Firefox Components (Customizlable browser!)

[schipht]

Hello everyone!

I following this forum and I saw really good ideas since 2 days.
So I just thinking if all our ideas added to this browser what happened?

More features means more source, right?
Some users needs lightweight browser and they wanting to disable or remove what they don't used.
Some users using browser really heavy and they needs everything.

I saw many products in these days, they allow users to what they want to install (via cloud) and remove.
If you thinking don't want to use any feature what you don't needed, you should uninstall easily.
And one more thing, this features only updating itself from major update to major update.
Lets make a components page in settings and allow users to disable/remove features.
Components updates itself without waiting a major update.
Firefox can come with really lightweight version in first install.

For example: I don't need "Pocket" and I think I don't use that never but I know many users loves it and using daily.
Some browsers coming with games, vpn services, mail client, social media toolbars etc.
More customizlable, more power!

Have a good day all!

[Mte90]

For mobile it is already happening https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components

They did it years ago to create the various browser like Focus but they are UI focused as Firefox code is very huge and is connected and is not easy to separate the various areas.

Like for https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/create-an-alternative-to-electron/idi-p/268

[Anonymous]

@schipht @Mte90 Hi all! Did anyone think about what you guys are talking about, here: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/modular-design-base-plus-browser-email-etc/idi-p/5019

[Mte90]

@Anonymous 

Well Firefox and Thunderbird shares a lot of code... like Gecko, UI and WebExtension stuff infact as you can see since various version now have the same versioning of Firefox to keep up with the changes.

The proposal of this ideas is to have components that are like extensions for native Firefox stuff.

[Anonymous]

@Mte90 I think this idea is amazing, is this what we call a microkernel instead of the monolithic kernel? For example, when we separate the layers of an application, in this case like Firefox... in this case of the idea proposed here in Firefox... of, for example, separating the layers... this would allow a better componentization, so we could say that this idea would be.... turn Mozilla Firefox into a microkernell? If so, I think it's worth thinking about the idea... microkernells are "less complicated to manage". reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microkernel

[MikeFox]

@schipht
My thoughts on Firefox vs. Pocket for Android

Basically, I agree with you: On Android, I shouldn't need Pocket. Because Firefox Collections allow me an even better content control & organization.

Well, only if it comes to Read aloud/Listen to/TTS capabilities, Pocket is a clear winner!
Firefox just can't compete with its poor Read Aloud add-on. It might be a serious add-on for desktop Firefox, but, frankly, it's implementation in Firefox for Android is pretty lousy: there is only ONE very robot-ish (female) voice per language, and there are NO Android notification center controls!

While in contrast, with regard to the TTS read aloud function, Pocket for Android is really convincing, sounding very natural & pleasant like a radio announcer & boasting a choice of ~10 great TTS voices per language.
IMHO, might be a reason to keep Pocket installed. 🤔

[BEEDELLROKEJULI]

The addons system already provides this ability. Pocket was integrated deliberately into the browser as part of a commercial decision, to ensure that it is unable to be easily removed. This situation is difficult to equate more than fundamentally to the structure of a kernel due to how differently architectured each component of this browser is, whereas a kernel's components are for smaller, more low-level tasks, and thus can be more standardized.

However, delegating control to some less custom toolkits, such as WxWidget (which itself uses GTK, Qt, and soon WinUI) for the GUI and cross-platform code, such as Rust, whilst delegating as much functionality as is reasonable to addons (such as Pocket's) would indeed proviide what you desire.

However, it shall not occur. Probably ever. It would cost far too much. Even Google would seriously struggle to. Microsoft chose Chromium for good reason. Mozilla would be forced to do the same, and wouldn't even be able to achieve most of those objectives consequently.

[SnowLeopard]

The only problem with the add-on system is that the mobile add-ons for Android Firefox are extremely limited. There's barely any of the ones I use on desktop Firefox that are allowed to be installed for mobile Firefox