Selenium 4, the latest major release of the popular web testing framework, brings several enhancements and new features aimed at improving the efficiency and capabilities of automated web testing. Here's an overview of what's new in Selenium 4.

Key Features and Improvements in Selenium 4

W3C WebDriver Standardization:

Selenium 4 fully complies with the W3C WebDriver standard, ensuring better compatibility and stability across different browsers and platforms.

Improved IDE:

The Selenium IDE has been revamped with new features, including support for editing test cases, improved debugging, and better code export options to various programming languages.

New Browser DevTools Integration:

Selenium 4 introduces support for Chrome DevTools and Edge DevTools, allowing testers to use powerful browser debugging tools. This includes network interception, performance analysis, and inspecting the DOM.
Relative Locators:

Selenium 4 introduces new relative locators (previously called friendly locators) that allow you to find elements based on their position relative to other elements.

WebElement password = driver.findElement(By.id("password"));
WebElement username = driver.findElement(with(By.tagName("input")).above(password));

Enhanced Grid Architecture:

Selenium Grid has been significantly improved with a new architecture that simplifies setup and supports Docker containers. This allows for more scalable and flexible test execution environments.

Features include observability support, enhanced logging, and dynamic grid configuration.

Updated Documentation:

Selenium 4 comes with improved and more comprehensive documentation, making it easier for new users to get started and for existing users to explore advanced features.

Better Window and Tab Management:

Enhanced support for managing multiple windows and tabs, including new commands to open and switch between them.

driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.WINDOW); // Opens a new window
driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.TAB); // Opens a new tab

Deprecation of DesiredCapabilities:

The DesiredCapabilities class has been deprecated in favor of browser-specific options classes, such as ChromeOptions, FirefoxOptions, etc. This change encourages more specific and accurate browser configurations.

ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
options.addArguments("start-maximized");
WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(options);

Improved Action Class:

The Actions class has been improved with more intuitive and comprehensive interactions for simulating complex user gestures like drag-and-drop, keyboard actions, and touch gestures.

Actions actions = new Actions(driver);
actions.moveToElement(element).clickAndHold().moveByOffset(100, 0).release().perform();

Native Support for Chromium Edge:

Selenium 4 includes native support for Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser, providing better integration and compatibility.

Conclusion

Selenium 4 brings a host of new features and improvements that enhance the capabilities of automated web testing. From compliance with the W3C WebDriver standard to new relative locators and better integration with browser developer tools, Selenium 4 makes it easier and more efficient to write, debug, and execute web tests. Whether you're new to Selenium or an experienced user, these enhancements will help you create more reliable and maintainable tests.