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@pallavigitwork pallavigitwork commented Sep 3, 2025

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updated the blog for the selenium community event episode -2

Description

updated the blog for the selenium community event episode -2

Motivation and Context

updated the blog for the selenium community event episode -2

Types of changes

  • Change to the site (I have double-checked the Netlify deployment, and my changes look good)
  • Code example added (and I also added the example to all translated languages)
  • Improved translation
  • Added new translation (and I also added a notice to each document missing translation)

Checklist

  • I have read the contributing document.
  • I have used hugo to render the site/docs locally and I am sure it works.

PR Type

Documentation


Description

  • Expanded blog post with comprehensive content about browser engines vs browsers

  • Added detailed technical sections covering WebDriver standards and testing approaches

  • Restructured content with proper headings and improved formatting

  • Enhanced speaker introduction and event description


Diagram Walkthrough

flowchart LR
  A["Original Brief Blog"] --> B["Enhanced Content Structure"]
  B --> C["Technical Sections Added"]
  B --> D["Speaker Details Expanded"]
  C --> E["Browser Engine Insights"]
  C --> F["Testing Recommendations"]
  D --> G["Complete Event Coverage"]
Loading

File Walkthrough

Relevant files
Documentation
selenium-community-live-episode2.md
Complete blog post expansion with technical content           

website_and_docs/content/blog/2025/selenium-community-live-episode2.md

  • Transformed brief blog post into comprehensive technical article
  • Added detailed sections on browser engines, WebDriver standards, and
    testing strategies
  • Restructured content with proper headings and improved readability
  • Enhanced speaker introduction and event context
+101/-6 

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🔨 Latest commit e4810e6

@pallavigitwork pallavigitwork requested a review from a team September 3, 2025 10:39
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qodo-merge-pro bot commented Sep 3, 2025

PR Reviewer Guide 🔍

Here are some key observations to aid the review process:

⏱️ Estimated effort to review: 2 🔵🔵⚪⚪⚪
🧪 No relevant tests
🔒 No security concerns identified
⚡ Recommended focus areas for review

Tone/Accuracy

The sentence introducing David Burns has an extra comma after "who," and “Browser Stack” branding should be “BrowserStack”. Also verify titles like "Chair W3C Browser Testing and Tools Workgroup" are current and accurately phrased.

The second episode of Selenium Community Live happened on Jan 21st, 2025, with David Burns, Selenium Project Leadership Member, Chair W3C Browser Testing and Tools Workgroup, and Head Open source and Developer Advocacy at Browser Stack. The topic of the event was Browsers, Browser Engines and why they are not the same. 

You can watch the episode here-  **<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W_rYPxVIgA" target="_blank">Selenium Community Live - Episode 2</a>**

**Meet the Speakers:**

1. **<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/theautomatedtester/" target="_blank">David Burns</a>** 

Link Formatting

Consider replacing raw HTML anchor tags with Markdown links for consistency with Hugo/Markdown styling unless HTML is required for target attributes.

You can watch the episode here-  **<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W_rYPxVIgA" target="_blank">Selenium Community Live - Episode 2</a>**

**Meet the Speakers:**

1. **<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/theautomatedtester/" target="_blank">David Burns</a>** 

Claims/Attribution

Statements about Chrome headless history and Safari IndexedDB bug should include source links to support the claims and help readers dive deeper.

## The Headless vs Headful Reality Check

David revealed a startling discovery made by Mathias Bynens (Engineering Manager at Google): for years, Chrome's headless mode wasn't actually using the same rendering engine (Blink) as regular Chrome. It was essentially a different browser altogether.

This revelation led to the creation of **Chrome for Testing**, providing a stable, consistent testing environment that actually matches what users experience.

> "Headless and headful is not necessarily the same... it is literally apples to oranges."

## Browser Engines vs Real Browsers: The Critical Difference

Using Chromium instead of actual browsers like Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Opera might seem equivalent, but David highlighted crucial differences:

### Third-Party Cookie Handling
Different browsers handle cookies differently. Brave's privacy-focused approach differs significantly from Chrome's implementation, affecting:
- Session management
- Login/logout flows
- Cross-site functionality

### Real-World Example: Safari's IndexedDB Bug
A particularly illustrative case was Safari's IndexedDB bug that affected desktop Safari but not:
- WebKit (the engine)
- iOS Safari
- Safari Tech Preview

Testing with WebKit alone would have missed this critical bug that could break login functionality for real users.

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qodo-merge-pro bot commented Sep 3, 2025

PR Code Suggestions ✨

Explore these optional code suggestions:

CategorySuggestion                                                                                                                                    Impact
High-level
Verify claims and avoid speculation

The post makes several strong technical and roadmap assertions (e.g., headless
vs headful Chrome behavior, Safari IndexedDB bug scope, AT Driver status, and
“Selenium 5” features) without sources and with potentially inaccurate or
speculative wording. Before publishing on the official site, validate these
points against authoritative references (Chromium/WebKit docs and bug links, W3C
spec status pages, Selenium roadmap), correct inaccuracies (e.g., headless
Chrome history, product/brand names), and qualify future-looking statements with
citations or clearly marked expectations.

Examples:

website_and_docs/content/blog/2025/selenium-community-live-episode2.md [47-50]
David revealed a startling discovery made by Mathias Bynens (Engineering Manager at Google): for years, Chrome's headless mode wasn't actually using the same rendering engine (Blink) as regular Chrome. It was essentially a different browser altogether.

This revelation led to the creation of **Chrome for Testing**, providing a stable, consistent testing environment that actually matches what users experience.
website_and_docs/content/blog/2025/selenium-community-live-episode2.md [106-113]
## Looking Forward: Selenium 5

David shared insights about Selenium's future direction:
- Continued focus on WebDriver BiDi implementation
- More "batteries included" features like Selenium Manager
- Enhanced APIs for network interception and advanced automation

The Selenium team remains committed to conservative changes, prioritizing stability while adding powerful new capabilities.

Solution Walkthrough:

Before:

## The Headless vs Headful Reality Check

David revealed a startling discovery made by Mathias Bynens (Engineering Manager at Google): for years, Chrome's headless mode wasn't actually using the same rendering engine (Blink) as regular Chrome. It was essentially a different browser altogether.

## Real-World Example: Safari's IndexedDB Bug
A particularly illustrative case was Safari's IndexedDB bug that affected desktop Safari but not:
- WebKit (the engine)
- iOS Safari
- Safari Tech Preview

## Looking Forward: Selenium 5
David shared insights about Selenium's future direction:
- Continued focus on WebDriver BiDi implementation
- More "batteries included" features like Selenium Manager

After:

## The Headless vs Headful Reality Check

David highlighted a key evolution in Chrome's architecture, as detailed by Mathias Bynens. The original headless mode was a separate implementation from the main browser UI. This led to the creation of **Chrome for Testing** to provide a consistent environment. (See: [Link to relevant Chrome blog/doc]).

## Real-World Example: Safari's IndexedDB Bug
A particularly illustrative case was a bug in Safari's IndexedDB implementation (see: [Link to WebKit bug report]) that affected desktop Safari but not:
- WebKit (the engine)
- iOS Safari
- Safari Tech Preview

## Looking Forward: The Road to Selenium 5
Looking ahead, the Selenium project's roadmap includes:
- Continued focus on WebDriver BiDi implementation
- More "batteries included" features like Selenium Manager
(Note: Roadmap items are subject to change.)
Suggestion importance[1-10]: 9

__

Why: The suggestion correctly identifies a critical need to verify the numerous technical claims and roadmap statements in the new blog post, as inaccuracies on an official site could harm the project's credibility.

High
Security
Prevent reverse tabnabbing on links

Opening external links with target="_blank" without rel attributes can expose
readers to reverse tabnabbing. Add rel="noopener noreferrer" to the link to
mitigate this security risk. This change is safe and has no impact on rendering.

website_and_docs/content/blog/2025/selenium-community-live-episode2.md [19]

-1. **<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/theautomatedtester/" target="_blank">David Burns</a>**
+1. **<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/theautomatedtester/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">David Burns</a>**
  • Apply / Chat
Suggestion importance[1-10]: 8

__

Why: The suggestion correctly identifies a security vulnerability (reverse tabnabbing) from using target="_blank" without rel="noopener noreferrer" and provides the standard, correct fix.

Medium
  • Update

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LGTM

@pallavigitwork
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Thank you.

@pallavigitwork pallavigitwork merged commit 71963c7 into SeleniumHQ:trunk Sep 4, 2025
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@pallavigitwork pallavigitwork deleted the updateBlogEvent2 branch September 8, 2025 11:38
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