Comments on: Add-on compatibility for Firefox 4 – time to get started

By: rest

rest — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:37:01 +0000

which version of real player allows us to download videos from mozilla 4 ?

By: herbert

herbert — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:44:04 +0000

Context menu is indeed broken so does the drop down box from which you can choose stored username, etc. Please fix.

By: Byungwook Kang

Byungwook Kang — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:35:00 +0000

Hello,

Addon manager in Firefox4.0b8pre gets blank, if I install WebMail Notifier with some addons.(DOM inspector or Session Manager).
If I install WebMail Notifier alone, this does not happen.
I found that this happens when I call ‘onStateChange’ in ‘nsIWebMailListener’.

Please help me.

By: Walid Damouny

Walid Damouny — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:29:02 +0000

The problem with Firefox extension compatibility is that they are based on the version number string stored inside the extension. Even though an extension might function flawlessly on newer/older versions of the browser it is still disabled when the string doesn’t match.

What Firefox needs is something similar to the “using” directive in C++

using namespace_name;

Now you are all shouting at me. I can hear that in my mind, but forgive me for I haven’t written any extension yet. I believe that the whole of XUL is available to an extension which is good but leaves the programmer having to revise all used APIs and tag that extension with some handcrafted version compatibility string that might be inaccurate or even plain inconsistent if an API call was skipped.

Since the “using” directive in C++ is enforced if used and this behavior is probably inconsistent with today’s Firefox approach, another convenient turnaround can be implemented. Use an external tool that does the checking of called APIs before submission to the add-ons site and rechecked after submission to sidestep badly coded extensions. Place this info in a dependencies file along with the extension and get rid of the version compatibility string. This will enable a browser to know for sure if an extension is compatible or not and not rely on an arbitrary number or string set by hand.

The beauty of this approach is that both user and developer will instantly have a clear view of what works and what doesn’t. This will help developers get their extensions ready without a full revision or even bothering them just to change a string if it works already and also prevent users from having to enforce compatibility of incompatible extensions and use trial-and-error to figure out what works.

By: CodeMachine

CodeMachine — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:59:39 +0000

I managed to get everything obvious compatible with Firefox 4 quite easily. There were a few minor issues but nothing terribly difficult to deal with.

Compared to the massive breakage that was Firefox 3, which plagues me to this day, this is a breeze.

By: Arifa

Arifa — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:16:39 +0000

Should we make any changes in the xul manifest files such that they support XPCOM?

By: Jorge

Jorge — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:43:13 +0000

@Raphael: yes, the changes introduced in version 4 are significant, and add-on developers need to track its development closely in order to stay up to date. It’s inevitable that many add-ons will break when the final versions are launched.
You can use the Add-on Compatibility Reported to force compatibility for any add-on. This may help you run Firebug, unless it really breaks.

By: Raphael

Raphael — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:34:55 +0000

@Jorge is it expected that FF 4 will break many existing add-ons? I noticed the code I use to manipulate #contentAreaContextMenu (the native FF context menu) no longer works. Without the use of Firebug, it’s a little painful to troubleshoot further. Is there a place where I can read on expected incompatabilities with proposed fixes?

By: Winnorf

Winnorf — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:48:08 +0000

I cannot stand for the bookmark icon to be on the right in version 4. When 4 beta two came out, I had problems with the tabs that I could not fix with re-installation. Re-installed 3.6. Don’t really know where to complain.

By: Denise Atchison

Denise Atchison — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:27:43 +0000

i cant even get on the internet they are saying that i need to check my proxy and my firewall and i have fire wall but i cant still get on the internet so now am wanting you to install this firewall i cant read my e-mail so it wouldnt do any good for you to e-mail me. Please install for me !