In today’s fiercely competitive digital age, a software product will succeed only if its features are easy-to-use across different operating systems and browsers. This presents a dual challenge for quality assurance (QA) teams: using test automation, and with tools that can simplify it. The test framework should also be comparatively inexpensive and flexible for the coding teams.

These are the reasons for the popularity of Selenium, a web-based open-source tool, in the automation testing community across the globe. Selenium enables better results from a product perspective and it’s features also make life easier for the software programmers.

Here are the top advantages of using Selenium for Test Automation 

Selenium is Open source and hence free

An open-source tool reduces upfront costs for any company, which can then utilize these resources elsewhere. The popularity of Selenium has also translated into an active web community where one can reach out for updates and other common issues.

Selenium the Coder’s delight:

While planning a foreign vacation, the top priority is if the locals speak fluent English. Or you yourself know a smattering of that tongue.

This is the convenience that even software developers have. Will a particular tool be compatible with the languages I know?

Selenium is a boon, that way. It supports major programming languages like C#, Java, Javascript, Python and Ruby. In fact, the scripts are converted into Selenium compatible codes which mean that the programmers need not learn a new language or a framework support.

devops continuous testing

Compatibility across browsers and Operating Systems

Imagine a scenario during the COVID19 lockdown where members of a testing team were working from geographically disparate locations, on different browsers and operating systems, on the same project.

For such a team Selenium is an ultimate savior; the Selenium script is compatible across browsers like Google Chrome, MS Edge, Firefox and Safari as well as Windows, Linux and Mac OS. A test created on any one of these platforms can be executed on the other. The tests can also be implemented across devices which is non-negotiable for testing of software in domains like retail and insurance.

Easy to learn and use

Selenium has a user-friendly interface where one can write tests and execute them easily and effectively. Selenium test scripts need fewer pages of code.  Programmers can also modify codes quickly and run tests parallelly thereby decreasing the time-to-launch.

Integrate with external frameworks

Selenium can be integrated with third-party frameworks based on requirements: for example, AFTA 3.0, which is Aspire’s Framework for Test Automation.

AFTA 3.0 is a carefully crafted home-grown Selenium-based test and Quality Assurance (QA) automation framework. It is powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (ML) components which help organizations with tests right from the start of the development cycle. This translates into rapid defect resolution.

 

With these advantages, it is amply clear that Selenium’s versatility and attributes like being open-source make it one of the easiest tools to work with for test automation engineers. It’s ability to work across different systems and browsers is a trump card for enterprises developing software for wide usage, like in retain and insurance.

To redefine your test automation journey and learn more about Selenium-based Test Automation Framework AFTA 3.0 

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