1215067 - js-ctypes support for extensions

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(WebExtensions :: Untriaged, defect)

Description

[Gabor Krizsanits (INACTIVE)]

- Bundling and use of js-ctypes libraries with extensions. The code would be loaded into the add-on process (once we implement out-of-process WebExtensions). We could choose whether to sandbox the process or not. The DLL could be loaded before entering the sandbox.

- Permission to use js-ctypes from the chrome process.

Comment 1

[Andy McKay]

Just because I was curious, MXR shows 293 add-ons that use js-ctypes (you need to dedupe that list).

https://mxr.mozilla.org/addons/search?string=ctypes.jsm&find=&findi=&filter=^[^\0]*%24&hitlimit=&tree=addons

Comment 2

[sixtyten]

For what it's worth, people who port anything that uses ctypes to the WebExtensions API may want to check Chromium's NPAPI deprecation guide for alternatives: https://www.chromium.org/developers/npapi-deprecation#TOC-Alternatives-to-NPAPI

Comment 3

[YUKI "Piro" Hiroshi]

My addon "System Monitor" directly uses libraries installed in the platform itself. On WebExtensions, do I have to create a new NPAPI plugin as a bridge when the js-ctypes is killed?
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/system-monitor/

Comment 4

[Andrew Swan [:aswan]]

(In reply to YUKI "Piro" Hiroshi from comment #3)
> My addon "System Monitor" directly uses libraries installed in the platform
> itself. On WebExtensions, do I have to create a new NPAPI plugin as a bridge
> when the js-ctypes is killed?
> https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/system-monitor/

I think your best bet here would be to create a native application that loads these libraries and then speaks the native messaging protocol, and then use something like runtime.connectNative.  See bug 1190682.

Comment 5

[YUKI "Piro" Hiroshi]

I agree that my addon should use runtime.connectNative() and should include its custom binaries for each platform. Actually, the addon had binary XPCOM components for each platform, at old versions. The js-ctypes made my addon just binary-free.

Anyway, something code snippets or a public library to communicate with Firefox based on runtime.connectNative() seems to be required, for addon developers who require binary components.