Are you struggling to test legacy applications while using Internet Explorer online? This article is the correct choice for you as we will discuss the complexities of testing legacy applications with Internet Explorer online browsers. We will also go through various online tools that are presently available in the market to streamline this entire process.
With the evolution of the modern web development industry, it is very important to maintain and support legacy apps that are usually built on older technologies. However, due to the updating infrastructure of modern web browsers, this process becomes increasingly challenging.
One of the most prominent challenges is providing the compatibility of modern applications with Internet Explorer. This is a browser that, although officially retired, remains essential in various enterprise solutions.
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Importance of Legacy Applications
Legacy applications are modern systems that have been in use for several years. These systems are mainly built on outdated technologies. Although they are very old, these applications are often mission-critical and provide essential functionalities for businesses.
Very prominent examples include ERP systems, industry-specific software, and customer management systems. Moreover, the testers must remember that the cost and risk associated with replacing these systems often justify the maintenance and support.
Major Challenges in Maintaining Legacy Apps
While maintaining legacy applications, the developers and testers will encounter some of the major challenges that we have mentioned below:
- The most prominent challenge is that older applications were often optimized for browsers like Internet Explorer. However, with the arrival of modern browser options like Firefox Chrome and Edge, it becomes very difficult to ensure compatibility with Internet Explorer.
- The testers must understand that legacy applications will not always abide by modern security standards. This often makes them very vulnerable to modern and advanced security and data attacks that are very prominent in the present generation.
- As modern systems become increasingly powerful, the older apps might not perform optimally in such environments. Therefore, maintaining the compatibility of these systems will become a challenge for the developers and testers.
- It has become very rare to find developers who are accustomed to legacy technologies. Therefore, maintaining these technologies even in the present generation becomes an increasingly challenging process for modern app-developing
Internet Explorer And Legacy Applications
As we all know, Internet Explorer was once the most dominant browser available on the market. However, with the rise of better alternatives like Microsoft Edge Online, Firefox, and Chrome, Internet Explorer has seen a steady decline in its market share.
However, various enterprise-level solutions are designed on Internet Explorer and rely on proprietary features and offerings. So, even after Microsoft officially ended the support for Internet Explorer in 2022, it remains one of the most viable options in large-scale implementations or server-level organizations.
To properly understand the role of Internet Explorer in legacy systems, we have mentioned some of the most important justifications in this regard:
- Internet Explorer offers compatibility modes, which help testers emulate older browser systems. Using this approach, the testers can run the legacy applications as they were intended to run back when they were released.
- Many legacy applications use ActiveX controls. ActiveX controls are a technology that is unique to Internet Explorer. It also offers various functionalities that can only be accessed when the developers are running it on Internet Explorer.
- Finally, Internet Explorer’s documentary modes allow the testers to specify which version of Internet Explorer they are primarily targeting while releasing the application. This inclusion helps ensure correct rendering and functionality due to the native environment choices.
Challenges and Solutions of Testing Legacy Applications
While testing legacy applications, the application developers and testers will face certain unique challenges. These challenges may not be applicable to modern web standards. So, by eliminating these challenges, the testers can ensure that the applications work correctly across different versions of Internet Explorer.
Moreover, it also becomes complex to test the functioning of applications on Internet Explorer online due to it not being actively maintained in the present generation. To shed more light on this segment, let us now analyze some of the major challenges of testing legacy applications:
- It becomes increasingly challenging for the application developers to ensure the compatibility of the app with multiple versions of Internet Explorer.
- It is a complex process to replicate the exact environment where legacy applications can run properly and in their optimal configuration.
- Modern testing frameworks and tools do not support Internet Explorer. Therefore, this limitation forces the testers to implement specialized tools to overcome the challenges.
Online Tools for Testing With Internet Explorer Online
However, to tackle all the challenges that we have mentioned above, the developers and testers will find dedicated tools. By implementing these tools, the testers can also ensure that their application remains functional and reliable across multiple testing and implementation setups:
To improve our knowledge about the implementation of these tools, we are going to consider the example of LambdaTest:
● LambdaTest
LambdaTest is a cloud-based testing framework that allows testers and developers to execute the tests on more than 3000+ different combinations of operating systems, real devices, and browser instances, including Internet Explorer. While using this platform, the developers can initiate automated testing using frameworks like Selenium, Appium, and Cypress.
The AI-orchestrated testing infrastructure of LambdaTest also allows the developers and testers to efficiently manage and execute the test instances. It also integrates various additional features like parallel test execution, comprehensive test reporting, and live test activity logging.
Best Practices For Testing Legacy Applications
As we already mentioned earlier, developers have to adopt a strategic approach to test the functioning of their applications on Internet Explorer properly. To further streamline the process, we also advise the developers and testers to adopt the following best practices, which will help ensure comprehensive testing:
1. Identify Critical Paths
Before beginning the application testing and debugging process, the testers must ensure that they are primarily focusing on the critical areas of the application development and testing process. By implementing this approach, the testers can identify the user flows which are essential for business operations.
We also advise the app testers to create a comprehensive test plan that will help them prioritize their efforts toward the most critical areas of the application development project. Finally, by adopting this approach, the testers can also ensure that at least the basic functioning of the app infrastructure is accessible in all instances.
2. Use Real Devices And Browsers
Although it is quite easy to wrap up the testing process by simply relying on emulators and simulators, the testers must remember that this software cannot replicate the physical parameters of a device. So, while using any of these software, you cannot understand how the behavior of the application changes due to parameters such as the broken display, user interaction errors, or unstable network.
3. Automate Where Possible
Since modern app test cases are highly complex, it becomes completely unreasonable for the testers to rely only on traditional manual testing. By automating the test instances on Internet Explorer online, the developers can ensure that the repetitive yet crucial test instances are executed properly.
Automation testing also frees up the repetitive test execution cycles, which allows the testers to focus on other crucial areas, such as exploratory testing or ad hoc testing. However, in this context, we would like to warn the testers that it is a fairly expensive process to initially integrate test automation.
4. Perform Visual Regression Testing
The visual elements of a web application have a crucial role in uplifting user interactions. This is because, using these elements, the end users can not only easily navigate to the application interface but also perform their basic actions.
So, by implementing visual regression testing, the application developers can ensure that any new inclusions within the visual interface of the application do not harm the functioning of the existing elements. We also advise the testers to implement visual regression testing after every app update to ensure a consistent user experience throughout.
5. Regularly Update The Test Environment
We all know that the modern app development market goes through frequent changes that add new features and remove existing bugs. So, testers need to visit their test infrastructure frequently and update them as per the recent market offerings. It is also important to update all the software and hardware combinations that you are using to execute the test instances.
However, in this regard, we also would like to caution the testers that you should not eliminate the existing outdated software. This is because more than 75% of the end-users still use legacy software and hardware combinations.
So, providing the compatibility of an application on outdated software is yet another step towards achieving uniform compatibility for creating and maintaining a positive brand reputation.
6. Document Issues and Fixes
Since modern application development projects are highly complex and consist of multiple test execution processes, it is very important for testers to maintain a stable document about all the testing processes and implemented fixes.
The ideal structure of such a document will include the test case information, the test execution process notes, bugs detected, and possible fixes. This information will allow the testers to keep track of the previously known errors and avoid them in future iterations of the application. It is also a useful inclusion for releasing subsequent updates to the application infrastructure.
7. Maintain Data Privacy
We would like to advise the testers to keep track of all the data while executing the test instances on Internet Explorer online. It is a good practice to use a VPN while connecting to the testing servers. The testers should also download all the required testing files, libraries, and other dependencies from official websites to overcome any malicious attacks or data privacy leaks.
The Bottom Line
Based on all the factors that we analyzed in this article, we can easily conclude that testing legacy apps with Internet Explorer is complex but very important for enterprise solutions. Despite all the challenges, the online tools and best practices can help ensure that the apps remain functional and reliable.
In this rapidly evolving app industry, having the ability to support legacy systems will help the testers transition their old applications into a modern infrastructure. Moreover, by understanding the tools and strategies that are presently available, businesses can easily simplify the complexities of legacy app maintenance to continue providing a positive end-user experience in the present generation.
