Chicago (IL) – Mozilla Labs has announced the release of Jetpack, an API that allows users to easily create Firefox add-ons. According to Mozilla, many useful Jetpack features can be written in under a dozen lines of code.“
Jetpack will be an exploration in using Web technologies to enhance the browser (e.g. HTML, CSS and Javascript), with the goal of allowing anyone who can build a Web site to participate in making the Web a better place to work, communicate and play,” the company explained in an official blog post. “Most importantly, from a user perspective, Jetpack will allow new features to be added to the browser without a restart or compatibility issues, resulting in little to no disruption to the online experience.”
Version 0.1 of Jetpack reportedly features:
- Initial APIs with support for status bars, tabs, content scripts and animation.
- Support for external API libraries such as Twitter.
- JQuery support.
- Integrated development environment with Bespin, providing immediate installs and a fast development cycle.
- Inline debugging with Firebug.
Mozilla developers explained that the initial release remains “unpolished, unfinished and still highly prototyped.” However, the company is actively seeking feedback regarding the nascent API design and plans on “entirely revamping things” for future iterations.
