WebExtensions changes coming?

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barbaz
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WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/is ... ?id=896897

I don't like the sound of the proposed changes to webRequest :( Seems like this would kill a lot of useful extensions.
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therube
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by therube »

("useful" and "(web)extension", now isn't that an oxymoron ;-).

Oh, & look, someone points out developer.mozilla.org. Like Google is going to care about that :lol:.


Basilisk's experimental WebExtension support will be dropped.
(Basilisk being a kind of sister / development platform to Pale Moon. [PM has never supported, & with no intent to support, webextensions.]
More on Basilisk's decision, https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.ph ... 70#p159970)
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

therube wrote: Mon Jan 21, 2019 12:15 pm Basilisk's experimental WebExtension support will be dropped.
AFAICT this has nothing to do with Google's proposed changes to WebExtensions APIs. The UXP devs have been talking about removing WebExtensions support from UXP (not just Basilisk) for at least several months now.
*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
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musonius
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by musonius »

Raymond Hill's comment at bugs.chromium.org summarizes the consequences quite well. I remember reading a comment by Giorgio Maone that NoScript for Chromium browsers may be introduced this year. What do the possible changes mean for NoScript?
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
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musonius
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by musonius »

Thanks for the link. That discussion doesn't exactly make me optimistic (at least what Chromium is concerned).
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

some idea of the planned timing of these changes - https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.or ... 9mfNX5i7WY
https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msg/chromium-extensions/n9mfNX5i7WY/LRSnPsw7BAAJ wrote:The extensions team is currently working on a "developer preview" release of the Manifest V3 platform in Canary. We want to get this in the community's hands so y'all can start experimenting, talking to each other, and sharing feedback on what capabilities we need to tweak. This release will be incomplete and likely a bit rough around the edges. We're hoping to ship the dev preview in the next few months, but we don't have a specific date.

Timing of milestones after that will depend on a number of factors including (but not limited to) implementing other MV3 features and iteration based on dev preview feedback.
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therube
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
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therube
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by therube »

Will Mozilla follow Google with these changes?
(What do you think ;-).)
In the absence of a true standard for browser extensions, maintaining compatibility with Chrome is important for Firefox developers and users. Firefox is not, however, obligated to implement every part of v3, and our WebExtensions API already departs in several areas under v2 where we think it makes sense.

Content blocking: We have no immediate plans to remove blocking webRequest and are working with add-on developers to gain a better understanding of how they use the APIs in question to help determine how to best support them.

Background service workers: Manifest v3 proposes the implementation of service workers for background processes to improve performance. We are currently investigating the impact of this change, what it would mean for developers, and whether there is a benefit in continuing to maintain background pages.

Runtime host permissions: We are evaluating the proposal in Manifest v3 to give users more granular control over the sites they give permissions to, and investigating ways to do so without too much interruption and confusion.

Cross-origin communication: In Manifest v3, content scripts will have the same permissions as the page they are injected in. We are planning to implement this change.

Remotely hosted code: Firefox already does not allow remote code as a policy. Manifest v3 includes a proposal for additional technical enforcement measures, which we are currently evaluating and intend to also enforce.
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barbaz
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by barbaz »

https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2019/09/03/mozillas-manifest-v3-faq/ wrote:Content blocking: We have no immediate plans to remove blocking webRequest and are working with add-on developers to gain a better understanding of how they use the APIs in question to help determine how to best support them.
What does "no immediate plans" mean? Does it mean Mozilla will keep webRequestBlocking? Or does it mean they'll just wait until later to remove it? If the latter, what API(s) will take over implementing all the lost functionality?

(I would guess they haven't decided on this yet and want to keep all the options open for now.)
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musonius
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Re: WebExtensions changes coming?

Post by musonius »

This would be the time to clearly differentiate oneself from Google and a chance to win back many users who have switched to Chrome and want to continue with efficient content blocking. This "immediate" causes too much confusion in that regard.
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