Selenium is an open-source framework for automated testing of web applications. It provides a suite of tools for automating web browsers across multiple platforms and programming languages.
Selenium was first developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 as an internal tool at ThoughtWorks.
It was later released as an open-source project in 2008.
The framework has since undergone several updates and revisions.
TestComplete is a commercial automated testing tool for web, mobile, and desktop applications. It offers a wide range of features, including record and playback functionality, object recognition, and support for multiple scripting languages.
Sahi is an open-source web application testing tool that can automate functional testing, regression testing, and exploratory testing of web applications. It supports multiple browsers and platforms and has a script editor for creating and editing test cases.
Cypress is a JavaScript testing tool that provides automated testing for web applications. It allows developers to write tests that run in the browser, interact with the DOM, and automate UI testing. It also offers features like time-travel debugging and real-time reloading.
Selenium WebDriver is the core component of the Selenium framework that allows for browser automation. It provides a programming interface to interact with web browsers and automate browser actions such as clicking buttons, filling forms, and navigating between pages.
Selenium IDE is a record and playback tool for creating scripts without coding. It allows users to record their actions and generates a test script that can be run later in the browser. It is available as an extension for Firefox and Chrome.
Selenium Grid is a tool used for running parallel tests across multiple machines and browsers. It allows for distributed testing and can scale to thousands of nodes. It is used to reduce the time required for running large test suites.
Selenium supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and JavaScript. It also supports other languages through community-contributed libraries.
Selenium WebDriver is a programming interface for browser automation, while Selenium IDE is a record and playback tool for creating test scripts without coding. WebDriver is more powerful and flexible, while IDE is easier to use for simple tests.
Selenium can be used for mobile app testing through the use of emulators and simulators. However, it is not recommended for testing on actual devices, as there are limitations in interacting with the device's hardware features.
Some basic programming knowledge is required to use Selenium effectively, as it involves writing and executing code in a programming language. However, there are tools like Selenium IDE that allow for creating test scripts without coding.
Selenium is popular among automated testing tools for its flexibility, open-source nature, and support for multiple programming languages. Other tools like TestComplete and Cypress offer similar features but may have different strengths and limitations.