Summary
The problem at hand is creating an automated job to access a company website and download a report using an old version of Firefox (40x), which is required due to a company-developed extension that only works with this outdated browser version. The goal is to find a solution for automation that can work with this legacy setup.
Root Cause
The root cause of this issue is:
- The company website’s outdated technology and lack of updates to its codebase
- The company-developed extension being incompatible with newer versions of Firefox
- The requirement for the extension to log in to the website, making it a necessary component for automation
Why This Happens in Real Systems
This situation occurs in real systems due to:
- Legacy code and technical debt that are not prioritized for updates
- Workflow complexities that make updates difficult or time-consuming
- Dependence on outdated technologies that are no longer supported or maintained
Real-World Impact
The impact of this issue includes:
- Limited automation options due to the outdated browser version
- Increased maintenance costs for supporting legacy systems
- Security risks associated with using outdated software
Example or Code (if necessary and relevant)
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.firefox.options import Options
# Set up options for the old Firefox version
options = Options()
options.binary_location = "/path/to/firefox40x"
# Create a new instance of the Firefox driver
driver = webdriver.Firefox(options=options)
# Navigate to the company website
driver.get("https://companywebsite.com")How Senior Engineers Fix It
Senior engineers address this issue by:
- Assessing the feasibility of updating the company website and extension to support newer technologies
- Exploring alternative automation tools that can work with the outdated Firefox version
- Developing custom solutions using Selenium or other automation frameworks to interact with the website
Why Juniors Miss It
Junior engineers may overlook this issue due to:
- Lack of experience with legacy systems and outdated technologies
- Insufficient understanding of the company’s workflow and technical debt
- Overreliance on modern tools and frameworks that may not be compatible with the outdated setup