14 DAY TRIAL // Just as Firefox 4.0 is in the final stretch, the new Add-on SDK which enables developers to build on top of the popular browser is getting ready for its big debut as well. After a couple of years of experimenting and development, the Add-on SDK, formerly known as Jetpack, 1.0 Beta 2 has been released.
The second beta comes with even more polish and a couple more features as the finishing touches are being made. There may be more features added in future betas, but the ones available now should be regarded as "stable."
"The Jetpack team is pleased to announce the release of Add-on SDK 1.0b2. This version, the second in the series of beta releases of Mozilla’s downloadable software development kit for building Firefox add-ons, includes a variety of architectural improvements and a number of fixes for issues encountered by beta testers," Mozilla announced.
The big new feature for developers in the second beta is support for the CommonJS Asynchronous Module Definition API which allows modules and their dependencies to be loaded asynchronously, for extra performance and other advantages. Other than that, there are the regular fixes and enhancements.
The SDK is in beta, but there's still plenty to be done. It is already suitable for a number of projects, but there are a couple more betas on the way. Beyond that, the team plans to release a final, stable version of the Add-on SDK 1.0 sometime in Q2.
Further, the team also wants to have the first beta release of Builder 1.0, the web-based tool for add-on creation, in Q3, along with the release of Add-on SDK 1.1. The stable release of Builder 1.0 should be landing in Q4 at the same time as Add-on SDK 1.2.
Mozilla Add-on SKD 1.0 Beta 2 is now available for download here.