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The issue is not that things break, the issue is that the WebExtensions API is missing a lot of features so a lot of addons can't be ported.
by catdog 9y ago
The issue is not that things break, the issue is that the WebExtensions API is missing a lot of features so a lot of addons can't be ported.
- JohnBooty 9y agoIt's missing functionality because the old API allowed deep, deep hooks into FF's internals. Per Mozilla, aside from security problems and other nightmares, these deep hooks allowed developers to write plugins that were incompatible with a multiprocess browser architecture where each tab/window can have its own sandbox and remain responsive even if other tabs go down. And that is one of the killer features that has caused FF to bleed massive amounts of user share to Chrome in the last decade: Chrome almost always "felt fast" in situations where FF ground to an embarassing halt because something was happening in another tab/window that was causing the entire browser to become unresponsive. I don't know what precisely is missing from the new WebExtensions API but I have to imagine that Mozilla will work to expand its capabilities as much as possible over time...
- pseudalopex 9y agoWebExtensions is also missing functionality because Mozilla set a release date before figuring out what APIs would be needed or how migration would work. The Add-on SDK was supposed to fix the "deep hooks" problem and is mostly multiprocess-compatible. As far as I know, most currently maintained XUL extensions are multiprocess-compatible, too.