Firefox 57 Changes and XLT

Firefox 57 is going to deliver a fundamental change that will affect XLT Script Developer.

As you might know, Mozilla decided to completely remove the support for XUL/XPCOM-based extensions (aka legacy extensions) in favor of extensions built upon the WebExtension API. This cut will take place on November 14, 2017, with the release of Firefox 57. Additionally, Mozilla will refuse to sign updates of legacy extensions at some point in the near future, although the exact date is not determined yet. See the Mozilla Add-ons Blog for an up-to-date timeline.

The consequence of this breaking change is that XLT Script Developer cannot be installed in Firefox 57 and higher. Also, an already installed XLT Script Developer cannot be used any longer.

We at Xceptance have been aware of this development. Over the course of the last year we have been busy evaluating several alternative options. As you might recall, we also conducted a survey back in the spring to collect your feedback.

Based on our findings and your input and after long discussions, we came to the conclusion that the feature set and comfort that had been offered by XLT Script Developer and its way of writing web automation cannot be recreated using the alternative Firefox APIs.

Therefore, we regret to announce that Script Developer is discontinued. Consequently, we don’t recommend starting new test projects based on Script Developer and XML script test cases. To be able to continue to use the features of XLT and the advantages it offers, we suggest you use XLT’s Java-based API.

If you are able to use Firefox 56 or Firefox 52/ESR, maybe in parallel to an updated version of Firefox, you can continue to work with XLT Script Developer as well as execute all your test cases as you have been.

We are aware that this decision might disappoint many of you and may leave open questions. For more information on what shaped this decision and what your options are for maintaining your existing XML script test suites in the future or migrating them to another base, please see the Q&A section below.

Q&A

Why did Mozilla decide to abandon legacy extensions?

By design, legacy extensions have not only full access to your local file system but also to the entire browser and thus to all the pages you visit. This has been causing privacy and security issues and hence Mozilla decided to abandon the API to address these problems.

Why isn’t XLT Script Developer being ported to the WebExtension API?

The possibilities offered by the WebExtension API are very limited. One such limitation, and the most important one, is that access to the local file system involves a user interaction for each and every file to save or read. This would make Script Developer simply impossible to use.

Further restrictions apply. Most of them are related to accessing and manipulating session and browsing data such as cookies or cache. In the end, Script Developer would only be able to support a very reduced feature set.

And last but not least, the outcome of our customer survey revealed needs which cannot be met by such a modest visual, non-programming approach to writing tests. See the next question for more details on the feedback we received.

Why won’t XLT Script Developer be ported to another platform?

The outcome of our survey was that users wanted a tighter integration with Java/IDEs, more commands, more ways to customize things, better flow control, and more flexibility with test data. At the end of the day, this is a full programming approach and turning the XLT Script Developer into another programming environment couldn’t address all these points.

We also believe that the concept of XML script test cases with their limited capabilities are no longer appropriate for modern testing needs. Therefore we have decided to give it up in favor of the opportunities a real programming language provides.

Can I continue to use XLT Script Developer with Firefox 56?

Yes, but at your own risk. Remember that your browser cannot be updated and therefore will not receive any security fixes. Furthermore, it may not be possible to install any Script Developer updates as this Firefox version accepts signed extensions only. And Mozilla might stop signing legacy extensions any day. See below for a better solution.

Can I continue to use XLT Script Developer with Firefox 52/ESR?

Yes, absolutely. That is the recommended way to go, at least for the next months. First, Firefox 52/ESR (Extended Service Release) will be updated with security fixes until May 2018. If you continue to use Script Developer after that date, though, you do so at your own risk. Make sure that you use this browser version for scripting only.

Furthermore, Firefox 52/ESR can be tweaked to install legacy extensions even if they are not signed by Mozilla. This way, you are still able to install Script Developer updates in case Xceptance provides some in the future.

Will the XLT framework still be able to replay XML script test cases?

Yes, XLT will continue to interpret and execute your existing XML script test cases as JUnit tests via their wrapper classes.

How to migrate existing projects?

Export all your existing XML script test cases to Java (Scripting API). From this point, you maintain your test cases in your favorite Java IDE instead of the XLT Script Developer. Since the concepts and commands are the same as in Script Developer, you will be on top of things quickly.

Instead of running your XML test cases in Script Developer, you would now run your Java-based tests as JUnit tests using your preferred WebDriver either from your IDE or using a continuous integration system.

Since your code base is plain Java now, you are free to add all the things that you might have missed in the past.

Note that XLT 4.10.0 will ship with some enhancements for Java-based test cases. For instance, Script Developer will provide an alternative export template that produces more compact code. Additionally, writing test cases directly in Java will be more comfortable as well. Stay tuned for the upcoming release and find all the details in the release notes.

Make sure you subscribe to our low-volume XLT release and news mailing list.

How long will you release XLT Script Developer updates?

TBD. Future updates of Script Developer will be bug-fix releases only (shipped as unsigned extensions once Mozilla stops signing legacy extensions). Don’t expect any new features.

Are there any other options?

Yes. There are forks of Firefox that promise to continue supporting legacy extensions while being kept up-to-date at the same time. For instance, Script Developer installs and runs nicely in Waterfox. However, we cannot predict how long this will actually work.