Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE is the simple and easy tool in Selenium automation testing world. This is also called as Firefox add-on which acts like a Record and Play functionality.

Features:

• IDE is powerful plugin which support Record and Play feature. It is a Integrated Development Environment for creating Test case.
• IDE is supported by Mozilla Firefox browsers only. But now as days Selenium IDE now available as Google chrome extension.
• It is very easy to configure and tracking result.
• This also support writing our own customized, Parameterized Test Case. This feature signifies that IDE is very User friendly.
• Selenium IDE can also support the Test Case export functionality. It also can export in many language like Java, C#, Ruby etc.
• It is an only Firefox plugin supported by only older version.
• Though it is very simple and easy to use. It has lots of disadvantage.
• It is based on JavaScript. Also supports its own language.

Disadvantage:

• Though this is only supporting in Firefox, we can not integrate the test case to Chrome or IE which limit the usage of test case.
• If you want to test the complex application which has dynamic element, Popup, etc, then you should opt WebDriver. Because IDE does not support any advance

Let’s briefly discuss on the disadvantage of Selenium IDE in point wise.

1. No Cross browser supports
2. No Conditional Logic
3. No script debugger
4. No way to embed code
5. Not easy to understand
6. Not able to edit the script once recorded
7. No visual UI Testing
8. No way to export test
9. No Data Driven Testing
10. No Responsive testing
11. No plugin to extend the functionality
12. No Parallel Testing

These are the disadvantages of Selenium IDE in automation testing world. Now let’s discuss on new Selenium IDE which fixes most of the above problem (But not all).

You know that Selenium IDE was came out in 2006, That time there was no IPhone, no Advance technology. Only Motorola Razr flip phone was the must device. Firefox was the shiny new Browser and Chrome was not in the market at this time.

So, IDE dragged the market by hitching its wagon to Firefox and remained that way for over a decade.

But now as days Selenium IDE now available as Google chrome extension.