Articles by Dan Callahan
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Firefox 54: E10S-Multi, WebExtension APIs, CSS clip-path
The release of Firefox 54 completes the transformation of Firefox into a fully multi-process browser, running many simultaneous content processes in addition to a UI process and, on Windows, a special GPU process. This design makes it easier to utilize all of the cores available on modern processors and, in the future, to securely sandbox web content. This release also offers new support for the CSS clip-path property, and updates to the WebExtensions APIs.
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Firefox 53: Quantum Compositor, Compact Themes, CSS Masks, and More
Firefox 53 includes the first significant piece of Project Quantum, the Quantum Compositor for Windows. Dig in to features and under-the-hood improvements such as compact themes, new WebExtension features, the CSS mask property, and more.
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Firefox 52: Introducing WebAssembly, CSS Grid and the Grid Inspector
We cover some of the most innovative features to land in Firefox 52, including WebAssembly, CSS Grid, the CSS Grid Inspector Tool, an improved Responsive Design Mode, and Async and Await support for JavaScript.
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Previewing the WebAssembly Explorer
Unlike JavaScript, WebAssembly is a binary format, which means developers need new tools to help understand and experiment with WebAssembly. Discover the basic functions of the WebAssembly Explorer, which lets developers type in simple C or C++ programs and compile them to WebAssembly.
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WebAssembly Will Ease Collaboration on Next Generation Video Codecs
WebAssembly is a new, low-level format for programs on the Web being developed by Mozilla, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, so it will eventually work in all browsers. This post explores how WebAssembly will play an integral role in the development of next generation video codecs. The new workflow represents a fundamental shift in Web development: The wall between “native” and the Web is falling, opening the door to dramatically greater performance on the Web.
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Async/Await Arrive in Firefox
The new
asyncandawaitkeywords—which make asynchronous code more concise, obvious, and maintainable—have arrived in Firefox 52. Currently available in the latest Developer Edition release, Firefox 52 is scheduled for general release in March 2017. -
Web Push Arrives in Firefox 44
Updated, 2016-02-20: The Push service now requires an explicit “TTL” header on requests to an endpoint. The article has been updated to reflect this. More details on the Mozilla Services Blog. Have you ever wished that a website could notify you when something important happened, even if you didn’t have the site open? Maybe you’ve […]
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Firefox’s New Memory Tool
Firefox Developer Edition 44, released last week, includes a brand new memory tool to help you understand how your web applications are using and retaining memory. This is especially useful for developers targeting the mobile web, and thus working with constrained resources. Baptiste Kaenel, a freelance Creative Designer and Mozilla community member from France, put […]
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Developer Edition 44: New visual editing and memory management tools
This month marks the one-year anniversary of Firefox Developer Edition. To celebrate, we’re excited to show you some new tools – and some improvements to existing tools – that let you work with the Web in a visual and intuitive way. As the Web becomes a more dynamic, interactive and mobile experience, visual designers are […]
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Porting Chrome Extensions to Firefox with WebExtensions
After reading last month’s “Let’s Write a Web Extension,” I was inspired to try and port a real-world add-on to a WebExtension. Specifically, I tried to port the Chrome version of the popular, open-source “Reddit Enhancement Suite” (RES) to Firefox. Here’s what I learned, and what you can do today to prepare your own add-ons […]
