Status update
Plugin Update Awareness
Status
- Been through a couple review iterations so far, patch is getting more and more solid
- More unit tests
- Fixed potential pref regression on startup
- Liaised with QA
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- More unit tests
- Refactor the mess in browser.js
Target for next week
- More unit tests
- Fix outstanding reviewer comments
Reflections
- Don't blindly trust comments in code
- I need to get better at estimating how long the review process will take
- I work faster when its not raining
Status Update
Plugin Update Awareness
Status
- Parts of the patch have been reviewed - things are being fixed as reviews come in
Loose ends
- Waiting on review of changes in the plugin module
Next steps
- Fix things based on reviewer's comments
Target for next week
- Finish review process
Reflections
- *ah-choo!*
Status update
Eep, I forgot about this on Friday. Better late than never!
Plugin Update Awareness
Status
- Implemented in-page notification
- Implemented startup check and opening on webpage
- Wrote unit tests
- Submitted patch for review
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- Fix stuff that comes out of review, if any
Target for next week
- Close project
Taskfox
Status
- Passed the reins to Labs for more Labsy iteration
Reflections
- Spaghetti tastes good, but spaghetti code doesn't
Status update
Plugin Update Awareness
Status
- Filed bug 514327
- Strings landed for toolkit string-freeze today
- Backend done
- Integrated with extension manager
- Integrated with update checker (Help -> Check for updates)
- Started integration with in-page notification
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- Update the wiki page
- Finish in-page notification
- Implement startup check and opening of webpage
- Tests
- Catch up with how webdev is progressing
Target for next week
- Finish everything and get review
Taskfox
No change.
Reflections
- Not all assumptions are temporally stable
- Working at the beach makes for a very relaxing hacking session
Status update
I'm taking some time off next week to recover from jetlag and such, so I'm not expecting a lot to be accomplished next week. Other than sleep, that is.
Plugin Update Awareness
Status
- Met with people in MV
- Implementation started
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- Ensure everything in the plugin host, extension manager, and blocklist manager is updated as needed
- Work on adding UI notifications
Target for next week
- Finish backend work
Taskfox
Status
- Met with people in MV
- Working on getting more people involved with the code
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- Bug fixes
Jetpack
Status
- Jonathan met with Aza about Jetpack (I was absent due to illness)
- Determined that its best to revisit in a month
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- None - to be revisited in a month
Reflections
- There are some types of work that get done best when working face-to-face (eg, at work weeks!)
- Flat earth and personal teleporters would make it SO much easier to be productive when traveling
Status update
Plugin Update Awareness
Status
- Spec'ed changes to blocklist.xml
- Spec'ed changes to blocklist code
- Spec'ed UI interactions
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- Get UX input
- Implementation
Target for next week
- Get UX input
- Start implementing
Taskfox
Status
- Finished string localization
- Misc bug fixes
- Building the UI for the Translate verb
Loose ends
- None
Next steps
- Theme work
- Continue bringing UI into line with Limi's designs
Target for next week
- Nothing specific - busy with Firefox team work week
Jetpack Uplift Exploration
Status
- Meeting postponed due to scheduling issues
- No progress
Loose ends
- Meeting needs rescheduled
Next steps
- Reschedule meeting
Target for next week
- Face-to-face discussions with Jetpack team in MV
Content Scripts
Status
- Declared technically feasible
- Merged back into Jetpack sprint for further evaluation
Reflections
- Unit tests that uncover unrelated bugs can be confusing, but ultimately are a huge win
- Short bursts of playing WoW are actually good for my RSI
Status update
Here's another weekly status update. This week seemed to go by really quickly, and I didn't get as much done as I was originally aiming for. Still, progress is progress.
In addition to a regular status update, I'm going to try to list some general thoughts and reflections from the week. See the end of the post, under "Reflections" (cleverly named, eh?).
Taskfox
Status
- Miscellaneous bug fixes
- Moving hard-coded strings into localization files
Loose ends
- Reviewer needed
Next steps
- Finish localization work
- Ensure all theme work is in relevant CSS files
- More unit tests
Next week's targets
- Finish localization work
- Finish CSS theme work
Content Scripts
Status
- Content sniffer is now a binary component - much faster
- Internal protocol handler component is almost done
Loose ends
- New extension manager
Next steps
- Schedule meetings
- Finish protocol handler
- Implement persistence of installed scripts
- Spec requirements for what API to provide to scripts
- Potentially implement GreaseMonkey compatibility APIs
Next week's targets
- Finish protocol handler
- Finish saving of installed scripts
- Have meeting setup with Labs
Jetpack uplift exploration
Status
- No progress
Next week's targets
- Have meeting setup with Labs
Reflections
- Sometimes the proper solution isn't the best solution
- Mossop's XPCOM Ref is fantastically awesome
Status: Jetpack and Content Scripts in Firefox
As Mike Beltzner recently explained, the Firefox team is working on better communicating what we're working on. We've been focusing on more of a Sprint-based model of development, and I'm quite enjoying it. Of course, it's not a huge change for me, due to the way my previous project was organized. I should note that some of these "sprints" will take significantly longer than a week or two - so I like to think of them as "projects".
Since its been quite awhile since my last status update (a month!), I'll cover what I've been working on since then. If I take more than a week or two to post again, feel free to yell at me on IRC :)
Taskfox
Status
- Implemented detection of certain page URLs, and display them as tasks
- No other exciting developments, working on getting the code review-ready
- Canceled the weekly meeting
Loose ends
- Who's the lucky person that gets to review this? It's rather big...
Next steps
- Finish getting review-ready
- Start getting reviews and iterate
Jetpack uplift exploration
Status
- Goal: Explore possibilities and requirements for uplift of Jetpack
- Timezones + scheduling meetings = suck
- Phone meeting between us (Johnath, Mossop, and I) and Atul (The Jetpack Guy)
- Plenty of notes up on the wiki
- Spawned off Content Scripts sprint as a first step in achieving end goal (provide open-web tech to extend the browser)
Loose ends
- Wanting bug numbers for stuff that Jetpack needs fixed in Firefox/Platform
Next steps
- Finish Content Scripts sprint
- More meetings with the Jetpack team
Content Scripts
Status
- Goal: Provide native support for Content Scripts
- General requirements gathered
- Basic functionality completed
Loose ends
Next steps
- Implement custom protocol as a binary component
- Implement persistence of installed scripts
- Spec requirements for what API to provide to scripts
- Potentially implement GreaseMonkey compatibility APIs
Firefox 3.5 is out and it ROCKS
Go get Firefox 3.5 - its better, faster, awesomer, and it ROCKS.
Taskfox, the screencast edition
In my last post about Taskfox, I asked for volunteer users to try out the latest Taskfox build. For those of you that read it, you may have noticed I included no information about how to actually use Taskfox features. No mention at all. None. Zip. Nada.
And I did this on purpose.
My apologies to the people who were confused, bewildered, and frustrated by this. You were all (including co-workers!) unwitting participants in my experiment. It showed that the current interface for Taskfox features may not be discoverable enough, even for technologically savvy people. Thankfully, we think we have a solution - more on that in a future blog post.
In addition to the lack of information, the Map task was broken. This wasn't part of the experiment - merely a mistake on my part. Same with the inability to enter spaces (thanks to a last-minute change). Oops.
So today we have a new build! Bugs fixed, some things added, and some information on how to get the most out of using Taskfox.
Using Taskfox
When you open a Taskfox build, its the same as any nightly Firefox/Minefield. It displays web pages the same, the toolbars and menus are the same, the URL bar is (almost) the same. But typing in the URL bar is where the magic begins, as you can see in the following screencast:
Where to provide feedback
There are plenty of ways you have give us feedback:
- Comment on this blog post
- Post to the dev-apps-firefox mailing list (also on Google Groups)
- Join #fx-team on IRC
- Join the weekly meeting every Thursday at 3:00pm PDT (10:00pm UTC)
- E-mail me directly (although I'd prefer one of the other ways)
Getting Taskfox
Builds are available for all platforms that Firefox ships on:
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Twitter: theunfocused
- if no one hears from me in the next 5 days, i'm not dead - i'm just on holiday, without internet access. which is different from dead.
- @ChristianSonne like a boss
- almost 3am, and i have an early morning meeting. you'd think i'd learn...
- @brianking k, done
- @brianking compatible-by-default does apply to 3rd party addons. but they're opt-in, but that's separate from compatibility (added in Fx8)
- RT @standardistas: Unicode 6.1 has been released, finally including the essential (U+1F4A9) character: http://t.co/NKaK8ECm
- @IRCCloud i keep getting disconnected from http://t.co/VWCA5CJv :\ apparently due to Max SendQ exceeded
- @jmuenster nope, not this time
- @jmuenster no, still further/long that way (i checked)
- @EnglishMossop @dria @johnath i have no objections to going multiple times