A Complete Tutorial for XPath in Selenium

Finding web elements is a crucial component of web application automation and a key activity in the creation of automation scripts. HTML components can be recognised thanks to specific properties like id, class, name, and others. However, it is possible that some web elements may not be associated with any special properties. In this scenario, XPath in Selenium Automation Testing serves as the technique for making it easier to locate web items. It serves as a query language that aids in removing entities from the Document Object Model (DOM).

In this blog post on XPath in Selenium, we'll aim to look at some of the most important parts of XPath Selenium, including what it is, distinct types of XPath, and the various XPath expressions that may be used to find various types of elements.

Describe XPath

XPath types

Functions for XPath

XPath Axes Procedures

Conclusion

 

Describe XPath

XML Path, also known as XPath in Selenium, is a method for navigating a webpage's HTML structure as well as querying XML data. With the use of an XPath query or script written in the language, web items on a webpage can be located and identified using an XML Path Expression.

Selenium's generic locators may occasionally be insufficient for finding all DOM elements in an HTML document. Here's where XPath Selenium comes into play. It helps to provide for dynamic element search, which gives one the much-needed flexibility to customise a location to their demands.

XPath syntax

XPath=/tagname[@Attribute=’Value’]

To choose the current node, use /

• Tagname: The name of a certain node's tag

• @: To choose an attribute

• Attribute: This is the node's attribute name.

• Value: This is the node's value.

Different XPath Locator Types

• ID: uses the element's ID to locate the element

• Name: uses the element's name to locate the element

• Classname: uses the element's classname to locate the element

• XPath: locates dynamic elements and navigates between various webpage elements.

• Link text: uses a text's link to locate an element

Locates elements without a class, ID, or name using CSS Path

 

XPath types

Infinite XPath

It is one of the straightforward methods for locating an element because the XPath expression is created by using a selection from the root node. In order to find the relevant element, the XPath in this instance starts with a single slash ('/') and moves from the root to the entire Document Object Model (DOM).

This method has a significant flaw in that any modification to the element's path would lead to an unsuccessful XPath expression.

For illustration:

http://body.form.input/html [5]

The first form tag in the page body would be the starting point for this kind of search, which would then choose the fifth form input field.

Referential XPath

The expression begins in the middle of the HTML DOM structure when using Relative XPath in Selenium. The expression is distinguished by having a double slash (//) at the beginning, which designates the current node. The given tagname and string value serve as the starting point for the search, which aids in finding elements elsewhere on the website.

Comparing this method to Absolute XPath Selenium, its main benefits include being simpler to use, more compact, and less likely to break.

For illustration:

XPath relative: /input[@name='email']

We will start our search from the current node that has the tagname as input, whose attribute is name, and whose value is email, according to the provided XPath expression in Selenium.

Functions for XPath

On sometimes, elements on a webpage may share properties, making it challenging to distinguish between them. The similarity of element names and attributes makes it difficult for Selenium to distinguish between any one specific element. XPath Functions come to our aid in these circumstances.

XPath Function Contains ()

When the value of any attribute changes dynamically, you can effectively generate an XPath expression using this function. In this case, using the provided partial text, the contain function aids in detecting a specific web element.

The attribute of the tag must successfully locate the particular web element in order for the function to work, and the attribute's value must be a partial value that the attribute contains.

For illustration:

/tagname[contains(@attribute,’value of attribute’)]

XPath Function Starts-with()

When the value of an attribute changes on page refresh or as a result of any other dynamic operation on the webpage, this function can be used to successfully generate an XPath expression. The element whose value may have changed is then found by matching the initial text of the attribute using the starts-with function. The function can also be used to locate elements whose attribute values are static or whose attribute names begin with a particular character or string of characters.

The attribute of the tag's value must be a partial value of the attribute with which the attribute is expected to start in order for the function to succeed in locating the specified web element.

For illustration:

/tagname[starts-with(@attribute,’Part of Attribute Value’)]

Text() XPath Function

Based on the text of the element, elements are located on a webpage. The text function looks for an exact match to discover the text element among the list of text nodes. Additionally, the element that is being sought after must be present in string form for this function to work properly.

When an element is identified by its tagname and compared to the value of an attribute, the text() function can be utilised to supply us with the element's text.

For illustration:

'Text of the element' /tagname

XPath Axes Procedures

The XML DOM's elements are set up in a certain order. They can be found in a hierarchical structure and are often found using either of the two XPath types: absolute or relative. These characteristics, referred to the XPath Axis, are provided by XPath in Selenium in order for this operation to succeed.

In order to find the relative nodes, the XPath Axes Methods are utilised to determine relations with the current node. We will examine a few of the typical XPath Axes Methods in this section.

Axis	Description
Ancestor	It helps in locating all the ancestor elements of the current node (grandparent, parent, root node and so on)
Ancestor-or-self	It helps in locating the current node along with the ancestors
Child	It helps in locating all children elements of the current node
Attribute	It helps specify the attributes of the current node
Following	It helps in locating all the elements which come after the current node
Descendant	It helps in locating the children of the current node, up to the leaf node
Descendant-or-self	It helps in locating the current node, along with its descendants
Self	It helps in locating the current node which is designated as self
Parent	It helps in locating the parent of the current node

Conclusion

I'm confident that at the conclusion of this article you will have a solid understanding of how Selenium's XPath function. It is clear that even while the necessity to find web components during Selenium Automated Testing, especially cross-browser testing, may be a major problem, the traditional approaches might not always function for various reasons. Selenium's XPath feature offers a workaround for locating web items in such circumstances. However, it is crucial to understand the applicability of the various XPath Selenium classes and functions in various contexts, depending on functional requirements and the complexity of the DOM structure. You may write scripts that are clean, efficient, and robust using this advice.

One of the top software testing tools of preference for software development engineers in test is undoubtedly Selenium (SDETs). Enroll in our SDET Automation Course right away if you want to develop the abilities required to become an SDET and land this highly sought-after career.

 

Keywords	Frequency
XPath in Selenium – PK	10
XPath Selenium	6
What is XPath	2
Types of XPath	5
XPath Axes Methods	5