enables QA engineers to write test scripts in a wide range of programming languages including C#, Java, PHP, Perl, Ruby, Python and Groovy. The testing professionals can further use the record/playback tool provided by Selenium to write test scripts without learning any new programming language. 

The open source framework further makes it easier for testers to evaluate the performance of a web application by running tests on some of the widely used web browsers.

Major Advantages of Using Selenium for Web Application Testing

Supports Multiple Languages and Test Frameworks

While using Selenium, QA engineers have option to choose their preferred programming language and test framework. At present, Selenium supports several widely used programming languages including C#, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, PHP, Perl, Ruby, Python and Groovy. The programmer can further import Selenium client libraries into popular language IDEs like Eclipse, Visual Studio.Net and Net beans. Selenium also supports several software testing frameworks including NUnit, JUnit, TestNG, RSpec, Test::Unit, pyunit and unittest. Thus, it becomes easier for QA engineers to write test scripts without acquiring any new skills.

Facilitates Cross Platform Browser Testing

To deliver flawless user experience, QA engineers have to assess the performance of the web application across multiple browsers and operating systems. The testers have option to install Selenium as a custom Firefox extension. Selenium further supports widely used web browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari and Opera. At the same time, the framework also supports major platforms like Microsoft Windows, Linux and Apple OS X. So the developers can write the test scripts once, and execute those on several operating systems and web browsers.

Can be Used for Comprehensive Testing

Selenium can be seamlessly integrated with other test suites including QMetry, Hudson, Saucelabs and Selenium Grid. So it becomes easier for QA engineers to integrate it with their testing ecosystems. Despite being a portable testing framework, Selenium can be used to perform comprehensive testing including functional, regression, UI and UAT. The testing professional can further enhance Selenium and use the enhanced framework to carry out load testing, production monitoring and similar complex tests required to make the web application flawless.
A constant increase is being noted in the number web applications delivering richer user experience by using AJAX technologies. So the QA engineers are required to test the application by using a framework that strongly supports AJAX technologies. As Selenium supports AJAX technologies strongly, it can be used to assess the complex internet applications. Selenium can also be used to test the applications developed by using Agile and extreme programming (XP) methodologies. That is why; an enterprise can use the web application testing framework to adopt Test Driven Development (TDD).

Option to Access Selenium Ecosystem

The QA engineers also have option to access a large Selenium ecosystem that consist both open source tools and commercial services. For instance, they can access functional test services like BrowserStack, Sauce Labs and TestingBot to carry out Selenium cloud testing without putting any extra time and effort. Likewise, they can use Neustar to avail load testing and website monitoring services based on Selenium. The availability of open source tools and commercial services also contribute towards the rise in use of Selenium.

Reduces Testing Cost

Many enterprises, nowadays, opt for open source software development and testing frameworks to curtail overall project cost. Despite being a powerful and dynamic web application development framework, Selenium is still open source and free. Like Sahi and Watir, Selenium also allows users to avail the test automation framework and tools without paying any licensing fees. The low cost and open source nature of Selenium also makes it effective in bringing down the web application testing cost.

The QA engineers also have option to choose Selenium IDE or Selenium WebDriver. Selenium IDE is designed as a Firefox add-on to record-and-playback the interactions with the web browser. On the other hand, Selenium WebDriver can be used to create browser-based regression automation, while reusing the test scripts in multiple environments. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a selenium automated testing company.