Difference between Implicit and Explicit Wait

What are Wait Commands?

While simulating user actions on a web application, we might face an “Element Not Visible Exception“ error. This error occurs because some elements need some time before appearing on the screen. 

The selenium web driver may stimulate user action on the element even before the element is loaded. The Wait commands help us to deal with this issue. They pause the test execution for a certain period before moving to the next step.

Types of Wait Commands: 

1. Implicit Wait
    
2. Explicit Wait
    
3. Fluent Wait

This article titled "Difference between Implicit and Explicit Wait" will discuss only Implicit and explicit Wait.

Implicit Wait

The implicit wait command helps us when a web page loads longer than expected. 

It directs the Selenium WebDriver to stop the execution of the test script for a certain period before searching for each web element. 

• If the web element is found under the specified time, the required action will be taken. 
   
• If the element is not found, Selenium WebDriver will throw the “NoSuchElementException”.

We can use the implicit wait method using the following command:

• driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(time, TimeUnit.SECONDS).
• driver.manage().timeouts.implicitlyWait(DurationObject)

Here, time is the period the Selenium WebDriver waits before throwing "NoSuchElementException".

Implementation in Java

import dev.failsafe.internal.util.Assert;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;


import java.time.Duration;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;


public class SeleniumExamplesImplicitWait {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.setProperty("webdriver.gecko.driver", "path/to/geckodriver");

        // create a new Chrome browser instance
        WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();
        // set the implicit wait time to 10 seconds
        driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(Duration.ofSeconds(10));
        
        // navigate to the Github login page
        driver.get("https://github.com/login");


        // find the email input field and enter the email address
        WebElement emailInput = driver.findElement(By.name("login"));
        emailInput.sendKeys("example@email.com");


        // find the password input field and enter the password
        WebElement passwordInput = driver.findElement(By.name("password"));
        passwordInput.sendKeys("password123");


        // find the login button and click on it
        WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.name("commit"));
        loginButton.click();


        // close the browser
        driver.quit();
    }
}

Webdriver will move to the next statement if it is already on the screen. You can try to locate elements not present on the screen to see the WebDriver waiting and throwing an error!

Explicit Wait

The explicit wait command helps us when we need to wait for a specific event before moving to the next step. 

• In explicit Wait, we must define a condition and the maximum time to wait. 
• Once the condition is fulfilled, Selenium WebDriver moves to the next step. 
• If the condition is unmet, it will throw a 'TimeoutException’. 

Following are the expected condition that can be used for waiting:

We can use the Explicit wait condition in the following manner:

WebDriverWait Wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, time); // instancing a new wait object, wait for ‘time’ seconds.
wait.until(expectedCondtion);

Implementation in Java

import dev.failsafe.internal.util.Assert;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.Keys;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;


import java.time.Duration;


public class SeleniumExamplesExplicitWait {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.setProperty("webdriver.gecko.driver", "path/to/geckodriver");
        
        // create a new Chrome browser instance
        WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();

        // navigate to the github login page
        driver.get("https://github.com/login");


        // find the email input field and enter the email address
        WebElement emailInput = driver.findElement(By.name("login"));
        emailInput.sendKeys("example@email.com");


        // find the password input field and enter the password
        WebElement passwordInput = driver.findElement(By.name("password"));
        passwordInput.sendKeys("password123");


        // set the explicit wait time to 10 seconds before login
        WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
        WebElement welcomeMessage = wait.until(ExpectedConditions.presenceOfElementLocated(By.name("commit")));


        // find the login button and click on it
        WebElement loginButton = driver.findElement(By.name("commit"));
        loginButton.click();


        // close the browser
        driver.quit();
    }
}

As soon as the condition is resolved, webdriver will move to next statement. You can try different conditions to see webdriver actually waiting!

As we have discussed in brief about Implicit and Explicit wait commands. Let’s move to the next section, “Difference between Implicit and Explicit Wait”.

Difference between Implicit and Explicit Wait

The main difference between implicit and explicit Wait is that implicit Wait does not depend upon any condition. It waits for every element before searching for it. The explicit Wait depends on the condition and moves to the next step as soon as the condition is fulfilled without wasting time.

Following are the differences between Implicit and Explicit Wait: 

Xpath in Selenium

Frequently Asked Questions

Is implicit wait static or dynamic?

An implicit wait is static in nature. It is set once at the beginning of the test script and remains constant throughout the script's execution, waiting a fixed amount of time before interacting with elements.

What are the advantages of using Selenium WebDriver-based automated testing?

Selenium WebDriver supports multiple languages like Java, Python, and Ruby. It can be used to do cross-browser testing. It is an open-source framework and has a vast community.

What is Fluent Wait?

Fluent Waut checks for the web element on the screen repeatedly for a certain period of time. Users have to define the time after which the driver will check for web elements on the screen.

Which wait is better in Selenium? 

Explicit Wait is often considered better because it offers more control and flexibility and is suitable for handling dynamic elements and waiting for specific conditions, making tests more robust and efficient.

Can we use implicit and explicit wait together?

Yes, you can use implicit and explicit waits together in Selenium. However, it's generally discouraged because it can lead to unpredictable wait times and unexpected behavior. It's better to use explicit waits for specific conditions and elements.

Conclusion

Selenium Webdriver is used to automate the testing. It is also used for cross-browser testing. Some elements take time to load on the screen. If we execute the test script, such an element may lead to Element Not Visible Exception. We can use the Wait command in such cases. The difference between Implicit and Explicit Wait is that Implicit Wait waits for every element before looking for it, while Explicit Wait waits only as per the specified conditions.

Recommended Reading:

IEnumerable vs IQueryable

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