14 DAY TRIAL // The Firebug team has released the latest version of the web development add-on which is compatible with the latest Firefox 5. Firebug 1.8 comes after several beta releases and is mostly a stability and performance update, although there are several new features as well.
The team intends to make Firebug 1.8 compatible with Firefox 6.0, once it lands in the stable or "release" channel. That said, it should work with the Firefox 6.0 Beta as well, though it's not officially supported.
"Firebug Working Group (FWG) is proud to announce the final Firebug 1.8 release! Firebug 1.8 has been also uploaded to AMO, but it can take some time to appear," the Firebug team announced.
"Firebug 1.8 is based on Firebug 1.8b7 (12 issues fixed) that has been uploaded to AMO to update also the beta channel. We have also started Firebug 1.9a0 alpha," it added.
There are some notable changes and new features in Firebug 1.8. There is now a new API which enables developers to set time stamps in JavaScript code.
The IP addresses, both the local and the remote one, and port numbers can now be displayed in the Net panel. Firebug 1.8 also reintroduces a new HTML Preview feature. You can check out some of the other new features in Mozilla Hacks' post.
Moving forward, Firebug plans to keep up with Firefox's new rapid release cycle.
While it took a while for a stable Firebug release that was compatible with Firefox 5, which was launched more than a month ago, future releases will be supported sooner.
In fact, as Firefox 6 is on its way and should be landing very soon, Firebug 1.8 will be compatible with the upcoming Firefox version as well.
After that, Firebug 1.9a0, the initial alpha release of the next Firebug, will support Firefox 6, Firefox 7 and Firefox 8, all of which are being worked upon at this moment, at different stages.
Firebug 1.8 for Firefox 5 is available for download here.