why not using CDP to make it?

[loquat]

Why not use this project to do it? This project doesn't seem to rely on chromedriver.exe

https://github.com/PerditionC/VBAChromeDevProtocol

[GCuser99]

Great question. Nothing wrong with using CDP. I have used CDP-only code derived from the referenced project above for simple, very narrowly defined applications. Plus we do incorporate some CDP functionality here in SeleniumVBA, thus making it somewhat of a hybrid approach.

Here is a modified AI response for comparison. Note that Diego and I have solved one of the major disadvantages of Webdriver mentioned below - Browser/Webdriver version alignment.

🧭 WebDriver (Edge/Chrome)
✅ Advantages
Standardized API: WebDriver is W3C-compliant, making it portable across browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc.).

Rich ecosystem: Supported by Selenium, Playwright, and other frameworks with robust tooling.

Capabilities/Options: Allows fine-grained control over browser behavior (e.g., headless mode, proxy settings, extensions, debugger-mode for connecting to existing browser instance etc.).

Active development: Maintained by browser vendors with frequent updates and bug fixes.

❌ Disadvantages
Performance overhead: Communication via external driver (e.g., chromedriver.exe) introduces latency.

Limited low-level access: Can't easily intercept network traffic, manipulate rendering, or access internal browser states.

Dependency management: Requires matching driver versions with browser versions, which can be brittle.

🧪 Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP)
✅ Advantages
Direct access: Communicates directly with the browser via WebSocket, bypassing external drivers.

Low-level control: Enables advanced features like network interception, DOM mutation tracking, performance profiling, and emulation.

Lightweight: No need for separate executables like chromedriver.exe.

Real-time feedback: Ideal for dynamic scripting, debugging, and monitoring.

❌ Disadvantages

Complexity: Requires manual handling of protocol messages and session management.

Limited abstraction: Lacks the high-level convenience of WebDriver’s API unless wrapped by a library.