Selecting a Programming Language to build Selenium Test Automation Suite

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Selecting a Programming Language to build
Selenium Test Automation Suite
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Introduction Selenium is a widely used open
source, portable software testing framework for
web applications. Though Selenium comes with a
test domain specific language, other programming
languages (Java, C, Ruby, Python) can be used to
script tests as well. Tests made in other
languages communicate with Selenium via calling
methods in the Selenium Client API. Selenium is
therefore neutral to the client language.  All
organizations shifting to Selenium for their web
app testing face one common question  What
language do we select to build Selenium based
test automation suites?  Lets start off by
looking at programming languages as a whole.
Though many different languages exist, and new
ones are still being created, one must note that
roughly 90 of the concepts one learns in a
specific language are also applicable to entirely
different languages. When one is familiar with
the core basics (program design, control
structures, data structures, and basic operation
of a programming language), developing similar
skills with another language simply boils down to
understanding the syntactical nuances.  So, which
language should one pick? As an individual, the
answer is straightforward go with what youre
most comfortable with. 
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Dima Kovalenko, in his book titled?Selenium
Design Patterns and Best Practices,
illustrated the flexibility of Selenium by
showing how some common Selenium command sendkeys
translate across major scripting
languages.  Consistency offered by the WebDriver
API across languages, simplifies the process of
porting test knowledge of one language to
another. Test engineers become greater assets to
their organizations as they can be relocated to
any web project, written in any programming
language, and still be able to create tests for
it instantly.  Uniformity between different
Selenium bindings is applicable to most commands
in the Selenium API. But one must note that the
quoted example is a bit oversimplified. Action
commands are framed in the same format in every
language. But when different languages are
used to script code, over time, differences will
become apparent between the languages. Therefore,
actions that function well in a particular
language might be redundant and counter intuitive
in a different one. 
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As explained above, no clear favorite emerges
when choosing a scripting language for
Selenium.   But which one should an organization
select?  The answer to this question is less
straightforward. Some factors have to be
considered  The current language being used by
an enterprise for development If an organization
has everyone using Python, then that should be
the ideal language to use.  Introducing a new
language isnt easy. It is also much harder to
operate Selenium using a new language. Therefore,
the most convenient choice is to use a language
that QA testers are already comfortable
with.  Local support for the programming
language should also be considered. If local
developers are experienced with a particular
language, then that language is a better choice
for QA teams. In case testers require help with
the language, defects, or development tools, it
becomes easier to make use of the already
available in-house expertise.  Read the complete
blog on https//www.cigniti.com/blog/programing-l
anguage-to-build-selenium-based-test-automation-su
ite/

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