Using old-style (open source) plugins

To start off, let's take a look at old-style plugins. So what are they?

• They are a way of adding extensions or functionality to open-source SoapUI.

• They typically create/configure new SoapUI framework elements, for example, Models, Actions, Events, Listeners, and Factories (more on those later).

• They are written in Java or compiled in Groovy.

• They are packaged and deployed as JAR files.

• There are currently six example plugins available for download, for example, Email TestStep, Groovy Console, Programmable Web, RAML, Runscope, and Swagger plugins.

Why are they called old-style?

The following are the reasons:

• SoapUI pro/SoapUI NG has a newer plugin framework (see the Plugin Manager recipe for more information)

• The new pro plugins are not backward compatible, and old-style plugins cannot be used with the pro plugin manager

However, old-style does not mean obsolete, since if you are an open source user, the old-style plugins are in fact current and work perfectly...