14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla revealed yesterday that the latest Firefox Developer Edition (49a2) features a stable version of the WebExtensions API, which the Foundation plans to unleash on all users with Firefox 49 this fall.
The WebExtensions is a new add-ons system that is set to replace the old Add-ons API that employed XUL-based technologies to create and power Firefox's extensions system.
Mozilla announced the WebExtensions API last August, and the Foundation said that WebExtensions would be compatible with Chromium's extensions ecosystem, meaning developers could write add-ons that worked on all browsers.
Mozilla's WebExtensions API is not a carbon-copy of Chromium's Extensions component but will work in a very similar manner, allowing Firefox users to install Chrome extensions.
Mozilla: WebExtensions API is now stable
Reception was generally negative, but the Foundation stuck with its plans and added the first versions of the WebExtensions API starting with the Nightly Editions of Firefox 48.
Mozilla engineers have been fixing bugs left and right and are now confident in their new creation.
"Since the release of Firefox 48, we feel WebExtensions are in a stable state. We recommend developers start to use the WebExtensions API for their add-on development," Andy McKay, Engineering Manager at Mozilla, explained.
Developers can embed WebExtensions code inside current add-ons
To start things off, Mozilla says that until WebExtensions officially ships with Firefox 49 in the fall, developers can start making the transition towards using WebExtensions. The Foundation is giving developers the ability to embed a WebExtension inside an add-on and slowly transition to a full WebExtenions codebase with time.
Mozilla also expects Firefox 49 to be the first stable branch to feature full Electrolysis (e10s) support, after around half of the users will receive it first in Firefox 48, expected on August 2, this year.
Electrolysis is Mozilla's attempt to run Firefox in multi-process mode, something that Chromium-based browsers like Chrome, Opera, and Vivaldi have been able to do for years.
According to the rapid release schedule, Mozilla expects to ship Firefox 49 on September 13, 2016. Firefox 49 will no doubt be Mozilla's most important release.