Port to WebExtension

[SammysHP]

Sören Hentzschel has published a roadmap regarding multiprocess architecture and addon compatibility: https://www.soeren-hentzschel.at/firefox/so-geht-es-weiter-mit-dem-multiprozess-firefox-2/

(See also https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2016/11/23/add-ons-in-2017/)

Especially two releases are important for Vimperator:

Firefox 53 (2017-04-18): Only WebExtensions allowed on AMO. This means that new developers cannot create new unlisted addons for signing.

Firefox 57 (2017-11-28): Only WebExtensions allowed in Firefox and AMO. Vimperator will not work with this release anymore.

Please note that the developer version of Firefox might drop support for XUL- and SDK-addons already some months earlier, maybe in June!

I have a really bad feeling about this. Considering the development activity during the last months I don't think that we will have ported Vimperator to a WebExtension in time. This process requires almost a complete rewrite of Vimperator and a lot of features aren't possible with WebExtensions at all. Don't get me wrong, but I fear that this is the death of Vimperator. :(

See also #211 for some more details, which focusses on e10s compatibility in general.

Chatroom

I created a chatroom on Gitter where we can organize and talk about the next steps:
https://gitter.im/vim-webextension/Talk

[hejops]

If all else fails, could focus perhaps be shifted to compatibility with Pale Moon?

[timss]

Also relevant: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1215061#c22

I have a really bad feeling about this. Considering the development activity during the last months I don't think that we will have ported Vimperator to a WebExtension in time. This process requires almost a complete rewrite of Vimperator and a lot of features aren't possible with WebExtensions at all. Don't get me wrong, but I fear that this is the death of Vimperator. :(

It would indeed seem that the best possible and realistic outcome now would be to lag behind on Firefox releases for some time until a rewrite is completed, or even started.

At some point it stops making sense to even maintain the current code base. I would hope that we could get a working release (especially on AMO) for the next ESR (FF52), which in my opinion would be a good option to stay on for some time as releases after 52 will be increasingly hard to maintain.

---

Regarding the option of Pale Moon, there's a pretty interesting discussion on that in this Pentadactyl issue. I don't personally think it's a good idea.

5digits/dactyl#99

[svarogg]

I would really love to help with the effort. However, a few pointers on where can one start would be very helpful.

I've done the reading, and as I understand we are facing two major roadblocks:

1. New APIs means a complete or at least a very extensive rewrite.
2. Some APIs are not available, which makes some features hard or impossible to implement.

A couple of thoughts:
I think point No 1. warrants a new repository or at least a clean branch, especially if we are talking about a complete rewrite.

To address point No. 2 it would be nice to have a list of missing APIs, and might start thinking about workarounds.

I have much development experience, but none in browser extensions and haven't touched JS for a couple of years. So I don't think I am fit to lead this effort, but I would be more than happy to follow if pointed at the right direction.

[mavaa]

Hey, I just started using Firefox and vimperator after being a long-time Chromium/Vimium-user (Google Amp on my phone slowly made me turn away from google). I love the experience of using gui=none so far and would love to contribute some with keeping this project alive!

That being said, I don't have any experience writing Firefox plugins besides building the latest xpi a few days ago, though I'm a pretty decent developer working mostly in web. I'm guessing I should start by reading a bit about writing plugins in general, would reading up on WebExtensions be the right place to start right now? And/or should I take a look at some open issues already around?

[Nefari0uss]

@marza91 If I had to guess, I'd say Web Extensions might be worth looking into. Someone is gonna have to start a port and the earlier the better is my likely guess.

[mavaa]

This is probably possible to find out somewhere, but is Vimperator a "XUL/XPCOM" or "Add-ons SDK" extension?

[schemar]

Count me in when moving to WebExtensions 👍

[SammysHP]

@svarogg
A new repository is a good idea. Yes, it would be a complete rewrite. With a new repository it would be easier to manage issues etc.

For the start we need some experienced software engineers to create an initial framework. Later individual developers can contribute additional features individually. There will be a long design phase where we collect requirements, develop a solid foundation for the addon and where we can also analyze which features are missing in the webextension standard.

@marza91
Vimperator is a XUL addon.

[SammysHP]

Oh, I forgot something: The new version would be something completely new. There will be many things that will be different from what we are used to. It would be fantastic to forget the reasons that led to the fork and work together with the people from pentadactyl. They have the same problem as we have. And most developers joined after the fork. It makes no sense to create two new addon with the same functionality.

[cornop]

Personally, I will be switching to VimFx. It doesn't change the UI, which is one thing I liked about Vimperator, but that won't be possible in the future anyway. It seems to be ahead of Vimperator in terms of Firefox's changes (it already supports multiprocess), is actively developed and has a roadmap for WebExtension support.

I'll just throw this in the room: Maybe the remaining developer power should be moved to this project.

[Dioxylin]

Regarding Pale Moon, their roadmap, at https://www.palemoon.org/roadmap.shtml, explicitly states that they are keeping XPCOM and XUL extensions support, unlike Firefox.

[mavaa]

The ability to change the GUI and the way it completely changes how you use the browser is what I like most about Vimperator as well, so VimFx seems like a downgrade to me. Not to talk down about the Add-on itself, I bet it works great, it's just not exactly what I want (I tried it briefly before changing to Vimperator).

Would it be an idea to start by assembling a feature-list and find out exactly what can and can't be ported? I'm also lending a bit towards switching to Pale Moon if there's interest in keeping the XUL version going and most features can't be ported.