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Understanding Playwright and Selenium for Web Automation

Published

2 months ago

December 25, 2025

admin

Playwright vs Selenium: An In-Depth Comparison of Web Automation Tools

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Key Takeaways

Playwright offers faster operations and better support for modern web applications.
Selenium boasts broader browser compatibility and a more extensive programming language support.
Both tools are evolving, but Playwright is experiencing rapid adoption growth.
The choice between them impacts testing efficiency and legacy system compatibility.

Context / Background

Playwright, launched in 2019 and backed by Microsoft, emphasizes speed and modern web automation approaches. Conversely, Selenium has been around since 2004, providing a mature ecosystem with extensive browser and programming language support. Understanding the evolution and features of both tools is crucial for users and companies considering their testing frameworks.

Key Details

Performance and Architecture

Playwright employs a WebSocket connection and the Chrome DevTools Protocol, allowing rapid, reliable interactions with a persistent connection. This results in lower overhead, enabling asynchronous operations and supporting parallel execution through multiple browser contexts. Thus, Playwright is often regarded as faster and more efficient for testing large applications source.

In contrast, Selenium uses the WebDriver API and the HTTP/JSON Wire Protocol, which can introduce latency and necessitate manual setups, such as Selenium Grid for parallel testing. This structure often leads to slower execution and less stability compared to Playwright source.

Browser and Language Support

Playwright natively supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit but does not cater to Internet Explorer or legacy browsers. Conversely, Selenium supports a wider range, encompassing Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, and Internet Explorer via external drivers source.

For language support, Playwright enables test writing in JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET C#. Selenium, however, accommodates a broader array of languages, including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, Perl, PHP, and JavaScript, appealing to projects requiring versatile language options source.

Features and Tools

Although both tools offer modern capabilities, Playwright presents advanced features such as device emulation, network interception, and auto-waiting, making it well-suited for contemporary applications, especially those employing Single Page Applications (SPAs) and responsive designs. Selenium’s feature set is more limited, often requiring additional plugins or workarounds to achieve similar results source.

By 2025, Playwright is predicted to capture around 15% of market share with a 235% year-over-year growth. Selenium, meanwhile, maintains a stable user base, holding about 39% of the market and serving over 15 million developers source.

Impact

The decision between Playwright and Selenium influences various stakeholders, including developers, testers, and organizations. Developers looking for enhanced productivity and quick feedback might favor Playwright, especially in modern workflows involving mobile emulation and performance-critical testing. On the other hand, enterprises relying heavily on legacy systems may prefer Selenium due to its extensive language compatibility source.

In India, both tools are gaining popularity as testing becomes increasingly vital for software quality assurance. The burgeoning tech ecosystem in the country is driving demand for faster and more effective testing solutions, fostering the growth of both Playwright and Selenium among local startups and enterprises.

What’s Next

As the domain of web automation evolves, Playwright continues to innovate with features like the Model Context Protocol (MCP), designed for AI-driven testing using DOM snapshots. Meanwhile, Selenium is making advancements such as WebDriver BiDi, enabling bidirectional control in testing scenarios. Organizations must evaluate their current infrastructure and future needs when selecting between these two robust tools. With a focus on speed and modernity in web applications, Playwright may increasingly be favored by developers seeking efficiency and agility in their testing processes.

FAQ Section

What is Playwright?

Playwright is an open-source automation framework developed by Microsoft that allows for web application testing across different browsers. It focuses on speed and automation capabilities, making it suitable for modern web applications.

What is Selenium?

Selenium is a long-established open-source framework for automating web browsers. It supports multiple programming languages and browser types, enabling extensive automation capabilities in software testing.

Which is faster, Playwright or Selenium?

Playwright is generally considered faster than Selenium due to its architecture, which allows for lower overhead and supports asynchronous operations and parallel execution effectively.

Which has more browser support, Playwright or Selenium?

While Playwright supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, Selenium has broader browser compatibility, including support for legacy browsers like Internet Explorer.

Which one should I choose?

The choice between Playwright and Selenium depends on factors like project requirements, existing infrastructure, and the specific capabilities needed for automation. Playwright may be suited for modern applications, while Selenium is often preferred for legacy systems.

AI/ML

India Pursues Global AI Commons at Summit in New Delhi

Published

1 week ago

February 15, 2026

admin

India to Push for Global AI Commons at AI Impact Summit in New Delhi

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Key Takeaways

India aims to establish a “global AI commons” at the AI Impact Summit on February 19-20, 2026.
Focus on AI’s potential to drive social impact in health, education, and agriculture.
Collaboration among nations to share resources and technologies rather than just purchasing them is emphasized.
12 projects are currently funded to enhance India’s AI capabilities.
The summit will guide discussions around global collaboration in AI technologies.

Main Content

Context / Background

The AI Impact Summit will serve as the fourth AI Action Summit in the developing world, marking a significant shift in the global conversation surrounding AI. This summit aims to transition the focus from concerns over AI safety to optimistic discussions around AI’s potential for making a positive impact. Singh’s leadership at the IndiaAI Mission, combined with his extensive experience in digital initiatives, positions him to advocate effectively for collaborative global frameworks in AI.

Abhishek Singh, an accomplished Indian Administrative Service officer and alumnus of IIT Kanpur, is well-recognized for his previous roles in pivotal projects like DigiLocker, CoWIN, and Bhashini. His vision at the IndiaAI Mission revolves around fostering an ecosystem that positions India as both a consumer and a creator of AI technologies, thereby enhancing the nation’s capabilities in this crucial field.

Key Details

The summit is structured around three main themes: people, planet, and progress. It seeks to showcase solutions aimed at improving health, education, and agricultural practices globally. The dialogue at the summit will also focus on enabling co-creation among nations, emphasizing the sharing of energy, computational resources, and data rather than merely purchasing existing technologies from more developed nations.

India’s approach is to address priorities pertinent to the Global South, aiming to bridge the AI divide and make AI technologies accessible to the majority of the world. Singh highlighted that India is actively building sovereignty in AI capabilities, with 12 projects currently receiving funding to support this initiative.

One of the critical elements of the upcoming summit is the emphasis on developing a collaborative infrastructure for AI that encourages global cooperation and democratization of resources. Singh’s initiative for a “global AI commons” reflects a desire for a unified approach in managing and utilizing AI technologies for social good.

Impact

The push for a “global AI commons” could have significant implications for various stakeholders, including governments, businesses, and regional ecosystems. For users in India, such agreements could lead to enhanced access to AI tools and resources, especially in underserved populations, such as farmers in rural areas utilizing voice AI technologies.

The summit’s focus on co-creation aligns with India’s broader strategy to not only enhance its own capabilities but also to position itself as a key player in global AI discussions. Initiatives like the Future Skills Prime program aim to extend AI education and training to millions, particularly in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, emphasizing the inclusivity aspect of India’s technological advancements.

As countries converge on New Delhi to collaborate on AI, the outcomes of this summit will be closely observed by global technology leaders and policymakers. The emphasis on collaboration and social impact could influence future international agreements and foster innovation-driven approaches in various sectors.

What’s Next

The AI Impact Summit is expected to lay the groundwork for future international collaboration on AI technologies. It will spotlight India’s role as a hub for AI innovation and services, while also addressing global disparities in AI access and governance. With the summit set to guide discussions around establishing a global AI commons, the implications for health, education, and agriculture may extend far beyond India, providing a template for how emerging technologies can be leveraged for social ends worldwide.

FAQ Section

What is the AI Impact Summit?

The AI Impact Summit is an international event aimed at discussing the potential impacts and collaborations of AI technologies, focusing on how they can drive social change across various sectors.

When will the AI Impact Summit take place?

The summit is scheduled for February 19-20, 2026, in New Delhi, India.

What is the goal of establishing a “global AI commons”?

The goal is to create a collaborative framework that facilitates shared access to AI technologies and resources, promoting equitable use and development, particularly for the Global South.

What role does India aim to play in AI advancements?

India seeks to position itself as a significant contributor and consumer of AI technologies, advocating for global collaborations that ensure wider accessibility and inclusion in AI developments.

AI/ML

What Is Artificial Intelligence and How Does It Work?

Published

4 weeks ago

January 27, 2026

admin

Artificial Intelligence is not magic. It’s math, data, and learning at scale.

Artificial Intelligence, commonly known as AI, is one of the most influential ideas shaping the modern world. From smartphones and search engines to healthcare and finance, AI quietly powers systems that learn, adapt, and assist humans at scale.

But what exactly is artificial intelligence, and how does it actually work behind the scenes?

This evergreen guide explains AI in simple, lasting terms, without hype or jargon.

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is the field of computer science focused on creating systems that can perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence.

These tasks include:

Learning from experience
Recognizing patterns
Understanding language
Making decisions
Solving problems

Traditional software follows fixed rules written by humans. AI systems, in contrast, learn those rules from data.

Instead of telling a machine exactly how to recognize a face or detect spam, we show it examples and let it discover patterns on its own.

The Core Idea Behind AI

At its heart, AI is built on a simple principle:

A system can improve its performance by learning from data.

The more relevant and high-quality data an AI system processes, the better it becomes at its task. This shift from rule-based programming to data-driven learning is what makes AI fundamentally different from earlier software.

Types of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be grouped based on capability.

1. Narrow AI

This is the only form of AI in practical use today.

Narrow AI is designed to perform a specific task extremely well, such as:

Recommending videos or products
Translating languages
Detecting fraud
Recognizing images or speech

These systems cannot operate outside their defined domain.

2. General AI

General AI refers to a theoretical system that can learn, reason, and apply intelligence across multiple fields, similar to a human.

This type of AI does not exist yet.

3. Superintelligent AI

A speculative concept where AI surpasses human intelligence in all areas. This remains a subject of research and debate rather than reality.

How Does Artificial Intelligence Work?

AI systems are built using three essential ingredients: data, algorithms, and computing power.

1. Data

Data is the foundation of AI.

AI systems learn from examples such as:

Text documents
Images and videos
Audio recordings
Sensor data

Better data leads to better learning. Poor or biased data leads to flawed results.

2. Algorithms

Algorithms are mathematical methods that guide how an AI system learns from data.

One of the most common approaches is machine learning, where the system:

Analyzes input data
Makes predictions or classifications
Measures how accurate those predictions are
Adjusts itself to reduce errors

This loop repeats continuously during training.

3. Neural Networks and Deep Learning

Many modern AI systems rely on neural networks, which are inspired by the structure of the human brain.

Neural networks consist of layers of connected nodes that:

Receive numerical inputs
Process them through weighted connections
Produce an output

When neural networks become large and complex, the approach is called deep learning. Deep learning enables AI to handle complex tasks like image recognition, speech understanding, and natural language processing.

4. Inference

Once training is complete, the AI system enters the inference phase.

This is when it applies what it has learned to new, unseen data. For example:

Identifying a face it has never encountered
Translating a new sentence
Predicting future trends

A Simple Analogy

Imagine teaching a person to identify cars.

You show thousands of images labeled “car” and “not car.” Over time, the learner begins recognizing wheels, shapes, and patterns. Eventually, they can identify cars in completely new images.

AI learns in a similar way, but at far greater speed and scale.

Where Is AI Used Today?

Artificial intelligence is already embedded in everyday systems.

Common applications include:

Search engines ranking results
Navigation apps predicting traffic
Email systems filtering spam
Banks detecting suspicious transactions
Healthcare tools assisting diagnosis
Businesses automating customer support

Most AI works quietly in the background, enhancing efficiency rather than replacing people.

What Artificial Intelligence Cannot Do

Despite its capabilities, AI has clear limitations.

It does not think or feel like humans
It lacks awareness or intention
It relies entirely on training data
It can make confident mistakes

AI systems do not understand meaning in a human sense. They recognize patterns, not purpose.

Why Artificial Intelligence Matters

AI matters because it changes how intelligence scales.

Tasks that once required large teams or years of experience can now be assisted by systems that:

Process massive amounts of information
Detect patterns quickly
Operate continuously

This makes AI a powerful tool in science, business, healthcare, and education. The real value lies not in replacing humans, but in augmenting human decision-making.

The Long-Term Perspective

Artificial Intelligence is not a single breakthrough. It is an ongoing shift in how software is built and how machines interact with information.

As data grows and systems improve, AI will continue to evolve as a foundational technology, much like electricity or the internet.

Understanding how AI works is no longer optional. It is becoming a core part of digital literacy in the modern world.

Final Thought

Artificial Intelligence is best understood not as a machine that thinks, but as a system that learns.

When used responsibly, AI becomes a powerful partner, helping humans see patterns, make better decisions, and focus on what truly requires human judgment.

The future of AI is not about machines replacing people. It is about people who understand AI replacing those who do not.