Selenium is an open-source tool for automating web application testing through the use of scripts. It allows tests to be written in popular languages like Java, C#, PHP, Python and Ruby. The document outlines the main components of Selenium including Selenium IDE for recording and playing back tests, the Selenium client API for integrating tests into programming languages, Selenium Remote Control for running tests on remote machines, and Selenium Grid for distributing tests across multiple machines. It recommends starting with Selenium IDE to learn the basics before integrating tests into programming languages using the client API.