Many probably have the same generic question regarding the Firebug debugging tool these days. Now that Mozilla has reached Firefox 51, is Firebug now considered obsolete? Obviously, the Firefox development tools now available in the Web Console can perform pretty much the same functions.
. . .
Does the Firefox 51 Debugger now also feature the same 'Breakpoint on Property Change' capability that Firebug has, or something similar? If so, why use Firebug at all?
. . .
Just wondering, and thanks for any info.
Yes, you are right. Firebug is no longer being maintained because it would have been very complicated to make it compatible to Firefox's new e10s multi-process architecture and some other reasons. Most of the features have been integrated in Firefox developer tools and work as good (and some even better, meaning faster / more functionality / better design) now.
If you miss any features that were available in Firebug, feel free to file new bugs.
For further reference, see hacks.mozilla.org or getfirebug.com
Related
I am working on a XUL desktop application, where I use the browser tag and load a URL in that tag within the desktop application.
However, some websites display as old format and according to Mozilla, XUL is deprecated and will not be useable at the end of 2017. I want to build the application with the latest technology: WebExtensions.
I have searched many examples on the usage of WebExtensions, but all are working within the browser. Can I make a standalone desktop application just like XUL, but using WebExtensions?
If yes, then please give me some hints on how to get started.
If no, is any alternative for the same requirement available?
Webextensions are fairly limited in their scope. Even if there was an application runtime utilising them, you probably wouldn't get much use out of them due to the restrictive isolation from the host system.
Strictly speaking not webextensions, albeit very similar:
The Electron framework/runtime*
Someone at Mozilla is also working on an alternative dubbed "Positron"** though that software's future is uncertain and there is a chance he might abandon it for an entirely new, highly simplified project (at least that's what I gathered from my conversation with him on Github).
*http://electron.atom.io/
**https://github.com/mozilla/positron
I recently started using the Dojo firebug extension. I had gotten used to it since it had some nice features (letting you see dojo on the widget level). This was good for me because I am in the process of trying to learn dojo so this really let me see how stuff worked together.
My question is, has anyone found any solutions to get the Dojo firebug extension working in Firefox 6 or should I just try downgrading to FF5?
Thanks
UPDATE:
I tried a workaround I found somewhere else. It said to use the Firefox nightly build add-on, and that add-on would allow me to override the version compatibility. I tried that and it still didn't work.
I recommend trying the Add-on Compatibility Reporter extension from Mozilla. This extension (besides letting you report incompatible add-ons) lets you completely disable version checking.
It's a great way to ensure that older extensions still work when Firefox upgrades the browser every week. Now, this assumes that the issue is with version compatibility, and not that the plugin is actually broken! If it's the latter, there's not much else you can do.
(Also, that's an awesome plugin. I'm definitely going to try it out myself here shortly!)
The latest versions of Firebug in Firefox feel like they've been regressing. Performance is abysmal. This is a common complaint amongs everyone on my team, and increasingly among many other web developers online.
Are there any alternative extensions for Firefox that gives similar functionality(DOM inspector, Net tab, console)?
Firefox now has built in developer tools similar to Firebug, but not so full-featured:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/technology/
http://www.webmonkey.com/2011/12/an-overview-of-firefoxs-coming-developer-tools/
Fidler Web Debugger is an option, although it's not as integrated.
Other alternatives include:
Jash: Javascript Shell
Internet Explorer Developer Tools
FireAtlas (extension to FireBug, but helps debug ASP.NET)
The IE8 Debugger is pretty good, for IE. They seemingly took several cues from Firebug.
I agree with you as far as Firebug's performance goes in recent releases, therefore I have found myself using the excellent WebKit Inspector - in both Chrome and Safari - and Opera Dragonfly a lot more recently.
If you were to post your specific problems about Firebug performance to the Firebug newsgroup or bug list, then we'd just fix them. No one has ever complained about performance. We had some problems with memory but these were fixed.
jjb
For Http/Https traffic inspection HttpFox is very great tool. u'll get an add-on for firefox in the web. However it doesn't have the cool dom inspection feature of firebug.
Check out
Dung Beetle
Also, exclusively for XPath expressions, but pretty fast,
XPath Checker
I'm writing plugin for firefox and I need a way to debug it. Plugin written in javascript.
So is there is a elegant way how I can debug it?
Update 2014: There's a builtin Firefox debugger
The Mozilla Developer Center has plenty of useful information on this topic (as well as many others).
I would recommend Setting up an extension development environment as a good place to start.
You can use Firebug or Venkman's Javascript Debugger.
Chromebug is a useful tool which allows JavaScript debugging and inspecting XUL elements. You can take a look at a few screenshots here.
What are the minimum programming requirements to create a Firefox plugin?
You need to learn XUL for the UI and Javascript for the programming.
more infos here:
https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Developing_add-ons
Firefox plugins (such as things like Flash player) are binary components you develop in NPAPI the cross-browser API for plugins.
Check out Mozilla Plugin Developer Center
You might also look into Firefox Extensions sometimes Firefox plugins are shipped as extensions. Firefox extensions modify or enhance the functionality of the browser itself. Javascript is primarily the language you'll be writing a Firefox plugin.
Check out the Mozilla Extensions Developer Center
Some Firefox plugins that come in handy when developing Firefox plugins are the Venkman Javascript Debugger and Firebug Javascript debugger
If you are into an organized style of reading, and prefer an good ol' book, start here.
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Firefox-Building-Internet-Applications/dp/0596102437
It will get you started on the basics on XUL, which is in turn used to build the addons. If you have a touch in javascript, it will definitely help you.
Else,
Start here.
https://developer.mozilla.org/En
You can start learning what all you will need to start developing firefox addons, or even firefox itself.
If you are fairly proficient in Javascript and DOM, then, just jump here.
https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Developing_add-ons.
The only problem might be, they are as not comprehensive for a newbie programmer. If you have some professional background in programming, and can pick up a language from sample codes, then start here.
But I would definitely suggest a well organized book, like I mentioned above. There are very few XUL book in the market, this was my first google result, so just linked it here.
Search for XUL on http://www.amazon.com/.Choose one, atleast a book published after 2006-07.
[edit]
Just found out this good article
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Getting_started_with_extension_development
There seems to be a huge misunderstanding here; Are you trying to create a plugin or an extension? As Dougnukem stated, plugins have nothing to do with XUL or extensions. They are shared libraries (.dll, .so, or .dylib for win, linux, mac) that provide functionality that the browser isn't capable of alone.
If you're just getting started, I'd recommend looking at the FireBreath plugin framework and reading through some documentation. A decent place to start is: http://colonelpanic.net/2009/03/building-a-firefox-plugin-part-one/
Also, you still haven't selected an answer for this question; is that because you haven't found an answer yet, or because you've forgotten?
Advanced DOM, the Firefox API