Enhancing Selenium’s Capabilities through Monkey Patching using Python

Monkey Patching

Selenium is a popular tool for web testing and automation. While it provides a rich set of features, there may be cases where we need to extend or modify its behavior. One way to achieve this is through monkey patching, which involves dynamically modifying an object or module at runtime. In this article, we will explore how monkey patching can be used to enhance Selenium’s capabilities.

Monkey patching involves changing the behavior of an object or module at runtime, without modifying its source code. This can be useful when we want to add new functionality or modify existing behavior, without having to create a new subclass or modify the original code. In Python, monkey patching can be achieved by assigning a new function or attribute to an object or module.

Using Monkey Patching in Selenium:

In the context of Selenium testing, monkey patching can be a useful technique for modifying the behavior of Selenium methods and classes to customize test automation workflows. This can be particularly useful when dealing with complex web applications that require more than the standard Selenium APIs to test.

One common use case for monkey patching in Selenium is to modify the behavior of the find_element and find_elements methods in the WebElement class. These methods are used to locate elements on a web page, but they can be slow and prone to timing issues when dealing with dynamic web content. Monkey patching can be used to customize these methods to provide more efficient and reliable element location strategies.

For example, the following code demonstrates how monkey patching can be used to add a new method to the WebElement class that locates elements using a custom CSS selector:

from selenium.webdriver.remote.webelement import WebElement

def find_by_css_selector(self, selector):
    return self.find_element_by_css_selector(selector)

WebElement.find_by_css_selector = find_by_css_selector

With this code, we have added a new method to the WebElement class called find_by_css_selector, which uses the standard find_element_by_css_selector method to locate elements.

Another example of using monkey patching in Selenium is to modify the behavior of the WebDriverWait class. This class provides a way to wait for an element to become available before executing a test step, but it can be slow and inefficient when dealing with complex web pages. Monkey patching can be used to modify the behavior of the WebDriverWait class to provide a more efficient wait strategy.

For example, the following code demonstrates how monkey patching can be used to modify the until method of the WebDriverWait class to use a custom wait strategy:

from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait

def wait_for_element(driver, locator):
    return driver.find_element(*locator)

def until(self, method, message=''):
    try:
        return method(self._driver)
    except:
        raise TimeoutException(message)

WebDriverWait.until = until

With this code, we have modified the until method of the WebDriverWait class to use the custom wait_for_element method to locate elements, providing a more efficient wait strategy.

Bottom-line, monkey patching can be a useful technique for customizing the behavior of Selenium methods and classes to meet the needs of complex web applications. However, it should be used with caution, as it can introduce unexpected behavior and make tests harder to maintain. As with any testing technique, it is important to carefully consider the tradeoffs and use cases before implementing monkey patching in Selenium.