Although I still wish there was a way to inspect the Selenium interface from Python directly, I have managed to come up with a method that allows me to gain a clear understanding of the layout of the app. This makes it easier for me to then write the necessary Selenium tests.
To start, you need to have your app up and running either on a real device connected to your Android development computer or in an emulator. When you run adb devices, you should see only one device listed - the one running your app. Then, launch the uiautomatorviewer tool and click on the Device Screenshot icon in the toolbar (the second icon from the left).
Once you do this, an image of your app will appear with a screenshot on the left side and a tree outline on the right side. The outline displays all the controls within the app, including their text labels and other relevant information (such as whether they are clickable or not).
One thing to note is that the controls may be numbered differently than how they are mapped in Selenium bindings. For example, in the ApiDemos app, the Graphics button might be labeled as index 4, even though in order to access it by position you need to use index 5. This discrepancy is important to keep in mind when writing your tests.
By making adjustments like the following in the android.py script:
#elem = driver.find_element_by_name('Graphics')
elem = driver.find_elements_by_tag_name('TextView')[5]
You can effectively view the controls you need to interact with based on the results provided by the uiautomationviewer.
Now armed with these insights, I am able to perform some introspection:
for elem in driver.find_elements_by_tag_name('TextView'):
if elem.text == "Graphics":
break
else:
print("Could not find desired item")
While this approach may not be as efficient as using driver.find_element_by_name() directly, it demonstrates progress towards the right direction.
The uiautomatorviewer has proven to be a useful solution for my current dilemma. If anyone knows of a pure-Python alternative, please feel free to share!