RPA vs Selenium – Which One To Master In 2023?
The beauty of automation is quite evident through the diverse products that vouch for its brilliance. While automation has positively influenced almost all industries across the globe, it has had an extraordinary impact on the IT sector above all the others.
Two of the finest tools born out of the concept of automation in the software development industry are RPA and Selenium – both excellent in their unique ways.
RPA vs Selenium – Know The Key Differences
Given that these two tools share foundational similarities, it can get tricky to determine which one will best serve your project. To help solve this dilemma of RPA vs Selenium test automation, we will explore the main differences between RPA vs Selenium in this blog. Before diving into the distinctions, let’s take a look at what purpose they serve individually.
RPA automation testing is designed to help organizations digitize mundane and repetitive manual tasks, enabling one to focus on the more complex and interesting aspects of businesses. The processes are automated putting digital systems in place. These systems interpret commands, trigger responses, and perform a range of repetitive tasks. Most RPA automation testing models are highly flexible in the sense that they work well with the existing framework of organizations without disturbing its foundation, saving time and costs.
RPA is a product of three key technologies: screen scraping, workflow automation, and artificial intelligence. The main purpose of RPA is to help businesses integrate core systems that would replicate human behavior in terms of performing manual tasks that demand excess time and effort.
The tasks to be automated included storing and maintaining logs and consumer data, copying and pasting data, moving files and folders, filling in basic forms, scraping browsers, and collating valuable data from multiple sources. Owing to the fact that RPA is one of the most effective and reliable products of automation, leading companies leverage the power of RPA, to name a few – Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Deloitte, Accenture, Vodafone, Adobe, Capgemini, and more.
Selenium is an open-source test automation framework. It is primarily used to validate web applications across different browsers and platforms. Selenium is compatible with multiple coding languages like Java, Ruby, C#, Python, and such to create Selenium Test Scripts.
Some of the main advantages of the Selenium framework include the ability to reuse generic and readable codes, easy code maintenance, less execution time for tests, reduced script maintenance cost, and easy reporting. Another important purpose of the Selenium framework is to automate browsers. Software development engineers often leverage its many benefits to write test scripts in a range of programming languages and execute those tests on multiple browsers. The framework also enables multiple teams to collaborate on projects with ease.
Despite the introduction of promising alternatives in the software development sector, Selenium has maintained its position as a popular automation tool. If a particular project demands an extensive library for operating a web browser, then Selenium is the ideal choice. It also provides excellent support for cross-browser automation, native app automation, mobile browser automation, and more. Developers can also open the browser and copy user actions with ease.
| RPA | Selenium |
| The term RPA was coined in 2012 by Phil Fersht, founder and lead analyst at HFS Research. | Selenium was first launched in 2004, followed by the launch of Selenium IDE and Selenium WebDriver in 2007. |
| Robotic Process automation supports flexible automation. | The Selenium framework supports programmable automation. |
| Being a platform-independent tool, RPA can be run on mobile, desktop, and web applications. | Unlike RPA, this framework is used to test only web applications. It cannot be run on a desktop or mobile app. |
| RPA handles and automates redundant processes like data entry, form filling, customer support, user records, reporting and analytics, and account management. | Selenium is responsible for automating tasks that are associated with functional, regression, and performance testing. |
| When it comes to mastering and leveraging RPA, developers need very little coding knowledge to take on complex projects. They need to have a basic understanding of how a code functions. | On the other hand, to make the most of Selenium, developers need to have good knowledge of the fundamentals and basic features of the framework. Above all programs, they must possess a great understanding of Java. |
| RPA uses robots to automate manual tasks. | Selenium uses WebDrivers to automate app development processes. |
| Here are some of the important RPA tools: Another Monday, KOFAX, UiPath, Jacada, Blue Prism, G1ANT, Automation Anywhere, Pega Systems, WorkFusion, and Kryon. | Here are some of the important Selenium tools: Selenium Integrated Development Framework (IDE), Selenium WebDriver, Selenium Remote Control (RC), and Selenium Grid. |
| Leading companies that use RPA are Cognizant, Tech Mahindra, Deloitte, Accenture, Vodafone, Adobe, Capgemini, and more. | Leading companies that use Selenium are Netflix, Google, HubSpot, Fitbit, CRED, Delivery Hero, Trivago, Alibaba Travels, and more. |
| A glimpse into the RPA life cycle – Analysis, development, bot testing, bot deployment, and bot maintenance. | A glimpse into the Selenium life cycle – creating a fundamental test case, making key improvements to the test case, test case execution and debugging, and finally, the analysis of test results and fault reporting. |
| There are certain RPA products that have to be bought, making it a slightly more expensive automation tool. | On the contrary, Selenium is an open-source tool, making it a more popular choice in terms of economical solutions. |
Now that you are aware of the purpose and the main differences between both RPA vs Selenium, it is time to pick the tool of your choosing and leverage it to build intuitive solutions.
Best Selenium Training In Pune – Enroll With Cyber Success
The rise of automation testing has paved the way for several promising career prospects. Cyber Success offers thoughtfully designed Selenium Automation courses to help aspiring students meet success. We start with the basic knowledge of the Selenium testing tool. Then, we introduce students to new ways of making the most of this technology. All this is followed by detailed knowledge of Selenium server installation, cookies, drag and drop, and so on.
Our course also features live examples, a play-way method of training, and technical quiz sessions. In addition, you can opt for demonstration classes hosted by industry professionals to gain a proper introduction to the field; to understand its many possibilities and exciting opportunities. If you are looking for excellent Selenium training, contact us today at (+91) 9168665643, (+91) 9168665644, or drop an email at hello@cybersuccess.biz
