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Gatling vs Selenium: What are the differences?

Gatling vs Selenium

Gatling and Selenium are both widely used tools in software testing, but they have some key differences that set them apart. Here are six specific differences between Gatling and Selenium:

  1. Test Type: Gatling is primarily used for performance testing, specifically load and stress testing, while Selenium is mainly used for functional testing. Gatling allows developers to simulate thousands of concurrent users to test the performance of web applications, making it ideal for testing scalability and reliability under heavy load. On the other hand, Selenium is focused on automating browser interactions for testing the functionality of web applications.

  2. Scripting Language: Gatling uses its own Domain Specific Language (DSL) called Gatling DSL for writing test scripts. It is a Scala-based DSL that provides a simple and expressive syntax for creating performance tests. In contrast, Selenium supports multiple programming languages such as Java, Python, C#, and more. This flexibility allows testers to choose the language they are most comfortable with for writing test scripts.

  3. Browser Support: Selenium supports multiple browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. It provides WebDriver APIs that enable cross-browser testing. Gatling, on the other hand, doesn't interact with browsers directly. It simulates user behavior at the HTTP protocol level, making it agnostic to the specific browser being used.

  4. Parallel Execution: Selenium allows parallel execution of tests across multiple browsers and environments. This capability is particularly useful for reducing test execution time and increasing overall test coverage. Gatling also supports parallel execution but at a different level. It allows simultaneous simulation of multiple virtual users, but each user behaves independently of others.

  5. Reporting and Metrics: Gatling provides comprehensive and real-time reports with detailed metrics such as response times, throughput, and error rates. These reports are generated automatically and in various formats, making it easy to analyze test results. In contrast, Selenium doesn't provide native reporting capabilities. It often requires integration with external tools or frameworks like TestNG or JUnit for generating reports.

  6. Learning Curve: Gatling has a steeper learning curve compared to Selenium. Since it uses a specialized DSL and requires knowledge of Scala, testers or developers unfamiliar with these technologies may find it challenging to get started with Gatling. Selenium, on the other hand, has a wider user community and more resources available, making it relatively easier to learn and find support.

In summary, Gatling is primarily used for performance testing with its own DSL and doesn't interact with browsers directly. On the other hand, Selenium is focused on functional testing, supports multiple programming languages, and provides cross-browser compatibility. Gatling offers comprehensive reporting and metrics, while Selenium requires integration with external tools. Gatling has a steeper learning curve compared to Selenium due to its specialized DSL and Scala requirement.

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we are having one web application developed in Reacts.js. in the application, we have only 4 to 5 pages that we need to test. I am having experience in selenium with java. Please suggets which tool I should use. and why ............................ ............................ .............................

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Prashanth Marappa
Senior Software Engineer at Mphasis · | 1 upvotes · 213.3K views
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with the help of selenium we can automate react js for functional testing

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Pros of Gatling
Pros of Selenium
  • 6
    Great detailed reports
  • 5
    Can run in cluster mode
  • 5
    Loadrunner
  • 3
    Scala based
  • 2
    Load test as code
  • 0
    Faster
  • 175
    Automates browsers
  • 154
    Testing
  • 101
    Essential tool for running test automation
  • 24
    Record-Playback
  • 24
    Remote Control
  • 8
    Data crawling
  • 7
    Supports end to end testing
  • 6
    Easy set up
  • 6
    Functional testing
  • 4
    The Most flexible monitoring system
  • 3
    End to End Testing
  • 3
    Easy to integrate with build tools
  • 2
    Comparing the performance selenium is faster than jasm
  • 2
    Record and playback
  • 2
    Compatible with Python
  • 2
    Easy to scale
  • 2
    Integration Tests
  • 0
    Integrated into Selenium-Jupiter framework

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Cons of Gatling
Cons of Selenium
  • 2
    Steep Learning Curve
  • 1
    Hard to test non-supported protocols
  • 0
    Not distributed
  • 8
    Flaky tests
  • 4
    Slow as needs to make browser (even with no gui)
  • 1
    Update browser drivers

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What is Gatling?

Gatling is a highly capable load testing tool. It is designed for ease of use, maintainability and high performance. Out of the box, Gatling comes with excellent support of the HTTP protocol that makes it a tool of choice for load testing any HTTP server. As the core engine is actually protocol agnostic, it is perfectly possible to implement support for other protocols. For example, Gatling currently also ships JMS support.

What is Selenium?

Selenium automates browsers. That's it! What you do with that power is entirely up to you. Primarily, it is for automating web applications for testing purposes, but is certainly not limited to just that. Boring web-based administration tasks can (and should!) also be automated as well.

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What companies use Gatling?
What companies use Selenium?
See which teams inside your own company are using Gatling or Selenium.
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What tools integrate with Selenium?

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What are some alternatives to Gatling and Selenium?
BlazeMeter
Simulate any user scenario for webapps, websites, mobile apps or web services. 100% Apache JMeter compatible. Scalable from 1 to 1,000,000+ concurrent users.<br>
Locust
Locust is an easy-to-use, distributed, user load testing tool. Intended for load testing web sites (or other systems) and figuring out how many concurrent users a system can handle.
k6
It is a developer centric open source load testing tool for testing the performance of your backend infrastructure. It’s built with Go and JavaScript to integrate well into your development workflow.
Cucumber
Cucumber is a tool that supports Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) - a software development process that aims to enhance software quality and reduce maintenance costs.
Apache JMeter
It is open source software, a 100% pure Java application designed to load test functional behavior and measure performance. It was originally designed for testing Web Applications but has since expanded to other test functions.
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