Selenium News and Updates: A Smattering of Selenium 84
A Smattering of Selenium #84 was a 2012 link roundup, not a Selenium release. Here is what Adam Goucher covered and how to read it today.
“A Smattering of Selenium #84” is a numbered installment in an old Selenium community link roundup, not Selenium version 84. Adam Goucher published it on June 11, 2012. It collected links about browser automation and related software work, including page objects, test execution, dashboards, and technical debt. Read it as a snapshot of what the author found interesting in 2012, not as current release or compatibility guidance.
What was “A Smattering of Selenium #84”?
It was one post in the Selenium project blog’s “Smattering” series. The number identifies the installment. The official archive lists #84 alongside other numbered posts in that series, while the post itself gives its publication date and author.
The roundup’s opening joke says it had been three months since the previous installment. That is a comment about the publishing gap, not a Selenium release interval or a statistic about the project.
What topics did the roundup cover?
Goucher selected links across testing and adjacent engineering topics. The descriptions below summarize what the 2012 roundup said; they do not establish whether any linked site, tool, or practice remains available or current.
| Topic | What the roundup pointed to |
|---|---|
| Page loading and DOM events | A Google+ article about DOM Ready and ordering page events. Goucher cautioned readers that the comments deserved a “buyer beware” reading. |
| Page objects | A BrowserID page object and a separate article about writing one’s own page objects. Goucher said the latter reflected how he approached page objects, while noting he sometimes used Cucumber as a functional runner. |
| Operational dashboards | A link titled “Enterprise Operational Intelligence.” |
| Technical work and debt | An Etsy story titled “Lessons from Etsy: Avoiding Kitchen Nightmares,” and “The Long Tail of Technical Debt,” which examined run information and a particular outcome pattern. |
| Parallel test execution | A Robot Framework discussion about splitting tests into batches for parallel execution when batches stopped being balanced. |
| Automation as performance | “Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, Played by Selenium,” which Goucher described as “just cool.” |
| Bug tracking | A mention of Bugwatch, which Goucher called “magic,” with a qualification that magic can sometimes be fun. |
Is Selenium 84 a Selenium release?
No. “84” is the Smattering series installment number. The post is dated June 11, 2012. It should not be cited as evidence of a Selenium version, current browser support, release status, or present-day vendor availability. For current Selenium information, consult the project’s current documentation and release materials rather than extrapolating from this historical roundup.
What can developers take from the post today?
The roundup is useful as a historical reading list and as a reminder of recurring engineering concerns: designing maintainable test abstractions, balancing parallel work, observing operational behavior, and deciding what test outcomes say about technical debt. Its individual links need to be checked independently before relying on their advice, because the post records selections made in 2012.
Its closing line, attributed in the post to Ben Simo (@qualityfrog / @QualityFrog), is: “When test automation is made a goal rather than a tool, quality suffers.” The post offers this as a quotation, not as the result of a named study or statistical finding.
Use Selenium to capture a page screenshot
If your goal is to capture a browser page while running Selenium, a minimal Python example can launch a browser, open a URL, save a PNG, and close the browser. Install Selenium and a browser driver compatible with the browser installed on your machine, then run:
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
options = Options()
options.add_argument("--headless")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
try:
driver.set_window_size(1440, 1000)
driver.get("https://example.com")
driver.save_screenshot("page.png")
finally:
driver.quit()This captures the current viewport. It does not automatically create a full-page image or wait for every application-specific asynchronous task. For a reliable capture, choose an explicit readiness condition that matches the page, such as waiting for a known element, and set a sensible timeout. Driver installation and browser options vary by Selenium and browser version; use the current official Selenium documentation for setup details.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server for developers, made by Yorker Media. One GET request returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. Here is a cURL request, with the target URL adapted to this example:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for the request parameters and response details. ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie and consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and response headers report the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients. The Free plan includes 1,000 shots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Learn about ScreenshotNeo or sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, no card required.
FAQ
Who wrote “A Smattering of Selenium #84”?
Adam Goucher, according to the official Selenium project blog post.
Was it a release announcement?
No. It was a community link roundup, not a Selenium release announcement.
Does it prove that the linked tools are still available?
No. It records links selected in 2012. Check current primary sources for present availability and guidance.
What is the key quote at the end?
The post attributes this line to Ben Simo: “When test automation is made a goal rather than a tool, quality suffers.”
Sources
- Official Selenium project blog: “A Smattering of Selenium #84” — author, date, roundup topics, and closing attribution.
- Official Selenium Smattering tag archive — confirms #84 as a numbered post in the series.
