581155 - Document new API for tracking plugins via guid

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Websites :: plugins.mozilla.org, defect)

Description

[Ryan Doherty (:rdoherty)]

If every plugin had a unique guid it would simplify our API and how Firefox checks for plugin updates via plugins.mozilla.org

A rough draft of the new API and other related information will help us convince plugin and browser vendors to adopt this new system.

Comment 1

[Ryan Doherty (:rdoherty)]

Mossop: would like your opinion on this idea. 

If every plugin had a guid and plugins.mozilla.org had a new API to query by guid (à la AMO) would this be a better option to the current API? (for plugins that are installed; we'd leave the old API for querying by mime-type)

Comment 2

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

No doubt having a unique ID (that didn't change across different versions of the same plugin) available would make everything lots easier. My main concerns would be that if uptake by the plugin vendors was slow (and even then if update rates are low) then we'd have to maintain both APIs for a significant amount of time.

Comment 3

[Ryan Doherty (:rdoherty)]

Agreed, it will take some time to get the major plugin vendors to adopt and implement this. And new or poorly implemented plugins might not have a guid and we'd have to use the old API. I don't see a way around this other than lots of communication effort on my side :)

Comment 4

[u597032]

Plugins are no longer supported