What is WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver() in Selenium?

Hi there, have you come across this question in interviews? Have you been using the above line of code in your programming but not really sure what it means? Well, when I had started working as an automation engineer, I wanted to understand the exact meaning of each and every word in this specific line of code. So, without any further delay, let's discuss what it signifies.

Example:

package LinkedIn;

public class FirstLinkedInTestCase{

public static void main(String[] args)

{

// Create a new instance of the Firefox driver

WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();

Explanation:

WebDriver is an interface that is available in Selenium jar files. driver is webDriver reference variable. New is a keyword, we use to create an instance of the class. And, FireFoxDriver() is a class already existing in Selenium. So, you can import it and start using it for your test. That's it. Read slowly once again ...

But, if you run the above code, you will get an exception error. Why?

.

.

.

Because we have not imported the required below packages:

1. import org.openqa.selenium.webDriver;
2. import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver;

Therefore, when you write this specific line of code, it will initiate firefox browser. And, then you can perform an action as per your requirement. Example: driver.get ("https://www.google.com");

Note: In Eclipse, these packages will be automatically imported to your class, if you enable autosuggestion.

I hope it is easy to understand the context behind using the specific line of code. Please feel free to provide inputs from your side. Let's learn, share and grow together. Thank you for reading!