In Selenium 4, the JSON Wire Protocol was replaced by the W3C WebDriver Protocol. This means Selenium now talks directly to the browser using a standardized protocol. The advantages: 1. Faster communication (no translation layer), 2. More stable (follows international standard), 3. Better browser compatibility (browsers implement W3C standard), 4. Reduced flakiness. The W3C protocol is the future standard for all browser automation tools.
JSON Wire Protocol was like a proprietary language between Selenium and the browser. W3C Protocol is like a universal language that everyone (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) understands natively.
What is the benefit of Selenium 4 being W3C compliant?