Community:SummerOfCode17/AndroidWebExtensions
WebExtensions are a cross-browser system for developing browser add-ons. But not all APIs are supported by Firefox for Android yet. The goal of this Google Summer of Code project is to implement some of the missing APIs and optionally improve the tooling for building and testing WebExtensions for Firefox for Android.
- Skills needed: Java, JavaScript, Android
- Mentor: Sebastian Kaspari (:sebastian) <skaspari@mozilla.com> (IRC nickname: sebastian)
- IRC: irc.mozilla.org #mobile and/or #webextensions
Helpful resources
Google Summer of Code
- Google Summer of Code Website
- Thoughts on Appyling to Google Summer of Code
- Application Advice
- Google Summer of Code Timeline (Application period: March 20 16:00 UTC - April 3 16:00 UTC)
- Google Summer of Code - Student Manual
Web Extensions
- Are we WebExtensions yet? (API implementation status)
- Mozilla Developer Network: WebExtensions
- Mozilla Wiki: WebExtensions
- Chrome Browser WebExtensions documentation
APIs
The following APIs are not implemented yet and are "reserved" for this Google Summer of Code project. You do not need to work on all of them. Pick for your application / proposal pick what you can realistically complete during Summer of Code.
| API | Description / Hints |
|---|---|
| contextMenus | An API for adding items to the browser's context menu. Fennec already has a legacy API for context menus (See MDN). Hooking up the web extension API to the legacy API should be a good first step. Depending on differences in the APIs additional functionality needs to be implemented. |
| browsingData | API to remove browsing data from a user's profile. Most of the browsing data of Firefox for Android is handled by the Java / Android layer. Implementing this API will require notifying the Java layer via events and then removing the specified data from the profile. |
| identity | (See API docs) |
| proxy | Implementing this API can be tricky: Most requests are performed by Gecko. But there are some requests done by Java / Android. Not all of them honor the proxy settings. Besides implementing this API it might be required to identify requests not using proxies and adding support for that. |
Additional tasks
The following tasks are not about WebExtensions API but make using or developing WebExtensions on Android more pleasant. You can pick them for your propsosal - either additionally or instead of APIs that might be too big for your timeline.
| Type | Task | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Feature | Settings page | When adding a settings page to the add-on then this doesn't show up anywhere inside Fennec - even though we already have an add-on details page. |
| Bug | add-on id required | Even though the docs say that an add-on id is not needed the installation fails on fennec ("Add-on corrupt") if I do not set one in the manifest |
| Feature | web-ext - Android support | web-ext is a tool for building/packaging and deploying WebExtensions. Currently it doesn't support installing WebExtensions on a connected Android device. |
| Feature | Log view | A popular add-on for debugging issues with Firefox for Android is LogView. Currently it is not possible to implement such an add-on with WebExtensions. Instead this could be integrated into Firefox (on about:support). See discussion on mailing list. |
Application
FAQ
Should I apply for other GSoC projects or at other organizations?
Yes, you can and you should if there are other projects you are interested in. Last year there have been about 30 applications for Mozilla's Android project.
Are there other Android projects Mozilla mentors?
No. This project here is the only Android project mentored by Mozilla this year.