A Tutorial On Using Selenium Java For Automation Testing

When you are into automation testing, preference is mainly given to the Selenium framework. At present time, Selenium is a widely used open-source automation testing framework for web applications. 

It is the most used tool by the tester and developers due to its ability to support various programming languages like Java, Python, and Ruby. In the present blog, we will present a tutorial on using Selenium with Java as the programming language. Selenium tutorial is designed to provide information to beginners and professionals on using it with popular programming languages like Java. 

Let us get started with a brief introduction to Selenium

Explore Selenium

Several hours are invested in process of testing a web application to ensure its functionality and security. Prior to the development of Selenium, testing of the application was done manually and enacted hundreds of test case scenarios. The major hurdles were high error rates and largely involved time. 

In the modern development of web applications, the competition has asked for the quick bug-free release of the applications. This requires decisive testing which gives instant feedback. This is the reason Selenium stands out to be the most popular tool. 

Selenium is a browser automation framework that provides various tools and APIs for the purpose of automating user interfaces on pure HTML and JavaScript applications. The supported tools like IBM’s RFI, HP’s QPI, and Appium are available for testing mobile applications and desktops. It supports different browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, etc. Further, it also supports multiple operating systems like Linux, Mac, and Windows. 

Crucial features of Selenium

• It is an open source framework
• It supports the platforms like Linux, Windows, and Macintosh which helps in easy report generation.
• It supports multiple frameworks like JUnit, TestNG.
• It also supports various programming languages like Java, Python, and C#
• It easily integrates with CI tools like Docker and Jenkin.

Now let us see how can we can use Selenium with different programming language 

Tutorial on using Selenium with Java

Java is the most preferred language by testers and developers. It easily mixes with automated testing on diverse web browsers. Selenium supports Java languages and makes it easy to write test cases. In other words, the tester uses Java to run Selenium as it is faster than other different languages like Ruby. Further, it easily integrating Selenium tests with Java is easier. 

Let’s initiate with Selenium automation testing using Java 

The present section will explain the required step to set and run a test by Selenium with the use of Java. If you are using Selenium with Java for the first time, you need to understand which components are required. 

Below we have a quick look at each of the steps 

Installation of Java

The primary and basic need for writing and running Java Programs is Java Development Kit which involves Java Runtime Environment. 

For downloading and installing Java, you are required to first download Java, then install it followed by the setting of the environment path. For verification, you have to visit the command prompt and type the Java version. A version of Java will be displayed on your desktop upon the successful installation of Java. 

Installation of Eclipse

In the running of a test, writing and running the code is the pre-requisite step. For this, you will need a platform. For example, Eclipse. 

You have to visit the official website for downloading Eclipse. On its download, you need to extract the downloaded files. You will then see the eclipse.exe icon in the Eclipse folder. Finally, you can launch Eclipse by opening .exe file.

Binding of Selenium Client and WebDriver language

WebDriver supports various languages and each has a client driver. As Java is the main focus, you need Selenium Java Client Driver. For downloading client drivers, you have to visit the Selenium website and you can easily see client drivers associated with different programming languages supported by Selenium. 

Configuration of Selenium WebDriver with Eclipse

It is an important step for initiating with Selenium. The steps for configuring Selenium WebDriver with Eclipse start with the launching of Eclipse. Then you have to create a workspace followed by the creation of a new Java project. This can be done by clicking on File, New, and then Java project. 

When you have created a project, you have to right-click on it and then create a package under it. New -> Package. When this is done, then you have to click on the package and create a new class. 

On created class, now you can add Selenium jar files to the project. To these added jar files, you have to right click on the project folder and then go to properties. On the appeared dialog box, navigate to “Java Build Path”. Now click on the “Add External JARs” option and add downloaded jar files and click on Apply and Close. With this, you have set Eclipse for the execution of the Selenium test script. 

Initiation of the first test using Selenium with Java

• Example.

The first script should be written for opening google.com on the chrome browser. This requires having the executable driver. You can do this by visiting the Selenium website. The executable file can be downloaded for specific browsers in the third-party driver browser section. Now all you can do is put the code in your eclipse window. 

• Below is the snippet of code that can be used:

Here you can use the Selenium keywords driver.get (“URL to open in browser”) for opening the URL in the preferred browser. 

Consideration points

Using Selenium with the use of Java programming language requires crucial points to consider. Writing Selenium tests with Java may incur errors if the testing process is not done adequately. Please note the below point while using Selenium with Java: 

• You have to utilize the correct Selenium locators so that the program becomes more reliable and quickly executable.
• You must have a data driver framework for executing Selenium tests.
• A particular halt time needs to be given to the test script which assists to avoid failure in scripts.
• When you use test cases, they should be asserted in Selenium with the aid of assertion given by some of the crucial frameworks like TestNG and Junit.
• Being a developer and using Selenium with Java, you must take screenshots and form reports as proof of testing for failures. Such screenshots will help to validate and explain the issue to others.

The best approach for Selenium testing using Java

When you are involved in Selenium testing with the use of Java programming language, you need to consider some of the best approaches for writing the test cases. Some of them are explained below:

• You should use the right locator

In the Selenium script, the building blocks are the selecting locators hence, it is essential to choose the right locator. The wrong selection of locator could lead to arise of errors as the script can be flaky and unreliable. You can understand that locators like “name” or “ID” can be easy. It will not only make the execution quicker but also make it more reliable than XPath and CSS.

• You should use the right wait

Halt time to the script is given for the purpose of loading web pages or WebElement to avoid test failure. Selenium has inbuilt waits like “Explicit” and “Implicit” for this to achieve. “Explicit” and “Implicit” halt the script’s execution till it searches for the elements. When it finds the elements, the script’s execution is continued. Another inbuilt wait called Thread.sleep is known to stop execution.

• You can take screenshots for reporting

In the process of Selenium testing, giving proof of the failed test is crucial by taking screenshots of the test. It will help in explaining the bugs to the software developers. It will aid in verifying the test process and debugging its quickly.

• Include Test Driven Script

When using Selenium testing with Java, you should implement Test-Driven Script. When involved in testing, including testing on different permutations and combinations of data. You need to involve this in the Selenium tests. This could be achieved by a data-driven framework.

Conclusion

In the present blog, we have seen that Selenium can be used easily with Java programming language. Automation testing with Java has eased the work for developers and testers. As it is open source, it increases the speed time for execution of tests and elimination of any redundancy and human error. If you learn Java for automation testing with Selenium, it will help in optimizing the testing mainly the cross-browser and regression testing. 

LambdaTest is the cloud-based automation testing platform that provides you with a cloud-based online Selenium Grid which helps in running test cases over more than 3000 browsers and versions. It will provide faster execution along with maximum test coverag.