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).
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.
The mockups look great, I'm looking forward to the launch. Here are a 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:
> 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).
> 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.
On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM, jorgev <jorge.villalo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> - 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.
Eric Jung wrote: > On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM, jorgev<jorge.villalo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> - 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?
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.
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.
> 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).
> 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.
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