Difference between Selenium 3 and Selenium 4

Key Differences Between Selenium 3 and Selenium 4

Feature	Selenium 3 🟡	Selenium 4 🟢
WebDriver Protocol	Used JSON Wire Protocol (translated commands)	Uses W3C WebDriver (faster, no translations)
Relative Locators	❌ Not Available	✅ above(), below(), toLeftOf(), toRightOf()
Window & Tab Handling	Used driver.switchTo().window()	✅ driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.TAB)
Element Screenshot	Only full-page screenshots	✅ Capture specific elements
Improved Waits	Basic explicit/implicit waits	✅ Better network interception & request waits
CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol)	❌ Not Available	✅ Can intercept network requests, console logs, performance metrics
Headless Mode	Used old implementations	✅ Faster, more optimized headless execution
Deprecated Features	Still had Actions Class legacy APIs	✅ Removed old APIs, new Improved Actions API

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 Key Selenium 4 Features with Code Examples

📌 1. W3C WebDriver (More Stable & Faster)

Selenium 3 used JSON Wire Protocol, which required translating Selenium commands to JSON before sending them to browsers. Selenium 4 follows W3C standards, making execution more stable & faster.

✅ Benefit: Less overhead, better browser compatibility.

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📌 2. Relative Locators (Easier Element Identification)

New relative locators allow you to find elements based on visual position.

import static org.openqa.selenium.support.locators.RelativeLocator.with;

WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(with(By.tagName("button")).below(By.id("password")));
loginButton.click();

✅ Easier than XPath or CSS selectors for nearby elements.

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📌 3. Better Window & Tab Handling

Old Way (Selenium 3):

String originalWindow = driver.getWindowHandle();
driver.switchTo().newWindow(WindowType.WINDOW);
driver.switchTo().window(originalWindow);

New Way (Selenium 4 - Simplified)

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

✅ Easier & more reliable handling of multiple tabs.

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📌 4. Element-Specific Screenshot

Now you can take screenshots of individual elements instead of the full page.

WebElement logo = driver.findElement(By.id("site-logo"));
File src = logo.getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);
FileUtils.copyFile(src, new File("element_screenshot.png"));

✅ Helps in debugging UI issues faster.

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📌 5. Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP)—Intercept Network Requests

DevTools devTools = ((HasDevTools) driver).getDevTools();
devTools.createSession();
devTools.send(Network.enable(Optional.empty(), Optional.empty(), Optional.empty()));

devTools.addListener(Network.requestWillBeSent(), request -> 
    System.out.println("Request URL: " + request.getRequest().getUrl()));

✅ Allows capturing network requests, modifying responses, and debugging performance.

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Should You Upgrade to Selenium 4?

✔ YES! Selenium 4 is more stable, faster, and easier to use.
✔ W3C standardization improves compatibility.
✔ Relative Locators, Tab Handling, and CDP make automation simpler.