Agreed that a majority of companies use Selenium Webdriver with Java for testing web applications. And Python Selenium binding offers ease in writing the test scripts. But, here the question is which is better? So, let’s see which programming language is better for binding with Selenium.
What is the Selenium testing tool?
Selenium Webdriver is a free, open-source automation testing tool that is used to test web applications on different browsers. The Selenium platform essentially comprises four components for executing various functionalities – Selenium RC, Selenium IDE, Webdriver, and Selenium Grid. Selenium 2.0 integrates Selenium RC and Webdriver, however, Selenium 4.0 is the current version in the market. Although most of the Selenium training tutorials offer Selenium 2.0 you can quickly upgrade to the current version with minimal effort.
What is Selenese?
Selenese is the test domain-specific language of Selenium that enables testing web applications. Using the record and playback feature of Selenium, the tool can record the tests, check for broken links, the existence of objects on the UI, Alerts, Ajax functionality, etc. Also, Selenese helps you develop test cases in various programming languages such as Python, Java, PHP, Ruby, Perl, Scala, etc. with the help of Selenium Client API.
Selenium Binding: Python Vs Java?
As already mentioned above, Selenium can support various programming languages for performing test automation. But, the top two contenders are Java and Python. So, let’s discuss the Selenium binding with both the popular programming languages.
What is Python? Why should we use Selenium Python binding?
It is well-known in the programming world that Python is an easy-to-learn, open-source, general-purpose programming language that is widely adopted around the world. There are various uses of Python such as:
- Web application development
- Mobile apps
- Game development
- GUI development
- Data Science
- Network Programming
Selenium with Python is a popular choice because of the following reasons:
- Easy coding and readability
- More productivity
- Widely adopted language
- Dynamically typed language
What about Selenium with Java?
Java, on the other hand, is a powerful, established programming language with a wide acceptance across the globe. It is an ever-green programming language that has a bright future despite its existence for years.
Why bind Selenium with Java:
- More number of users of Selenium with Java
- Strong community support for Java
- Selenium is developed using Java
- 80% of the Selenium testers use Selenium Java binding
- Execution is faster
While there is no ideal language to use with Selenium, both Java and Python have something unique to offer. So, which language should be selected with Selenium? It depends on various factors like team’s situation, the language in use at the organization level, local support, user-friendliness, and above all, the comfort level, etc.
Which has a better career, Selenium Webdriver with Java or Python?
80% of the top companies use Selenium with Java for their existing projects and new projects which are already in pipeline. Therefore, choosing a career in Selenium with Java makes more sense.
On the other hand, all the new start-ups and medium-sized businesses which are yet transitioning from manual testing to automation consider Selenium Python binding due to its ease of set up. Nevertheless, things might start to look up shortly for this combination.
However, from where we stand today, the odds against getting a job with Selenium Java binding is 7:3.
Conclusion:
If you are a newbie to automation testing, our suggestion is to pursue Selenium with Java training and kick-start your journey as a tester. Once you are hands-on, you can learn Python as the future seems to be bright for Selenium Python binding.
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