“WAITS” in Selenium

Wait, WAIT? Nah… Most of us don't like waiting for anything, especially me when it comes to food. But, as my mom used to say, "If you wait, you will get the best." I believe you all agree with this, especially in Selenium.

In the world of Selenium, timing is everything. When automating interactions with web pages, you need to ensure that your scripts wait for elements to appear or change state before taking action. This is where wait commands come into play. In this blog post, we'll explore the different wait commands in a simple way and how to use them effectively.

These are the common types of waits in Selenium:

1. Implicit Wait

2. Explicit Wait

3. Fluent Wait

4. Thread.sleep

Implicit Wait

An "Implicit Wait" in Selenium is like telling the WebDriver to be patient. It waits for a specified time when trying to find something on a web page, such as a button or a link. If it finds the element within that time, great! If not, it will raise its hand and say, "I can't find it," but only after waiting patiently for the set amount of time. This way, it prevents your automation script from failing immediately if a web element isn't ready to be clicked or interacted with right away.

SYNTAX:

getDriver().manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(Duration.ofSeconds(5));

Explicit Wait

Explicit Wait in Selenium is used for specific elements, such as dropdown buttons or popup windows, that might not appear instantly. It instructs the WebDriver to wait patiently until a particular condition, which you specify, is met before proceeding to the next step in your automation script. This approach ensures that Selenium interacts with elements when they are ready, enhancing the reliability of your tests.

SYNTAX:

WebElementelement= wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.id("element_id")));

Fluent Wait

Fluent Wait is like a specialized version of Explicit Wait. It's used when you're not sure how long it'll take for an element to be ready for interaction. With Fluent Wait, Selenium patiently checks on the element at regular intervals until it's good to go, even if it takes a while.

Thread.sleep

"Thread.sleep" is like telling your program to stop and count to a certain number before doing anything else. It's a brief moment of waiting before it continues with its tasks, similar to taking a short breath during a race. Just remember, using it too often can slow down your program's progress.

SYNTAX:

{

Thread.sleep(2000); // Sleep for 2 seconds

} catch (InterruptedException e) {

Thread.currentThread().interrupt();

}

Conclusion

These wait strategies are like trusty guides in your Selenium journey, ensuring that your automation scripts interact with web elements at the right moment. Implicit waits are the patient observers, while explicit waits are the precise timekeepers. Fluent wait offers adaptability in the face of uncertainty. Finally, remember my mother's wisdom: "If you wait, you will get the best." 😊

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