Selenium is a popular open-source tool for automating web browsers. It provides a convenient way to test web applications by mimicking user interactions, such as clicking buttons and filling in forms. Selenium is widely used by developers and testers for creating automated tests and monitoring web applications. By taking help of tools like LambdaTest you can multiply their capabilities and speed up your time to market.
Python is a popular language for test automation, and there are several powerful Selenium libraries available for Python. In this blog post, we will discuss seven of the most useful Selenium libraries for Python.
- Selenium-Requests
Selenium-Requests is a Python library that combines the power of Selenium WebDriver with the simplicity of the Requests library for HTTP requests. It allows you to perform HTTP requests using Selenium, which can be useful for testing web applications that require authentication or interact with APIs.
With Selenium-Requests, you can use Selenium to navigate to a login page, fill in the login form, and retrieve the authentication cookies. You can then use those cookies with the Requests library to perform authenticated requests to the web application or API.
Here’s an example of using Selenium-Requests in Python to authenticate with a web application and retrieve data from an API:
| from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys from seleniumrequests import Chrome # Launch a Chrome browser driver = Chrome() # Navigate to the login page driver.get(“https://www.example.com/login”) # Fill in the login form and submit it username = driver.find_element_by_name(“username”) username.send_keys(“myusername”) password = driver.find_element_by_name(“password”) password.send_keys(“mypassword”) password.send_keys(Keys.RETURN) # Retrieve the authentication cookies cookies = driver.get_cookies() # Use the cookies to perform authenticated requests session = requests.Session() for cookie in cookies: session.cookies.set(cookie[‘name’], cookie[‘value’]) response = session.get(“https://www.example.com/api/data”) data = response.json() # Close the browser driver.quit() |
2. Selene
Selene is a Python library that provides a higher-level API for Selenium WebDriver. It allows you to write more concise and expressive test scripts, making it easier to read and maintain your code.
Selene provides a fluent interface that allows you to execute typical Selenium actions with ease, such as clicking buttons, filling out forms, and navigating between pages. Furthermore, you can rely on the pre-built wait methods to verify the existence of elements on the page prior to engaging with them.
Here’s an example of using Selene in Python to automate a web page:
| from selene import Browser
# Launch a Chrome browser browser = Browser() # Load a web page browser.open(“https://www.example.com”) # Find an element by its ID and click it browser.element(“#my-button”).click() # Fill in a form field and submit the form browser.element(“[name=my-field]”).type(“my value”).press_enter() # Close the browser browser.quit() |
3. Pylenium
Pylenium is a Python library that provides a more modern and user-friendly API for Selenium WebDriver. It combines the power of Selenium with the simplicity and ease-of-use of modern testing frameworks like Cypress and Playwright.
With Pylenium, you can use a fluent interface to perform common Selenium actions, such as clicking buttons, filling in forms, and navigating between pages. You can also use the built-in wait methods to ensure that elements are present on the page before interacting with them.
In addition, Pylenium provides several convenient features, such as automatic retries for flaky tests, built-in support for parallel test execution, and a simple and intuitive syntax for writing test scripts.
Here’s an example of using Pylenium in Python to automate a web page:
| from pylenium import Pylenium
# Launch a Chrome browser py = Pylenium() # Load a web page py.visit(“https://www.example.com”) # Find an element by its ID and click it py.get(“#my-button”).click() # Fill in a form field and submit the form py.get(“[name=my-field]”).type(“my value”).submit() # Assert that a page element is present assert py.get(“#my-element”).should().be_visible() # Close the browser py.quit() |
4. Selenium-Flex
Selenium-Flex is a Python library that allows you to automate Adobe Flex and AIR applications using Selenium WebDriver. It provides a simple and easy-to-use API for interacting with Flex components, such as buttons, text inputs, and list boxes.
With Selenium-Flex, you can write Selenium tests that interact with your Flex applications just like any other web application. You can use the find_element_by_flex_id method to locate Flex components by their ID, and then use the click, send_keys, and other methods to interact with them.
Here’s an example of using Selenium-Flex in Python to automate a Flex application:
| from selenium import webdriver
from selenium_flex import FlexElement, FlexWebDriver # Launch a Chrome browser driver = webdriver.Chrome() # Launch the Flex application driver.get(“http://localhost:8080/my-flex-app”) # Switch to the Flex context driver.switch_to.flex() # Find a Flex button and click it button = driver.find_element_by_flex_id(“myButton”) button.click() # Find a Flex text input and enter text text_input = driver.find_element_by_flex_id(“myTextInput”) text_input.send_keys(“my text”) # Switch back to the default context driver.switch_to.default_content() # Close the browser driver.quit() |
5. Selenium-Pytest
Selenium-Pytest is a Python library that provides integration between Selenium WebDriver and the Pytest testing framework. It allows you to write Selenium tests using Pytest’s fixtures and assertions, making it easier to organize and run your tests.
With Selenium-Pytest, you can use Pytest’s fixture decorator to create reusable test components, such as browser instances and test data. You can then use Pytest’s assert statements to make assertions about the behavior of your web application.
Here’s an example of using Selenium-Pytest in Python to automate a web application:
| import pytest
from selenium import webdriver @pytest.fixture(scope=”module”) def browser(): # Launch a Chrome browser driver = webdriver.Chrome() yield driver # Close the browser driver.quit() def test_login(browser): # Load the login page browser.get(“https://www.example.com/login”) # Fill in the login form and submit it username = browser.find_element_by_name(“username”) username.send_keys(“myusername”) password = browser.find_element_by_name(“password”) password.send_keys(“mypassword”) password.submit() # Assert that the user is logged in assert “Welcome” in browser.title def test_logout(browser): # Click the logout button logout_button = browser.find_element_by_id(“logout”) logout_button.click() # Assert that the user is logged out assert “Login” in browser.title |
6. Splinter
Splinter is a Python library that provides a high-level API for automating web browsers. It abstracts away the complexities of working with Selenium WebDriver, allowing you to write browser automation scripts that are more concise and easier to read.
With Splinter, you can interact with web pages using a familiar syntax, such as clicking links, filling out forms, and submitting data. You can also use Splinter to take screenshots of web pages, simulate keyboard and mouse events, and perform advanced actions like executing JavaScript code.
Here’s an example of using Splinter in Python to automate a web page:
| from splinter import Browser
# Launch a Chrome browser browser = Browser(“chrome”) # Load a web page browser.visit(“https://www.example.com”) # Find a link by its text and click it browser.click_link_by_text(“Click me”) # Fill in a form field and submit the form browser.fill(“username”, “myusername”) browser.fill(“password”, “mypassword”) browser.find_by_css(“button[type=submit]”).click() # Assert that a page element is present assert browser.is_element_present_by_css(“#my-element”) # Take a screenshot of the page browser.driver.save_screenshot(“screenshot.png”) # Close the browser browser.quit() |
7. Selenium WebDriver
Selenium WebDriver is the core library of the Selenium tool suite. It provides a programming interface for controlling web browsers, allowing you to write automated tests and perform various browser actions. WebDriver supports several popular web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
With WebDriver, you can perform a wide range of actions, such as clicking buttons, filling in forms, and navigating between pages. You can also perform more advanced actions, such as taking screenshots, handling pop-up windows, and simulating user input with keyboard and mouse events.
Here’s an example of using WebDriver in Python to automate a web page:
| from selenium import webdriver
# Launch a Chrome browser driver = webdriver.Chrome() # Load a web page driver.get(“https://www.example.com”) # Find an element by its ID and click it element = driver.find_element_by_id(“my-button”) element.click() # Fill in a form field and submit the form input_field = driver.find_element_by_name(“my-field”) input_field.send_keys(“my value”) input_field.submit() # Close the browser driver.quit() |
You can multiply the power of Selenium WebDriver by taking help of cross browertesting tools like LambdaTest. What you can test in one machine or local machines can be tested upon 3000+ browsers-OS-Resolution combination. Virtually you can test your webapp on almost all the combinations out there on cloud infrastructure.
In conclusion, Selenium is a powerful tool for automating web browsers, and Python is a great language for writing Selenium scripts. With the help of various Python libraries, we can make Selenium even more powerful and easy to use.
In this blog, we discussed seven powerful Selenium Python libraries that you need to know about: Selene, Pylenium, Selenium-Requests, Selenium-Pytest, Selenium-Flex, Splinter, and Selenium WebDriver
Selene provides a concise and powerful API for writing maintainable and readable tests.
Pylenium simplifies Selenium setup and offers a variety of additional features, such as automatic waits and built-in reporting.
Selenium-Requests allows you to use the popular Requests library with Selenium to make HTTP requests more efficiently.
Selenium-Pytest and Selenium-Flex provide additional testing frameworks that can make writing and running Selenium tests more efficient and effective.
Splinter offers a high-level API for working with Selenium that is more concise and easier to read.
Selenium WebDriver with Python enables efficient and powerful web browser automation for testing, scraping, and other tasks.
With these powerful Selenium Python libraries at your disposal, you can take your web browser automation to the next level. Whether you’re testing a complex web application or just need to automate repetitive tasks, there’s a Selenium Python library that can help you achieve your goals. So give them a try and see how they can simplify and enhance your Selenium scripting experience.
