While Selenium has long been the go-to choice for test automation, it's essential to consider the changing test automation landscape. In this article, we'll introduce you to practical alternatives that are gaining traction. These selenium alternatives offer specific benefits and capabilities that could greatly improve your automation efforts, no matter your level of experience. It's time to explore these Selenium alternatives and see how they can enhance your test automation expertise.
What is selenium web testing? Selenium web testing is a suite of open-source tools used to automate testing web applications across various browsers and platforms. It allows you to record and playback user interactions, automate repetitive tasks, and verify the functionality and behavior of your web app.
4 Selenium Alternatives For Test Automation
1. Sahi Pro: Enterprise-Grade Test Automation Platform
Sahi Pro is a powerful suite of features to help you test quickly and release fast in the market. The beauty of Sahi Pro is it automates applications spanning Web, Web Services, Windows Desktop, Java Applications, Mobile (Android and iOS) Native, Hybrid and SAP GUI applications. Sahi OS is an open source version of Sahi Pro with limited features.
Sahi Pro is well suited for cross-browser/multi-browser testing. Sahi Pro’s Recorder automatically generates the script on all the browsers. The script developed with one browser can work seamlessly across all the browsers.
In terms of the expertise required, Sahi Pro is not scriptless but a manual tester can easily learn Sahi Pro just within a couple of days. Sahi Pro records in javascript which is customisable as per external requirements.
Apart from that what distinguishes Sahi Pro from Selenium is that it has inbuilt frameworks which allow parallel playback on single machines and distributed playback across machines. Sahi Pro also automatically generates logs of each step and collates them as reports. There are also historical reports that help to find out trends.
Here is a comparison of Selenium & Sahi Pro
2. Playwright
Playwright is an upcoming tool that provides APIs to automate web applications across all modern browsers. Playwright supports multiple programming languages namely JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and C#. Since Microsoft launched Playwright in 2020, it has swiftly become a go-to choice, thanks to its formidable features and intuitive interface.Built upon the Chromium DevTools Protocol, Playwright extends cross-browser testing capabilities across Chromium, WebKit, and Firefox browsers. This translates to a simplified testing process where you can assess your applications on various browsers without the complexity of managing multiple frameworks. Notable features include automatic screenshot capture upon test failure, robust support for mobile web testing, and a seamless ability to record and replay user interactions.
3. Puppeteer
Puppeteer is a Node.js based framework that provides APIs to control headless Chrome or Chromium using the DevTools Protocol. It offers a comprehensive set of features that empower programmers to interact with a web browser as an object, using methods like .goto() and .type(). One of the key advantages of Puppeteer is its ability to offer more control over Chrome, enabling web scraping, taking screenshots, and generating PDFs of pages for UI testing. Additionally, Puppeteer allows you to measure load times through the Chrome Performance Analysis tool, providing valuable insights into the performance of your web applications.However, Puppeteer is not the preferred choice due to its limitations. It can work only with Chromium-based browsers. Also, it is not suitable for end to end testing of complex web applications.
4. Cypress
Cypress is an open-source test automation platform that has gained popularity among developers. It offers a unique combination of tools, including the Cypress Test Runner and the Cypress Dashboard. The Cypress Test Runner allows you to write tests in real-time while building your application, providing immediate feedback and improving the efficiency of your development process. The Cypress Dashboard, on the other hand, offers a suite of CI tools that enhance collaboration and streamline the testing workflow. Cypress offers automatic assertions and the ability to capture test snapshots.Albeit, Cypress does have a lot of limitations. It supports only Chromium-based browsers. With Cypress, users face challenges when automating across multiple browser tabs. It cannot handle multiple browser windows or popups.
Is it Worth Learning Selenium?
Selenium currently is helpful only at the start of one's career in automation testing. It provides career prospects only for freshers and less experienced automation script developers. As you advance in your career, knowing only Selenium will not be sufficient. It will be necessary to learn other tools. Also, with complex and/or custom requirements, Selenium has limitations that will be difficult to address.
If you're looking for alternatives that offer unique features and capabilities, Sahi Pro and Playwright are excellent options to consider. These alternatives provide simplified workflows, enhanced developer experience, and support for modern web and mobile applications. By exploring these alternatives, you can expand your test automation capabilities and find a solution that best fits your specific needs. These will become a powerful addon to your job resume.
In conclusion, while Selenium remains a powerful and widely used test automation framework, it's important to stay informed about its limitations. It is important to evaluate your specific requirements and consider alternatives like Sahi, Playwright, Puppeteer and Cypress. This will help you to make an informed decision about the best framework for your organization. So, why limit yourself to just one option when you have multiple choices at your fingertips?
How do I decide which Selenium Alternative to Choose?
When considering Selenium alternatives, it's crucial to assess your organization's specific needs and goals. While Selenium has been the go-to framework for many years, these alternatives offer unique features and capabilities that may better align with your requirements. When evaluating alternatives, consider factors such as ease of use, compatibility with your applications, community support, and the availability of resources and documentation.
It's also worth noting that learning Selenium can still be valuable, particularly if your organization heavily relies on Selenium or if you're working on projects that require Selenium expertise. However, exploring alternatives can broaden your skill set and open up new possibilities for efficient and effective test automation. Ultimately, the choice between Selenium and its alternatives depends on your organization's specific needs and the expertise and preferences of your team.
