Gatling: Strategy for Future Development

Gatling (Open-Source)
1

Gatling version: 3.11.5 (must be up to date)
Gatling flavor: java kotlin scala javascript typescript
Gatling build tool: maven gradle sbt bundle npm

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Hello!

I’ve noticed some significant changes when comparing versions 3.10.x and 3.11.x:

  • The GatlingPropertiesBuilder class is no longer available. Now, the only way to run tests is through Maven/Gradle (or other) plugins.
  • Using the debugger in IntelliJ has become much more difficult, if not impossible. The GatlingPropertiesBuilder previously allowed easy debugging with a single virtual user - I was able to do that without any problems
  • There is no longer an option to set a custom path for the simulation.log file and HTML report. With Gradle, the only available path is build/report.
  • Changes have been made to the gatling.conf (properties) structure, including:
    • Removal of gatling.core.outputDirectoryBaseName
    • Removal of gatling.core.runDescription
    • Removal of gatling.core.simulationClass
    • Removal of gatling.core.directory

Overall, it appears that the current development strategy is to move some open-source functionalities to the paid Enterprise version. I have a few questions regarding this:

  • What is the development strategy for future releases (3.12.x/4.x)? Which functionalities will be removed from the open-source version?
  • Is the goal for the free version to only be used for creating and debugging testing scripts with a limited number of virtual users, while full-scale execution will only be possible with the Enterprise version?
  • Is there a plan to remove the open-source version altogether? The main website does not provide any information about Gatling having open-source components, only a “start for free” button.
  • The current license is Apache 2.0. Are there plans to change it to a more restrictive license?

The lack of these important functionalities in version 3.11.x was quite confusing when updating. The decisions in our projects depend on the future Gatling releases, so it would be very helpful to know which functionalities will still be available in the future.

Thank you in advance!

2

Hi @jzamojski,

Thanks for your post. Indeed, Gatling has an open-core strategy. Our load injectors are open-source, and our dashboard + our orchestrator are available in our enterprise offers.

The reason why we removed some features is because we didn’t use them anymore and we wanted to simplify the maintenance. If it somehow impacted you, feel free to get in touch directly with me and we’ll see how we can help: phpillet@gatling.io

I apologise if these changes are confusing but they don’t mean we’re changing our license, nor our strategy.

Anyway, if you want to talk further about our future plans, I’d be happy to!

Best,
Paul (Gatling’s CEO)