Selenium Web Driver Architecture and Its Implementations
  • Selenium Web Driver Architecture and Its ImplementationsSep 30, 2022
  • Selenium Web Driver Architecture and Its ImplementationsSelenium Web Driver

Explain the Selenium Web Driver Architecture and Its Implementations

The Selenium WebDriver Architecture is composed of various components. These components include a Class hierarchy diagram, Client libraries, Language bindings, and an HTTP proxy. Each of these components is responsible for interacting with the target browser. A WebDriver is an interactive component which interacts directly with the target browser.

Class hierarchy diagram of Selenium WebDriver

The Selenium WebDriver architecture is broken down into classes. These classes are linked together in a hierarchical fashion. It allows for different languages to be used in the tests and gives testers flexibility. These classes are used in the execution of tests. The following diagram illustrates the hierarchy.

Selenium's architecture allows many different languages to be used in the tests. It also supports most modern web browsers. Compared to Selenium RC, Selenium WebDriver runs much faster. It also provides a communication facility between various languages and browsers.

The Selenium WebDriver framework is open source and not sponsored by a company. It is run by individual contributors, so it does not have a dedicated support team. The framework relies on compatibility with browser drivers and requires community support. Moreover, it does not include a centralized object repository available in paid tools. The alternative is to implement a Page Object Model, which requires significant coding skills.

Selenium WebDriver supports several web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. It also supports a non-conventional browser known as HTMLUnit. This framework is compatible with most programming languages.

Client libraries

Selenium WebDriver is a web automation framework that uses browser drivers to communicate with a web application. The framework is compatible with various browsers and supports many programming languages. WebDriver offers multiple solutions to common automation testing challenges. It is a powerful tool that helps you test web applications without the need to understand a specific framework.

One of the key advantages of WebDriver is its ability to fire native events that don't have to be synthesized. This enables WebDriver to circumvent security issues when testing in a browser using synthesized events. Additionally, these events are OS-specific, so they can be reused across different browsers. Despite these drawbacks, WebDriver does support a range of browsers and allows developers to choose the one that best fits their needs.

The WebDriver uses a layered library for controlling browsers. The lower layer is the Google Closure Library, which supplies primitives and a modularization mechanism. This layer is used to define the browser controls that are used by the Selenium Web Driver. The upper layer of Selenium is called the Selenium Utility Library, which contains functions. These functions range from simple tasks to complex actions. The layered approach helps to keep the source files focused.

Language bindings

The Selenium Web Driver Architecture is one of the most important components of the automation framework. It is server-specific and supports multiple languages, including Python, Java, and C#. The test script commands are converted into http commands via the JSON wire protocol. Language bindings allow developers to use different languages to write test scripts.

The WebDriver architecture supports a wide range of programming languages and allows users to create frameworks to test different browsers and devices. It takes commands from language bindings and forwards them to the appropriate driver. It is an open-source framework made up of various libraries and networks. There is no built-in object repository in the Selenium Web Driver, but this can be overcome by using a Page Object Model (POM) library.

Selenium is a powerful tool for automating web applications. It enables live execution of automated tests, interacts with the Cucumber library, and can be used with modern software development ideas, including behaviour-driven development. A strong background in this area of testing can lead to a high-paying job.

HTTP proxy

The Selenium Web Driver Architecture has evolved over the years. The initial approach involved uploading an extension to the browser that would execute a Javascript expression for each command. This was slow and limited by the Javascript capabilities of the browser. Furthermore, it made it challenging to test file uploads. The new WebDriver solution addressed these problems by replacing browser extensions with web drivers. Now, Selenium is able to test websites in a variety of browsers.

The WebDriver Architecture supports several web browsers, including the non-conventional Headless HTMLUnit browser. In addition, Selenium WebDriver is compatible with the most popular programming languages and provides facilities for developers to choose the language best suited for their skills.

The WebDriverManager API provides a convenient way to customize the browser and driver configurations. Customization options include language, timezone, custom images, shared memory, and in-memory filesystem. In addition, the WebDriverManager provides access to the Selenium Server.

Conclusion
Techinaut
Divyanshu Sharma

Founder and CEO, Techinaut

“ Selenium WebDriver is a framework for automating the testing of web applications. It consists of three main components. These components communicate with the browser to perform various tests. “