Performance Testing With Selenium Python: Identifying And Resolving The Bottlenecks

Our web apps’ usability and functionality determines how successful our organizations are as more and more go online. Therefore, before we launch our web apps onto the market, we must apply pertinent automation testing techniques to them. 

Since Selenium is utilized for online application validation through performance testing, it’s one of the greatest browser automation suites we can employ for this purpose. It also functions with a variety of platforms and browsers and is free source. 

Organizations utilize a wide range of technologies to execute software development projects smoothly, but a comprehensive examination from the perspectives of subject matter experts and industry specialists is required.

Significance of Performance Testing

Data transfer velocity, processing speed, application output, command response times, workload efficiency, memory consumption, maximum concurrent users, and network bandwidth usage are all to be assessed during performance testing. 

Performance testing with Selenium WebDriver is not recommended and it is seen as a bad practice. The results will be below par, but it isn’t due to the capabilities elements. Performance Testing is important for the following reasons:

1. It is important to identify where the performance is compromised

Testing may appear perfect to users, but a WebDriver test suite is subject to numerous points of internal and external fragility that are out of one’s control.

For instance, the way in which third-party servers that house CSS or JavaScript respond, the speed at which HTTP servers operate, the time it takes for a browser to start, and the instrumentation cost associated with using WebDriver itself. Any deviation from the norm at any of these areas will directly impact the outcomes. 

Distinguishing between the performance of your website and that of other resources becomes very challenging. It is going to be very challenging to predict the performance impact while utilizing WebDriver in the browser.

2. It is important to save time during tests

Another important factor is saving time while running functional tests. The testers are required to be calm and wait for loading while evaluating functionality. Hence saving time during the testing process is very important.

3. The importance of the performance

A tester must examine the overall performance of the website—which is unaffected by variations in the environment—as well as the performance breakdown of each particular resource, such as CSS or JavaScript, to pinpoint exactly what needs to be improved. There are tools for performance testing specifically designed to give analysis, reporting, and recommendations for improvement.

We can determine whether or not Selenium Web Driver is capable of performing performance testing based on the four factors raised above. Visit the website of a reputable software testing services provider to get practical solutions tailored to your project’s requirements if you’re wanting to conduct performance testing for your demands. 

While there is no denying that Selenium WebDriver can be used for performance testing, doing so is frowned upon as a poor practice, thus it is best to steer clear of it.

Essential Tools for Selenium Performance Testing

There are four parts that make up Selenium, and each one has a unique set of features for web browser automation and performance testing.

Remote Control (RC) using Selenium

Long before Selenium WebDriver, the first tool in the Selenium suite was called Selenium RC. Now scarcely used, it was formerly known as the JavaScript executor. It may still be used, however, to create intricate automated web UI test cases with exceptions, database queries, and a host of other things. It can also be used to communicate test results and record unsuccessful test instances. Programming languages supported are Python, Perl, PHP, Java, and Ruby.

WebDriver for Selenium

The first cross-platform testing framework with OS-level browser control is Selenium WebDriver. WebDriver, as opposed to Selenium IDE, offers an interface for creating and running test cases. Therefore, these test cases can be designed to recognize web items on the page and then act upon them. 

This is accomplished by making direct calls to the browser, doing away with the requirement for a middle server to facilitate data and message exchange between the client and the server. An even faster substitute for Selenium RC is Selenium WebDriver.

Selenium Webdriver is compatible with a wide range of platforms, including Firefox, Chrome, and more, and programming languages, including Java, C#, and Ruby. The two instruments together with Selenium RC form Selenium 2 (formerly known as Selenium 1).

Selenium Grid

This part functions as a proxy server, allowing you to run several test scripts on various machines at once. It is made up of several grid nodes and a server that serves as the hub. The hub sends commands to the registered nodes. But keeping a grid up to date with all necessary OSs and browsers is a challenging and complex operation. To address this issue, a number of internet platforms offer online Selenium Grid access for you to run your automation scripts.

Benefits of Using Selenium in Performance Testing

There are many benefits users get while using Selenium in Performance Testing. Some of the major ones are mentioned below:

1. Simple administration and execution

It is not a fun task to automate test cases for various web applications, browsers, and operating systems. To assist, Selenium provides an easy-to-use interface for creating and running test scripts. The categorization of Selenium commands into distinct classes facilitates their comprehension and application. 

The tests are browser-agnostic and allow users to observe the test process in progress. The main reason Selenium is well-liked in the QA community is its reporting features, which enable testers to extract data and take appropriate action.

2. A ton of addons and plugins

A vast collection of extensions and plugins for Selenium is included, enabling integration with third-party bindings. They let you use Selenium to expand its functionality. Plugins, for example, can be used to integrate Selenium with Appium and Selendriod. 

Additionally, Selenium may be integrated with tools for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), such as Jenkins and Eclipse, which are very helpful for agile development.

3. Broad range of testing

Selenium provides a range of testing alternatives, including mobile web apps and hybrid systems. Additionally, it enables you to test mobile web applications on a variety of devices, including iPhone and Android. 

You can incorporate open-source tools like Selendriod or Appium for mobile testing. The primary distinction between the two is that Appium supports a variety of devices, including iOS, Android, and Windows, whereas Selendriod only supports Android devices. These many testing techniques address device-specific concerns and assist produce the appropriate results.

4. Execution of tests in parallel

Selenium Grid facilitates parallel testing across any number of devices or browsers, reducing testing time and effort.

Third-party frameworks and add-ons allow Selenium testing to be expanded. For this reason alone, some would be hesitant to use Selenium; nevertheless, by leveraging Selenium automation, CI/CD solutions such as Jenkins, Maven, and Docker enable to smoothly integrate the CI/CD chain. Selenium is compatible with nearly all management tools.

5. Open-source

The fact that Selenium is entirely open source is the main factor in the decision. It is available for free download. You can utilize the money you save for other aspects of your organization, as there are no upfront expenses other than maintenance. 

Additionally, this enhances the functionality of pre-set functions and classes and allows you to modify the code for better code management. Selenium has emerged as the most dependable web application automation solution due to its ease of use in creating test scripts for functional validation.

6. Large community with lots of educational resources

With its open-source toolkit, Selenium has amassed a sizable user base. Developers and testers are regularly assisted by this community in automating the features and functionalities of web browsers. 

Additionally, if you simply search the internet for Selenium lessons, a vast amount of articles, videos, research papers, etc. will come up. You now have a wealth of tools at your disposal to learn more about how this fantastic free automated testing tool operates.

7. Integrating Selenium performance testing

Using Selenium Grid for Load Testing: Parallel testing is made possible by Selenium Grid, which distributes test execution over several machines. You can run multiple instances of Selenium WebDriver in parallel and execute test scripts against your application to simulate a higher load by utilizing Selenium Grid. 

This method aids in evaluating the application’s performance under simultaneous user loads, albeit it might not be as scalable or accurate in assessing performance metrics.

Integration with Performance Testing Tools: To carry out thorough performance testing, Selenium can be coupled with specialized tools like JMeter or Gatling. Strong features are offered by these programs for creating loads, tracking system resources, evaluating response times, and producing performance reports. 

These tools can be used in conjunction with Selenium for browser automation to generate realistic user situations and assess web application performance.

Measuring Page Load Times: Selenium can be used to record and examine page load times, but it is unable to evaluate performance parameters such as response times or server throughput directly.

Selenium Python

Web application developers can define and automate tests with Selenium, a popular free and open source technology. As an open-source tool, Selenium is license-free. Selenium also supports web testing in JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C#,.Net, and Ruby. Cross browser test automation is common with Selenium due to these advantages.

Resolving Bottlenecks in Selenium Python

Some important ways to resolve bottlenecks in Selenium Python are as follows: 

Left shift testing

Agile testing emphasizes shifting testing left, starting testing early in the development cycle and integrating testing into every stage. This lets you catch and correct flaws, errors, and inconsistencies before they become costly and time-consuming. Changing testing left lets you evaluate your ideas and hypotheses about user wants and expectations and gain input from real users or stakeholders quickly. 

Clarify acceptance requirements

Define explicit and measurable acceptance criteria for each user story or feature to avoid testing bottlenecks. To be considered complete and ready for delivery, a user story or feature must meet acceptance criteria. They assist you match testing with product user value and business goals and avoid scope creep and rework. 

Collaborate with testers

The entire product development team and other stakeholders participate in testing. Working with testers, who are professionals in developing, conducting, and reporting tests, can help you satisfy quality requirements and user expectations without testing becoming a bottleneck. 

To undertake accurate and comprehensive performance testing of your apps, you must think about utilizing platforms such as LambdaTest, which can be considered to be one of the best performance testing solutions.You can measure user experience metrics, network latency, and performance statistics from real user sessions by using browser extensions or inserting Selenium scripts into your application. To serve the purpose flawlessly it is always advisable to opt for a trusted platform like that of  LambdaTest. 

This is one such incredible methods that offers insightful information on how well your application performs in actual usage scenarios. To avail perfect results through performance testing with Selenium Python, LambdaTest should be utilized.

Final words

Thus, we can see how the functionality of performance testing can work amazingly with different browsers or platforms. Its significance is indeed pivotal. Beneficial aspect of using performance testing with Selenium Python is also immense.

Note that although Selenium can help with some parts of performance testing, it might not be the best tool for performance analysis, stress testing, or comprehensive load testing. For a thorough performance study, specialized performance testing tools provide more powerful features and sophisticated capabilities.