What are the relevant features of Selenium 4 Python?

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#1

Can you let me know what are some of the relevant features of Selenium 4 Python? How is the Beta version different from Alpha?

#2

Just bumped upon this question and the great part is that I have written a blog on Selenium 4 Python. Here are some of the major enhancements in Selenium 4 for Python:

  1. Relative Locators that are introduced in Selenium 4 are also available for usage in Selenium 4 for Python. Some of the popular relative locators are - above, below, near, to_left_of, and to_right_of.

These locators are used for locating WebElements relative to a particular element. The RelativeBy method and with_tag_name attribute are used for locating relative elements.

  1. Support for Chrome DevTools APIs was introduced in Selenium 4 (Aplha 7) version. This feature is useful for emulating network conditions and emulating geo-locations. However, this is only available for local Chrome WebDriver (and not Remote WebDriver).

  2. Apart from these major enhancements, there is a easier provision to switch between browser tabs and windows with Selenium 4 Python.

Detailed blog on Selenium 4 for Python can help you in understanding the major enhancements that I mentioned earlier.

Now comes the second part of your question:

Selenium 4 Python (Alpha) vs. Selenium 4 Python (Beta)

Well, I have not yet explored the Beta release but I had a detailed look at the ChangeLog to get the major changes introduced in the Selenium 4 Python (Beta) Release. Here are the major changes upto Selenium 4 (Beta 3) Release:

  1. Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) support extended to Chrome 90 and Chrome 91
  2. Deprecation of W3C checks in python bindings
  3. Ability to intercept Network Traffic
  4. Support for Basic and Digest Authentication

Do let me know if you need any further information. Guess, its time I cover the Beta Enhancements in more detail in a seperate blog. Hope this helps.