Google Automation Testing Interview Questions & Answers

A try block that automatically closes resources such as file readers or streams, preventing leaks without a finally block.

Overloading: same method name, different parameters, in the same class (compile time). Overriding: a subclass redefines a parent method with the same signature (runtime polymorphism). WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver() is runtime polymorphism.

WebDriver sends commands over HTTP (W3C protocol) to a browser-specific driver such as chromedriver, which controls the actual browser.

Encapsulation: private locators with public page methods. Inheritance: pages extend a BasePage. Polymorphism: the WebDriver interface for different browsers. Abstraction: utility layers hiding Selenium details.

It makes a test run only after specified tests pass, otherwise it is skipped. Use sparingly as it creates coupled tests.

Headless mode or screen resolution, timing issues, environment data, missing dependencies, browser–driver version mismatch or parallel conflicts. Check logs and failure screenshots and make waits robust.

A framework combining data-driven, keyword-driven and POM approaches with reporting and utilities, giving flexibility and reuse.

== compares references (or primitive values); equals() compares content when overridden, as in String.

Encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism and abstraction. Testers use them to build reusable page classes, base tests and utility libraries.

findElement returns the first match and throws NoSuchElementException if nothing is found. findElements returns a List (empty if nothing is found) — handy to check whether an element exists.

Use mocks or stubs such as WireMock to simulate the dependency and test your service in isolation.

Comparable defines the natural order inside the class (compareTo); Comparator defines custom orders externally (compare), useful for sorting test data in several ways.

close() closes the current window; quit() closes all windows and ends the driver session.

SOAP is a strict XML protocol with WSDL and WS-Security; REST is a lighter architectural style using HTTP and usually JSON.

Hard assert stops the test at the first failure; SoftAssert collects failures and reports them together when assertAll() is called.

ArrayList has fast random access and slower inserts in the middle; LinkedList has fast inserts and deletes but slow access by index.

driver.switchTo().alert() lets you accept, dismiss, read text or send keys. Browser windows are handled with window handles.

Implement IRetryAnalyzer with a retry count and attach it through the test annotation or a listener to rerun flaky tests.

Cast the driver to JavascriptExecutor and use executeScript, for example to scroll into view or click hidden elements.

Code pushed to Git → Jenkins job triggers (webhook or schedule) → mvn clean test with the suite XML → reports and screenshots published → notifications on Slack/email → failures triaged before release.

Compare effort saved by running automated tests repeatedly against the cost of building and maintaining scripts, counting execution time, defects found earlier and release speed.

Do not automate it; ask for a test environment where CAPTCHA is disabled or use test keys, or a bypass token agreed with developers.

Use external files or APIs and database setup scripts, generate unique data per run, and clean up afterwards so tests stay independent.

Locators such as above, below, toLeftOf and near that find elements by their position relative to another element.

It uses the key's hashCode to find a bucket and equals to resolve collisions, giving O(1) average lookups; Java 8 converts long buckets into trees.

throw actually raises an exception object inside a method; throws declares in the method signature that it may pass an exception to the caller.

this refers to the current object; super refers to the parent class, used to call parent constructors and methods.

Schedule the job, spin up environments or containers, run suites in parallel, store reports and screenshots, notify failures on Slack or email and track trends.

Running the same test logic with multiple data sets from Excel, CSV, JSON or a database, so coverage increases without duplicating code.

A test framework offering annotations, grouping, prioritisation, parallel runs, data providers and reports, which structure and scale Selenium tests.

Git tracks changes, enables code review, branching and rollback and lets teams collaborate on the framework safely.

public (everywhere), protected (package and subclasses), default (package) and private (same class), used to control visibility of test utilities.

An interface for systems to talk to each other. GET reads, POST creates, PUT replaces, PATCH updates partially and DELETE removes.

A Java library that makes API tests readable using given-when-then, with easy request building, response validation and JSON path support.

Create a job or pipeline that checks out code, runs mvn test, publishes reports and triggers on commits or schedules.

Define parameter name and value in the XML and read them with @Parameters in the test or configuration method.

Locate rows and columns with XPath such as //table//tr and //td, loop through them to read or click cells, or build the XPath dynamically from the row text.

@BeforeTest runs once before all methods in a test tag of testng.xml; @BeforeMethod runs before every test method.

Store each driver in a ThreadLocal so every thread gets its own instance and tests do not interfere.

id, name, className, tagName, linkText, partialLinkText, CSS selector and XPath. Prefer stable ids or CSS, using XPath when needed.

POST creates a resource, PUT replaces the whole resource (idempotent) and PATCH updates part of it.

Set window size explicitly, use proper waits, check animations and viewport differences, and capture screenshots and logs to find timing issues.

Behaviour-driven development writes scenarios in Given-When-Then Gherkin that map to step definitions in code, so business and QA share one language.

A lightweight text format of key-value pairs and arrays used in API requests and responses, validated field by field in tests.

Keep credentials in external data, parameterise the test with a data provider, reuse a login method in a page class, and clear sessions between roles.

If the element is <input type="file">, use element.sendKeys("C:/path/file.pdf"). Use the Robot class or AutoIt only as a last resort for OS dialogs.

A special method that initialises an object. It can be overloaded with different parameters, and testers use it to pass the WebDriver into page classes.

An abstract class can hold state and concrete methods; an interface defines a contract (with default methods since Java 8). A class extends one abstract class but can implement many interfaces.

An authorisation framework where a client obtains an access token from an auth server and sends it as a Bearer token; tests fetch and reuse the token in setup.

A scripted or declarative Jenkinsfile that defines stages such as build, test and deploy as code stored with the project.

Lambdas are short anonymous functions; streams process collections declaratively with filter, map and collect, for example filtering link text from a list of elements.

200 OK, 201 Created, 204 No Content, 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 500 Internal Server Error.

Classes such as Integer and Double that wrap primitive types as objects, needed for collections and for parsing text from web elements.

A design pattern where each page is a class holding its locators and actions, so tests stay readable and a locator change is fixed in one place.

Use then().time(lessThan(2000L)) and then().header("Content-Type", containsString("json")) along with body assertions.

A subclass redefines a parent method. Frameworks use it to customise base behaviour, such as overriding a wait or click method in a base page class.

Relative locators, improved Grid, W3C compliance, new window or tab creation, Chrome DevTools Protocol access and element-level screenshots.

Use JavascriptExecutor with window.scrollTo or scrollIntoView, or the Actions class scroll methods in Selenium 4.

A configuration file to define suites, tests, classes, groups, parameters and parallel execution settings.

Use CSS or XPath with contains(), starts-with() or stable attributes, relative axes, or data-test attributes agreed with developers.

//button[normalize-space()='Login'] //button[contains(text(),'Login')]

One interface, many forms. WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver() lets the same test code run on any browser class that implements WebDriver.

Use isDisplayed(), isEnabled() and isSelected() on the WebElement before interacting or asserting.

Absolute starts from the root (/html/...) and breaks easily; relative starts anywhere with // and is more stable, for example //input[@id='email'].