404373 - Implement opensearch support in search engines page

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(addons.mozilla.org Graveyard :: Search Plugins, defect)

Description

[Michael Morgan [:morgamic]]

The preferred format for search plugins is opensearch format (xml) but existing plugins use the old Fx 1.5 style (.src).  Right now if we install a new plugin that is opensearch compliant it breaks, since AMO attempts to deliver it as .src.

There is an existing component (controllers/components/opensearch.php) to assist with this, and the larger issue is decrementing .src support in favor of opensearch.

For now, we should aim to allow opensearch plugins to work correctly along with .src files.  In the future we can revisit disabling .src support altogether.

Comment 1

[Michael Morgan [:morgamic]]

So this is pretty important, and we proposed to eliminate support for .src files and moving wholesale to .xml opensearch format.

Comment 2

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

(In reply to comment #1)
> So this is pretty important, and we proposed to eliminate support for .src
> files and moving wholesale to .xml opensearch format.
> 

Does this mean we should no longer support .src or are we still aiming to support both?

Comment 3

[Michael Morgan [:morgamic]]

We talked about this in Nov. and we agreed that we should stop supporting .src since the clients that support it are EOL'd.

Comment 4

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

(In reply to comment #3)
> We talked about this in Nov. and we agreed that we should stop supporting .src
> since the clients that support it are EOL'd.
> 

Was this decision ever made public? 

Comment 5

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=403742#c9

Comment 6

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

My concern is that I don't think we've said anything publicly (like the blog or newsgroups).  We should put in a reasonable effort to notify the current search engine authors and give them ample time to send us a replacement search engine.  Otherwise we're going to stop supporting the sherlock format and we'll end up with an empty page.

(Of course, if we finish bug 409076 they could upload the files themselves, but it looks like that bug isn't slated for 3.2)

Comment 7

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

Attachment: Is this all?

I removed '.src' from the allowable extensions and changed the install trigger to the opensearch style.  Seems to work for me.

Comment 8

[Stuart Morgan]

The check window.sidebar + window.sidebar.addSearchEngine check needs to change as well, or applications that support OpenSearch but not .src (like current builds of Camino) won't be able to use the links.

Comment 9

[Samuel Sidler (old account; do not CC)]

Keeping the following statement seems wrong:

  if ((typeof window.sidebar == "object") && (typeof 
    window.sidebar.addSearchEngine == "function")) { 

That should check for window.external instead.

http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Adding_search_engines_from_web_pages

Comment 10

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

(Given the way Firefox supports window.sidebar and window.external, they are completely interchangeable - they both point to the same object. In fact you can use addSearchEngine to install both kinds of search plugins in Firefox -  http://bonsai.mozilla.org/cvsblame.cgi?file=mozilla/browser/components/sidebar/src/nsSidebar.js&rev=1.30&mark=181-183#172 explains how the method distinguishes them. It's generally recommended to stick with the "standard" methods that are consistent between us an IE, though, which explains why http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Adding_search_engines_from_web_pages says what it does.)

Comment 11

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

Attachment: now with window.external

Thanks for the link.  Updated the patch.

Comment 12

[Justin Scott [:fligtar]]

Comment on attachment 297436 [details] [diff] [review]
now with window.external

Works for me.

We're waiting to check this in until most of the engines have been notified and updated, right?

Comment 13

[Basil Hashem [:baz]]

With the new design on AMO v3.2 search engines are now each getting a dedicated page like any other addon. Please consider adding a <link rel> type tag into the page header so that users can install those engines via the Firefox Search bar. The behavior is that Firefox would highlight in blue if that engine is not installed.

See http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Creating_OpenSearch_plugins_for_Firefox#Autodiscovery_of_search_plugins. Apparently, you are allowed to publish more than one search engine for autodiscovery so we don't necessarily have to take out the current AMO Search autodiscovery that's there right now.

Comment 14

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

(In reply to comment #12)
> (From update of attachment 297436 [details] [diff] [review])
> Works for me.
> 
> We're waiting to check this in until most of the engines have been notified and
> updated, right?
> 

No one objected to the steps I spelled out in bug 409076#1 so I think that's the plan.

Comment 15

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

(In reply to comment #13)
> With the new design on AMO v3.2 search engines are now each getting a dedicated
> page like any other addon. Please consider adding a <link rel> type tag into
> the page header so that users can install those engines via the Firefox Search
> bar. The behavior is that Firefox would highlight in blue if that engine is not
> installed.
> 
> See
> http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Creating_OpenSearch_plugins_for_Firefox#Autodiscovery_of_search_plugins.
> Apparently, you are allowed to publish more than one search engine for
> autodiscovery so we don't necessarily have to take out the current AMO Search
> autodiscovery that's there right now.
> 

This feels like it's own bug to me, so I filed Bug 413532.

Comment 16

[Fred Wenzel [:wenzel]]

I have just made the regular install buttons handle search engines correctly (bug 417726).

Please close this bug after you landed the developers side of things, clouserw. Thanks!

Comment 17

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

Comment on attachment 297436 [details] [diff] [review]
now with window.external

Making this obsolete since wenzel already put in most of the changes.  r10920 shows the 2 lines I changed for this bug.

Comment 18

[Wil Clouser [:clouserw]]

Developer side (removing .src support) has landed on trunk.  I think that means this is fixed.