Web automation from C++

Question

We need to do some fairly complex web automation from C++ application (log into application, do some actions, logout), but performance is really important so we are looking at options.

1. Is there a way to drive WebKit or other headless engine directly from C++, without the need for few more layers in between (like selenium+webdriver+network communication+...)? Chromedriver perhaps?

2. If option 1 is not possible, what is the most optimal way to run WebDriver (with real browser) from C++?

Answer 1

You can use selenium server and JsonWireProtocol. In C++ you can implement CURL requests to selenium server and do web automation with C++.

Use this link first: My fork of Webdriver++.

There are also some C++ libraries that do this work. The first is Webdriver++ By sekogan but last commit was 3 years ago, and it seems not all things works for now. The second is my fork of Webdriver++, i've fixed some bugs and make this project as shared library, so you can use it in any C++ project.

This is an example of how you can use my My fork of Webdriver++.

#include <webdriverxx/webdriverxx.h>
using namespace webdriverxx;

int main() {
   WebDriver firefox = Start(Firefox());
   firefox
       .Navigate("http://google.com")
       .FindElement(ByClass("class_name"))
       .SendKeys("Hello, world!")
       .Submit();
   return 0;    
}