使用Firefox WebExtensions的桌面应用程序

Question

I am working on a XUL desktop application, where I use the browser tag and load a URL in that tag within the desktop application.

However, some websites display as old format and according to Mozilla, XUL is deprecated and will not be useable at the end of 2017. I want to build the application with the latest technology: WebExtensions .

I have searched many examples on the usage of WebExtensions, but all are working within the browser. Can I make a standalone desktop application just like XUL, but using WebExtensions?

If yes, then please give me some hints on how to get started.
If no, is any alternative for the same requirement available?

Answer 1

Webextensions are fairly limited in their scope. Even if there was an application runtime utilising them, you probably wouldn't get much use out of them due to the restrictive isolation from the host system.

Strictly speaking not webextensions, albeit very similar:

The Electron framework/runtime*

Someone at Mozilla is also working on an alternative dubbed "Positron"** though that software's future is uncertain and there is a chance he might abandon it for an entirely new, highly simplified project (at least that's what I gathered from my conversation with him on Github).

* http://electron.atom.io/

** https://github.com/mozilla/positron