Learning Resources
Install and Configure RC server
Installation is rather a misnomer for Selenium. Selenium has set of libraries available in the programming language of your choice.
Once you’ve chosen a language to work with, you simply need to:
- Install the Selenium RC Server.
- Set up a programming project using a language specific client driver.
Running Selenium RC
The Selenium RC server is simply a Java jar file (selenium-server-standalone-
Before starting any tests you must start the server. Go to the directory where Selenium RC’s server is located and run the following from a command-line console.
java -jar selenium-server-standalone-.jar
This can be simplified by creating a batch or shell executable file (.bat on Windows and .sh on Linux) containing the command above. Then make a shortcut to that executable on your desktop and simply double-click the icon to start the server.
For the server to run you’ll need Java installed and the PATH environment variable correctly configured to run it from the console. You can check that you have Java correctly installed by running the following on a console.
java -version
If you get a version number (which needs to be 1.5 or later), you’re ready to start using Selenium RC.
Using the Java Client Driver
- Download Selenium java client driver zip from the SeleniumHQ downloads page.
-
Extract selenium-java-
.jar file - Open your desired Java IDE (Eclipse, NetBeans, IntelliJ, Netweaver, etc.)
- Create a java project.
-
Add the selenium-java-
.jar files to your project as references. -
Add to your project classpath the file selenium-java-
.jar. - From Selenium-IDE, export a script to a Java file and include it in your Java project, or write your Selenium test in Java using the selenium-java-client API. The API is presented later in this chapter. You can either use JUnit, or TestNg to run your test, or you can write your own simple main() program. These concepts are explained later in this section.
- Run Selenium server from the console.
- Execute your test from the Java IDE or from the command-line.
Using the Python Client Driver
- Install Selenium via PIP, instructions linked at SeleniumHQ downloads page
- Either write your Selenium test in Python or export a script from Selenium-IDE to a python file.
- Run Selenium server from the console
- Execute your test from a console or your Python IDE
Using the .NET Client Driver
- Download Selenium RC from the SeleniumHQ downloads page
- Extract the folder
- Download and install NUnit ( Note: You can use NUnit as your test engine. If you’re not familiar yet with NUnit, you can also write a simple main() function to run your tests; however NUnit is very useful as a test engine.)
- Open your desired .Net IDE (Visual Studio, SharpDevelop, MonoDevelop)
- Create a class library (.dll)
- Add references to the following DLLs: nmock.dll, nunit.core.dll, nunit. framework.dll, ThoughtWorks.Selenium.Core.dll, ThoughtWorks.Selenium.IntegrationTests.dll and ThoughtWorks.Selenium.UnitTests.dll
- Write your Selenium test in a .Net language (C#, VB.Net), or export a script from Selenium-IDE to a C# file and copy this code into the class file you just created.
- Write your own simple main() program or you can include NUnit in your project for running your test. These concepts are explained later in this chapter.
- Run Selenium server from console
- Run your test either from the IDE, from the NUnit GUI or from the command line