What is the best way to transfer Selenium WebDriver instances between functions in Python?

Question

What is the best way to transfer Selenium WebDriver instances between functions in Python?

Currently, I am working with a function that is responsible for logging into a specific website. Once logged in, I return the webdriver instance to be used by another function in order to retrieve important information.

However, I have encountered an issue where I am unable to call my second function using the returned driver instance. It's been quite frustrating and I am seeking advice on how to properly pass a webdriver instance to another function. Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

python function selenium webdriver

Answer 1

Answer №1

How do I pass a webdriver instance to another function?

To pass a webdriver instance from one function to another, you can simply return the instance from the first function and call the second function with it.

For example, in the code snippet below, there are two functions defined. The first function, func1, initializes a webdriver (Chrome) and returns the instance. The second function, func2, takes the driver instance as an argument.

from selenium import webdriver

def func1():
    driver = webdriver.Chrome()
    driver.get('https://example.com')
    return driver

def func2(driver):
    return driver.title

if __name__ == '__main__':
    driver = func1()
    title = func2(driver)
    print(title)
    driver.quit()

When executed, this code will open a Chrome browser, navigate to https://example.com, retrieve and print the page title ("Example Domain"), and then close the browser after completion.

Answer 2

How do I pass a webdriver instance to another function?

To pass a webdriver instance from one function to another, you can simply return the instance from the first function and call the second function with it.

For example, in the code snippet below, there are two functions defined. The first function, func1, initializes a webdriver (Chrome) and returns the instance. The second function, func2, takes the driver instance as an argument.

from selenium import webdriver

def func1():
    driver = webdriver.Chrome()
    driver.get('https://example.com')
    return driver

def func2(driver):
    return driver.title

if __name__ == '__main__':
    driver = func1()
    title = func2(driver)
    print(title)
    driver.quit()

When executed, this code will open a Chrome browser, navigate to https://example.com, retrieve and print the page title ("Example Domain"), and then close the browser after completion.

Answer 3

Answer №2

Another approach is to expand on Corey Goldberg's solution by simply passing a driver reference to all functions that require it.

from selenium import webdriver

def open_website(driver):
    driver.get('https://example.com')

def get_title(driver):
    return driver.title

if __name__ == '__main__':
    driver = webdriver.Chrome()
    open_website(driver)
    title = get_title(driver)
    print(title)
    driver.quit()

Answer 4

Another approach is to expand on Corey Goldberg's solution by simply passing a driver reference to all functions that require it.

from selenium import webdriver

def open_website(driver):
    driver.get('https://example.com')

def get_title(driver):
    return driver.title

if __name__ == '__main__':
    driver = webdriver.Chrome()
    open_website(driver)
    title = get_title(driver)
    print(title)
    driver.quit()

What is the best way to transfer Selenium WebDriver instances between functions in Python?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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