Company
Date Published
Author
Artem Golubev
Word count
1254
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Selenium, developed in 2004, is a popular tool for end-to-end testing but struggles with modern web complexities due to its reliance on XPath, which is less effective for today's intricate and dynamic HTML structures. Tests using Selenium often face maintenance challenges because the HTML elements they reference, such as XPath, CSS Selectors, and data-testids, are prone to change, causing tests to break even when they work from an end-user's perspective. As web applications become more intricate, the limitations of Selenium become increasingly evident, particularly when dealing with third-party applications where HTML is not controlled by the tester. The article suggests that end-to-end tests should focus on user interactions rather than the underlying HTML structure, advocating for tools like testRigor that allow testers to write tests from an end-user's viewpoint, using labels or placeholders to ensure stability and reduce maintenance time. This approach helps maintain test relevance and functionality even as the underlying application evolves or changes frameworks.