14 DAY TRIAL // The successful Firefox page debugging add-on FireBug was ported to Jetpack's level with the release of JetBug.
Jetpack, the Mozilla Labs project to ease the task of building Firefox add-ons only using common web technologies like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, has gotten a real bump in adoption after one of Firefox's most popular add-ons was adapted for its Jetpack SDK library.
FireBug, the Firefox developer's first choice when debugging the HTML, CSS and JavaScript code of a page has been implemented for Jetpack as an add-on SDK library.
Named JetBug, it enhances the native SDK debugger allowing new features like chrome-level object and element logging, introspection of an add-on’s contents and SDK APIs invocations right from the Firebug command line.
Written with a lot of JavaScript mojo, mainly MooTools, anyone accustomed to FireBug would feel right at home using the interface.
For new add-on developers, a comprehensive documentation file was included with the download package, allowing them to quickly get on the way of not only building the new breed of Firefox add-ons Mozilla has been hoping for, but also debug the code for any hidden errors or traps.
Started from the frustration of an in-house developer working on a Personas related project, JetBug will surely bring some new attention and developer man-power to the Jetpack project thanks mainly to its “total package” and “total control” reputation.
Major efforts have been made by Jetpack developers to keep JetBug as clean as possbile of native FireBug code, so it won't break every time FireBug comes out with a new version.
“While attempts were made in the past to provide more robust debugging, none have been able to maintain stability, as they were strongly tied to various moving-target applications. […] Jetbug is pretty flexible and should go a long way to advance the developer ergonomics story for the Add-ons SDK,“ the official Mozilla Add-ons Blog reports.