firefox add-ons sdk vs XUL

5
votes

I've just started creating my first firefox add-on and I'm currently in the learning stage, to familiarize with the api.

However I found a little ambiguous what method should I use. After I've read a few tutorials about how to build firefox add-ons using XUL, I realize there's another way:using add-ons sdk which from what I understand is only for firefox 4+ versions only. I like better the sdk way compared with XUL, however to me the sdk looks like is still in early stage and lacks a few features(I think).

So my question is what road should I take? The new sdk way, which also looks a lot more cleaner than XUL, or to use the good old fashioned way:XUL(of which I'm not a big fan)?

After reading this post: http://blog.mozilla.com/addons/2010/12/09/announcing-add-on-sdk-1-0b1/ I think that the sdk is much better than XUL, however because it lacks a few features like sockets api , I can start my project only using XUL, or postpone it until the sdk will become more mature.

Waiting your thoughts about this problem. Thanks

PS: I'm not interested in developing add-ons for older firefox version(ff3.x)

1
firefoxfirefox-addonfirefox4add-onfirefox-addon-sdk
Jetpack based addons can still make AJAX requests and use WebSockets. Any reason why you need the legacy sockets API? – millimoose
possible duplicate of What are the advantages/disadvantages of using the Add-on SDK to develop my Firefox extension? – Nickolay

1 Answers

4
votes

Add-on SDK is perfect for simple add-ons. Also, it does have access to XPCOM if you need advanced features. So the main issue is UI integration - the options are very limited and nothing comparable to XUL overlays exists.