Firefox/Projects/Extension Manager API

Overview

Sprint lead: Mossop
Reviewers: Rob Strong, sdwilsh

Description

When encountering a blocked or missing plugin, give the user a button to push that will download and run the plugin installer so they can see their content.

Goals / Use Cases

• Support a wider range of add-on types managed through the same API
• Allow application/extension developers to be able to easily query the state of installed items
• Make it easier for applications to replace the add-ons UI with their own implementation by making all necessary information available through the defined API
• Remove direct access to the datastore
• Simplify the internal code and speed up startup times
• Minimize the use of RDF throughout the backend to allow for easy replacement in the future
• Migrate from an RDF based datastore to an SQLite based datastore
• Remove extensions.cache
• Reduce the number of unnecessary restarts during startup

Design

The new API is proposed at Extension Manager:API Rewrite

Bugs

• bug 461973

Progress

• [22/06/09] - Implemented basic API framework and detection of items that need to be processed during startup.
• [23/06/09] - Read manifest data from install.rdf and hook the public API up to the backend. Add tests that verify install location priorities and startup detection.
• [24/06/09] - Performance improvements and hook app all manifest data in the database. Make public wrappers around internal data and add stubs for the install APIs.
• [25/06/09] - Hook up installing from xpi files and add an update checker module.
• [30/06/09] - Set up for processing disabling during startup and add checks for application compatibility.