14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla's lightweight extensions platform Jetpack is coming along nicely and the latest version was just released less than two months since it was first launched. Jetpack 0.3 comes one month after 0.2 and brings some new functionality as well as a few updates. The project is aimed at making it easier for beginner developers to create extensions for Firefox by using just JavaScript and other standard web technologies.
“For the past month, we’ve been busy working on an update to Jetpack, taking into account all of the feedback we’ve received. There are now over 60,000 people who have the Jetpack platform extending their browsing experience. And many of these Jetpacks have been written by first-time extension developers. Jetpack 0.3 focuses on adding some new abilities, as well as continuing to refine existing APIs,” said Mozilla's Atul Varma and Aza Raskin speaking for the Jetpack development team.
Jetpack was developed by Mozilla as an alternative to its extremely popular extensions program. Extensions have proven a great success for Firefox and many users have come to rely on them but creating extensions currently requires a bit of programming know-how as well as learning the XUL language Firefox uses for the interface. This prompted Mozilla to come up with a simpler way to create extensions to allow even more developers to get involved and so Jetpack was born.
Jetpack 0.3 comes with a much simpler way to perform actions on a selected word or phrase and new API methods for this type of interaction as, previously, this proved to be a hassle for developers using the new extension system. The latest version also comes with an updated Slide Bar, a feature that proved to be very popular, bringing a largely revised API and some new features. Other changes include a synchronous jetpack.storage.simple method, something that many have asked for, and some visual improvements.
Jetpack 0.3 is available here.