Java Selenium Interview Questions and Answers
**Basic Selenium Questions**
1. **What is Selenium? What are its components?**
Selenium is an open-source automation testing tool used to automate web applications. Its main
components are:
- Selenium IDE: A record-and-playback tool.
- Selenium WebDriver: A tool for writing browser-based automation scripts.
- Selenium Grid: Allows parallel execution of tests across different browsers and systems.
2. **What are the advantages and limitations of Selenium?**
- **Advantages:** Open-source, supports multiple programming languages, works across browsers,
and supports parallel testing.
- **Limitations:** Cannot test desktop or mobile apps directly, limited support for handling captchas
and dynamic elements.
3. **What is the difference between Selenium WebDriver and Selenium RC?**
- WebDriver interacts directly with the browser, while Selenium RC requires a server.
- WebDriver supports modern browsers and APIs, while RC is deprecated.
4. **Can Selenium handle dynamic elements? How?**
Yes, by using dynamic locators like XPath or CSS Selectors and applying waits (e.g., explicit or
fluent wait).
5. **What is the difference between `findElement()` and `findElements()`?**
- `findElement()`: Returns the first matching web element or throws an exception if none are found.
- `findElements()`: Returns a list of all matching elements or an empty list if none are found.
6. **What are locators in Selenium? Name a few types.**
Locators are used to identify web elements. Types include:
- ID
- Name
- Class Name
- Tag Name
- XPath
- CSS Selector
- Link Text
- Partial Link Text
7. **How would you handle a drop-down in Selenium?**
Using the `Select` class, which provides methods like `selectByValue()`, `selectByVisibleText()`, and
`selectByIndex()`.
8. **How do you handle alerts in Selenium?**
Use the `Alert` interface:
- `driver.switchTo().alert().accept()` for OK.
- `driver.switchTo().alert().dismiss()` for Cancel.
- `driver.switchTo().alert().getText()` to get alert text.
9. **What is an implicit wait in Selenium, and how is it different from an explicit wait?**
- **Implicit Wait:** Sets a global wait time for all elements. Example:
`driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)`.
- **Explicit Wait:** Waits for specific conditions. Example: `WebDriverWait` with conditions like
`elementToBeClickable()`.
10. **How can you take a screenshot in Selenium WebDriver?**
```java
File screenshot = ((TakesScreenshot)driver).getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);
FileUtils.copyFile(screenshot, new File("path/to/save/image.png"));
```
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