Why Selenium?

[MUSIC] 0:00 Hi, I'm Craig, and I'm a developer. 0:04 In this course, 0:06 we're gonna explore the wonderful world of a web browser automation. 0:07 If you don't know what that means yet, you're in the right place. 0:11 We'll start from the very beginning and work our way into a hands-on 0:13 specific use case using a powerful automation framework known as Selenium. 0:16 But before we get started, let's take a minute for 0:21 you to get familiar with your learning environment. 0:24 First, there are speed controls in the video player, so 0:25 you can feel free to slow me down or speed me up and I won't mind at all. 0:29 Attached to each video, there are teacher's notes. 0:33 We'll use this space to share additional information with you. 0:35 Now, I'll do my best to let you know when I've added some information on there. 0:38 But, trying to get in a habit of checking the notes on each video. 0:41 There are lots of great resources tucked away in there. 0:44 And finally, don't forget, you aren't alone. 0:47 Many other students are taking this course and 0:49 might be wondering the same thing that you are. 0:51 Make sure you check out the community forum and 0:53 ask a question when you have one. 0:55 The Treehouse community is very welcoming. 0:57 Now in order to make this course as accessible as possible, Nate and 1:00 I have decided to use the JavaScript programming language to explore Selenium. 1:03 Now if JavaScript isn't your primary language, don't fret. 1:07 We'll take it slow and 1:10 I'll also include links where you can pick up more JavaScript skills. 1:11 There are a few prerequisites for this course, so please check those 1:15 just to make sure you're up to date on what we'll be discussing here. 1:19 Software development is a process, and it has a lifecycle. 1:22 Writing code is only one part of that. 1:26 In order to successfully release software to users, 1:28 it really ought to be thoroughly tested. 1:31 Now, this helps not only to ensure that it is working as it is intended, but 1:33 also helps your users avoid unnecessary errors. 1:37 Users really don't like bugs. 1:40 So, how can you make sure that they don't encounter bugs? 1:42 Well, the answer is pretty straightforward. 1:45 You check before they see it and you make sure that there aren't any errors. 1:47 This is known as testing. 1:52 Imagine for a second that you have a web-based application and 1:54 there are a few pages with just a couple of flaws. 1:56 Now, this might seem like you could just click through each page and 1:59 try all the different possibilities. 2:02 So when you're done with all that clicking around you realize, wait a second, 2:04 not everybody uses Google Chrome and that's the only place I tested it. 2:07 I better try Safari. 2:11 Okay, now I found some more issues. 2:13 I guess I better try Firefox and then Internet Explorer. 2:15 And then wait, what about phones and tablets and 2:17 what about all those different versions of those browsers that everybody's updated? 2:20 Wait, people use different operating systems. 2:24 How could you possibly go about testing all those different scenarios, that's so 2:26 much testing. 2:29 In the teacher's notes, we have included a browser compatibility test matrix 2:31 that also takes screen resolution into account. 2:35 It turns out that this type of manual testing requires a team of a dozen or 2:37 more people to fully test even a simple product that has to support 2:41 all these permutations. 2:45 Now, testing of this nature is dull, repetitive, and tedious. 2:47 It can lead to testers burning out and making accidental mistakes. 2:52 This type of manual testing does exist, and it is known to not 2:56 only delay product launches, but also slow new product feature creation. 2:59 Because all the new features are just another thing to test. 3:03 But, but, but you say wisely, there's tons of apps that I use daily, and 3:06 they don't have any bugs. 3:10 They seem to have new features all the time. 3:11 How do they do it? 3:13 That's a great question and I'm glad you asked. 3:14 The answer there is automation. 3:16 You can actually write code that will go into all that clicking and 3:17 filling out a form fields and all the permutations and have it report back. 3:21 Computers don't get bored by tedious tasks. 3:25 I think that you'll see writing automation code is actually pretty fun. 3:27 It's a win-win. 3:31 Yeah, and you can use this automation code in your testing framework so 3:33 your app can be fully tested in all those permutations. 3:36 That's yet another win. 3:39 So are you ready to start winning? 3:41 There are a bunch of automation tools, but Selenium is definitely one of the most 3:43 popular ones out there and it has been around for a long time. 3:46 Let's take a look at it and its history right after this quick break. 3:50