14 DAY TRIAL // A week ago, Mozilla unveiled that it was going to release a new project they’ve been working on, a browser that will better cater to developers’ needs. On Firefox’s ten year anniversary, Mozilla has made things official.
“Developers are critical to the continued success of the Web. The content and apps they create compel us to come back to the Web every day, whether on a computer or mobile phone,” writes Dave Camp, director of Developer Tools at Mozilla.
This, he says, is the first browser that was ever created specifically for developers. He explains that Firefox was built for early adopters and developers to give them more choice and control, integrating WebAPIs and Add-ons to enable them to get the most out of the Web.
Now, the new version allows Mozilla to bring front and center the features that are most relevant to developers via the new dedicated browser. Camp explains that one of the biggest problems developers face is having to bounce between different platforms and browsers, which decreases their productivity and often causes frustration.
By creating Firefox Developer Edition, the problems should be solved by creating a focal point to streamline development workflow. “It’s a stable developer browser which is not only a powerful authoring tool but also robust enough for everyday browsing. It also adds new features that simplify the process of building for the entire Web, whether targeting mobile or desktop across many different platforms,” he states.
What's new and cool
It comes with a dark design that runs through the browser. The developer tools theme was applied to the whole browser, so the entire thing is trim and easy to use, leaving plenty of space for working.
The browser comes with two new features, Valence and WebIDE, which were built to improve workflow and help debug other browsers and apps directly from Firefox Developer Edition.
Valence, which was previously called Firefox Tools Adapter, lets you develop and debug apps across multiple browsers and devices by connecting the Firefox dev tools to other major browser engines. Valence extends the debugging tools for Firefox OS and Firefox for Android to major mobile browser including Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS.
WebIDE allows users to develop, deploy and debug Web apps directly in the browser, or on a Firefox OS device. You can create a new Firefox OS app from a template, open up the code and edit it.
There are also additional features that developers are already familiar with, such as the Responsive Design Mode, which allows you to see what your website or web app will look like on different screen sizes, or the JavaScript Debugger, which helps you track down bugs.
