Add-on Developer Hub
Justin Scott
As we posted a number of months ago to the blog
(http://blog.mozilla.com/addons/2009/05/10/hello-add-on-developers/), we
want to build a new hub for add-on development with information for new
add-on developers, existing add-on developers, and tools for building
and managing add-ons.
This site is targeted to be implemented during the next release
(launching mid-September).
Here's the spec:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ad7mAOXgEBZyZGRzNnZ3YjRfMjBnc3Y1YnhkNA&hl=en
And here are a few mock-ups:
http://people.mozilla.com/~jscott/developer-hub/mockups/
There's a lot of exciting things about this site, and I'll probably
record a screencast walking through these mock-ups and some others we're
working on to explain all of the details.
I want to stress two things for folks that don't read the spec but like
to comment anyway:
1) This site is part of AMO, and will replace the current /developers
area. It is not a separate site and will not need separate a separate
account.
2) We are not trying to replace MDC. As you can see in the How-to
Library mock-ups, we will be highlighting the best MDC documentation, as
well as other documentation, to make a one-stop-shop for add-on
development. We won't be hosting any documentation content on this site,
but rather making a portal for it.
I'll be making another blog post about this soon, and will try to record
that screencast in the next few weeks as well to better explain the
features.
Justin
jorgev
couple of random ideas:
- One topic that could benefit some developers is 'open source and
code reuse'. There's been the occasional incident of authors copying
each other without being clear of licenses or permissions, and I think
it'd be good to guide prospective authors about what they should do in
different situations.
- I think having forums is a great idea. Too bad it'll have to wait
for version 2. I really hope they take off, because currently there
are too many different places where you can try to post a question
about extension development, and very few where you'll actually get a
good answer.
- Perhaps you can ask experienced add-on authors to contribute to the
blog with tips and tricks, maybe have them describe how they've
overcome the bigger challenges when creating their add-ons.
- Are external links going to open in new tabs? Otherwise it can be
become complicated to navigate the documentation, considering that
most of it will be hosted elsewhere.
Jorge
On Aug 20, 3:38 pm, Justin Scott <flig...@mozilla.com> wrote:
> Hi dev.amo friends,
>
> As we posted a number of months ago to the blog
> (http://blog.mozilla.com/addons/2009/05/10/hello-add-on-developers/), we
> want to build a new hub for add-on development with information for new
> add-on developers, existing add-on developers, and tools for building
> and managing add-ons.
>
> This site is targeted to be implemented during the next release
> (launching mid-September).
>
> Here's the spec:http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ad7mAOXgEBZyZGRzNnZ3YjRfMjBnc3Y1Ynh...
Eric Jung
>
> - I think having forums is a great idea. Too bad it'll have to wait
> for version 2. I really hope they take off, because currently there
> are too many different places where you can try to post a question
> about extension development, and very few where you'll actually get a
> good answer.
What's wrong with dev-extensions?
Justin Scott
Mainly that the same questions are asked over and over because it's not
easy to search / people don't know how to search it. Plus, there will be
forums covering more topics than just extension development support.
Brian King
In general this looks great. I envisaged a design with puzzle pieces
(the symbol of add-ons) with a piece for 'Why?', one for 'How?' and so
on with sub-links in each piece. But a design like that might be overkill!
RE: Case studies, I think it would be beneficial to have a 'Why write
add-ons?' page that would be non-technical and highlight the strengths
of the platform. Think of it as a page for project managers as well as
developers.
RE: Add-on Builder
We're building one on Mozdev right now, and would be happy to share it
with you (hosted on AMO that it) if it meets your needs.
Prototype:
http://www.mozdev.org/projects/wizard/extension/
Bug:
https://www.mozdev.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=19617
It is based on and expanding on Fizzypop:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/FizzyPop
- Brian
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