1267653 - Make an API for creating remote <xul:browser>'s running in a particular process

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Core :: DOM: Content Processes, defect)

Description

[Mike Conley (:mconley) (:⚙️)]

There are a number of cases where it's important that the parent process create a remote <xul:browser> that is running in a particular process.

For example, consider Print Preview. In order to Print Preview, we first open a new tab, and then we pass in the nsIDOMWindow of the content we want to preview into that new tab's browser via the nsIWebBrowserPrint printPreview method[1].

That only works if the new tab's browser runs in the same content process as the one we're print previewing. This means that it's important for the parent to be able to create new browsers where it can ensure that the new browser can access the content of the original.

So we should create an API to make this easy to do.

[1]: I believe View Source is another place this is required, since nsIWebPageDescriptor's need to be shared between two browsers to ensure that we don't hit the network to view the source.

Comment 1

[Andrew Overholt [:overholt]]

When are we intending to fix this, Mike?

Comment 2

[Mike Conley (:mconley) (:⚙️)]

This is something that will likely be useful once the e10s team starts focusing on multiple content processes. So, not for a little while, but probably before the end of 2016.

Comment 3

[Blake Kaplan (:mrbkap) (inactive)]

This was fixed with bug 1165309.