Lots of developers abandoning their Firefox extensions..

[Aris]

...

I doubt if many devs spent time recoding their extensions in the way that you mentioned. Mozilla has already made test samples of web-ext available which can be cloned according to the following tutorial. Or at least that's the way I read it.

Similarly, the abundance of such tools would seem to contradict your opinion that Mozilla has 'zero compassion' for people.

Wow, I just typed "npm install --global web-ext", "web-ext --version" and a few other expressions that tutorial offers into Firefox (location bar and console) and I can confirm any add-on one has currently in mind magically turns into a fully working WebExtension. Furthermore the screen turns into a portal and a unicorn with a pot of gold jumps out.

Back to topic.
I guess you are not an add-on developer or a software developer of any kind, right? It is easy to say this and that without knowing how things work or used to work, so believe those, who actually are familiar with add-on development of the last 5-10 years. Otherwise please prove us wrong and explain how current add-on developers should gain anything from these examples: https://github.com/mdn/webextensions-examples

In case you have not read Mozillas "Comparison with XUL/XPCOM extensions":
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add ... extensions

...
Compared with XUL/XPCOM extensions, WebExtensions provide much more limited options for the add-on's UI, and a much more limited set of privileged JavaScript APIs.
WebExtensions can only access web content by injecting separate scripts into web pages and communicating with them using a messaging API (note, though, that this is also true of XUL/XPCOM extensions that expect to work with multiprocess Firefox).

@Frank
Your comment made my day.

[GHM113]

It looks like Session Manager won't survive:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic ... #p14730663

At this point things don't look good. Web Extenstions don't give access to the API that Session Manager needs to actually save or restore sessions, let alone anything else it does. The only thing Web Extensions currently allows is reopening closed tabs from that current browser session. There is no way to "save" the session state and restore it after the browser has been closed and reopened

[Virtual_ManPL]

It will survive,
but just not for the latest Firefox...

[Frank Lion]

It will survive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYr_iVitR-4

[Virtual_ManPL]

FRANK!

[WaltS48]

Lot of developers are still developing Firefox extensions.

Add-ons Update – 2017/02 | Mozilla Add-ons Blog

The alternative facts.

[malliz]

Still trying for the T-Shirt?

[Frank Lion]

Lot of developers are still developing Firefox extensions.

Add-ons Update – 2017/02 | Mozilla Add-ons Blog

The alternative facts.

You really should learn to read the stuff you link to before posting it. You know it linked to this, right? -

https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2016/11 ... s-in-2017/

By the end of 2017, and with the release of Firefox 57, we’ll move to WebExtensions exclusively, and will stop loading any other extension types on desktop. To help ensure any new extensions work beyond the end of 2017, AMO will stop accepting any new extensions for signing that are not WebExtensions in Firefox 53. Throughout the year we’ll expand the set of APIs available, add capabilities to Firefox that don’t yet exist in other browsers, and put more WebExtensions in front of users.

You at least read the comments on your actual link, right? -

Categories: compatibility, developers, documentation
2 responses

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Mark Smith wrote on February 14, 2017 at 10:59 am:

Question to Mozilla Devs: Why not allow existing add-ons which use XUL etc to be used indefinitely into the future, and only require newly written extensions to use WebExtensions? This would grandfather in old extensions while encouraging WebExtensions for new code. Dropping XUL is going to destroy your user base .

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Jorge Villalobos wrote on February 14, 2017 at 11:21 am :

(Not really a Mozilla dev, but involved in the decision process) Many changes are coming up that will break them anyway, so it’s more a question of whether the breakage will be controlled and more easily communicated to users and developers, or a series of breaking releases that will be frustrating for everyone. Neither are great options, but we decided it was best to go with the former.

Seriously, chum, in more words than one of your usual Twitter-like drive-by posts what point are you actually trying to make?

[Virtual_ManPL]

Still trying for the T-Shirt?

No more shirts and signed post cards for creating extensions and themes

[malliz]

What about for sycophants ?

[Frank Lion]

A happy Firefox user - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taGARf8K5J8


This next one is an official internal Mozilla video, made at the time of the enterprise debacle, that I mentioned in an earlier post here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq8s-Rubs5w

[marty60]

I would say there are 2 possibilities. Either the decision making people there are totally detached from reality, or are paid Google moles to sabotage the company. Like Microsoft did with Nokia.

My vote is on the latter: google moles wormed their way in for the kill. With IE practically out of the picture and Microsoft Edge on the edge of nothingness getting rid of Firefox once and for all was the next logical and final step.

[Frank Lion]

I would say there are 2 possibilities. Either the decision making people there are totally detached from reality, or are paid Google moles to sabotage the company. Like Microsoft did with Nokia.

My vote is on the latter: google moles wormed their way in for the kill...

Well, 'moles' and 'worming' are probably not the right terms here.

I mean, you guys do know that Google devs were openly working with Firefox devs on the development of Firefox as far back as 2006 and before Google Chrome appeared? The stuff is all on record and I can go into more detail, if required.

That doesn't necessarily make that a good or a bad thing, it's just something that is. I've noticed that full and accurate information is something that both apologist and hater alike seem to have a big problem with. To me it just seems to be the obvious starting point when forming an opinion on something.

[Virtual_ManPL]

What about for sycophants ?

Probably just the glory on their leaderboard and handshakes of some high-ranking people (jk)

A happy Firefox user - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taGARf8K5J8
This next one is an official internal Mozilla video, made at the time of the enterprise debacle, that I mentioned in an earlier post here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq8s-Rubs5w

Heh, I remember these fights, even for MSI installer to no avail...

The stuff is all on record and I can go into more detail, if required.

Please do in your free time , I have fuzzy memory of these times,
I just remember main thing, that every year for last few years , many talented employees left (or were "fired") from Mozilla.

[randommm]

No more full themes -> No more Firefox.

It's my principle.

Thank you and sayonara, Firefox!