In a recent post, I wrote about what language you should choose to get started with Selenium. The next question I'm usually asked is, “Which books or resources would you recommend for someone who is new to programming and just getting started with Selenium?” When I moved from UFT to Selenium, this was something I also struggled with.
My Selenium Resources List
Over the past few years I've spent a lot of time researching Selenium resources and talking with some of the top Selenium automation thought leaders on my TestTalks podcast. Based on my guests' favorite resources (and my own experience) I've come across what I consider to be the best books and video courses for teaching someone who is new to Selenium how to get started.
I decided to create a list of Selenium training resources you should check out based on the language you choose. (If you're not sure what language to use, be sure to check out my previous post on What programming language you should learn for Selenium.)
Choose your Selenium Language Curriculum
Choose your programming language below, then take a look at my top recommend books and resources to get up to speed quickly with Selenium.
Python
- Al Sweigart – Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners
If you know nothing about programming and you want to use Python for your test automation efforts, be sure to take a look at Automate the Boring Stuff. Al's main goal in writing this book was to create something for adults with office jobs, or adults with jobs in which they use computers every day so that they could learn programming as a practical way to automate a lot of things that they would otherwise have to accomplish with a bunch of clicking and typing. So if you're a Python newbie, I would start here.
To get a sneak peek of Al's extensive Python knowledge, check Episode 54 of TestTalks.
- Unmesh Gundecha – Learning Selenium Testing Tools with Python
After reading Automate the Boring Stuff, I suggest that you then move on to Unmesh's book. It is a real, practical, hands-on guide that should have you creating Selenium automation awesomeness with Python in no time. Check out Unmesh's interview as we talk all things Selenium in The Selenium Testing Tool Cookbook TestTalks episode.
Ruby
When I think Ruby automation, I automatically think Dave Haeffner.
- First, Dave has an excellent free Selenium tip newsletter called Elemental Selenium that is a weekly must-read.
- For a real Ruby Selenium Learning boot camp I also recommend Dave's The Selenium Guidebook Book/Video package. There is both a Java and Ruby version.
I was also fortunate enough to get Dave on the TestTalks podcast to talk about his Selenium Guidebook in episode 2.
Java
I know of two main resources that will make you a Java Selenium expert, and they're both by Alan Richardson.
- The first is his book Java for Testers. The book does not cover Selenium, but it lays a solid foundation for beginners who need to learn how to program in Java in order to start using Selenium.
- Once you gone through this book you'll be ready to tackle Alan's Selenium Java Training course, Selenium WebDriver Basics, with Java on Udemy. This online video course covers what a typical automation engineer would need to know to get started using Selenium with Java.
There are many ways to think about what constitutes a good test automation framework, and Alan Richardson shares his favorite approaches in episode 4 of TestTalks: How to Create Model Driven Automation Libraries.
C#
If you are just now learning C#, I would definitely take a look at the Pluralsight course by Jesse Liberty, C# from Scratch. Once you understand the C# syntax, I would then check out these two C# Selenium courses by John Sonmez on Pluralsight:
- Automated Web Testing with Selenium and C#
– This is a fast-paced course that covers what a typical automation engineer would need to know to get started with Selenium using Visual Studio and C#.
- Creating an Automated Testing Framework with Selenium – Once you understand the basics of Selenium and C#, this course covers how to actually create a framework from scratch. This is for people who want to take a deeper dive into creating an automated framework.
What are your favorite books and videos for learning Selenium?
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I remember how hard it was to understand all the new concepts while moving from vendor-based test tools to open-source tools. Hopefully, you'll find these books and videos helpful and will manage to avoid some of the learning struggles I had to deal with when I was starting out.
So these are my favorite resources for learning a programming language and Selenium. What are yours?
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