711138 - Tracker: Harmonize AppRegistry IDL with extension, JS, Marketplace, docs, tests, sample code

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Web Apps :: General, defect)

Description

[Michael Hanson]

The ApplicationRegistry API that is currently on trunk differs from the one that was previously developed in a couple ways.  It also introduces an XPCOM service for the registry functionality, which is much better than the prototype, injector-based approach.

This is a tracking bug to harmonize systems that depends on this API.

Issue list:
1. DOMApplicationRegistry accepts a bare receipt argument, not { receipt: xxx }
If not fixed, this will require changes to Marketplace code and automated tests; the proposed fix is bug 711133, which preserves the API without offering any persistence of data other than receipt.

2. The listing/enumeration functions all have different names.
There is one issue (bug 709875) for this so far, but this has bigger implications.

Whatever nomenclature is settled on, the IDL, JS implementation, and dashboard need to agree.

This change breaks our documented API ( https://developer.mozilla.org/en/OpenWebApps/The_JavaScript_API ) and therefore may break apps in the wild.
It will also require changes to all our sample code and sample applications and therefore has dev engagement consequences.  
This will also break many automated tests.

3. uninstall() method exposed to content.
The JS implementation currently does not implement this method.  See bug 711131.

4. launch() method exposed to content.
The JS implementation currently hides this method in the mgmt object.  See bug 711132

5. Rework value-added addon features as an XPCOM component.
To use the service registry architecture, the addon should be stripped down to just the value-added pieces (native app synthesis, popup panel, about:apps, perhaps a few other things) and turned into an XPCOM service, which facades the trunk-provided implementation.  This will ultimately clean up the extension quite a lot and reduce it to just the added features.  It will take a bit of refactoring; bug 711137 is the tracker for that.

Comment 1

[Michael Hanson]

MXR link for DOMApplicationRegistry:
http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/source/dom/interfaces/apps/nsIDOMApplicationRegistry.idl

Comment 2

[Andreas Gal :gal]

Do you want a bug for the whitelist patch as well? (waive permission dialog for the mozilla dashboard)

Comment 3

[Michael Hanson]

Yes... though with the caveat we should have some better-understood process for how that whitelist gets managed.

Comment 4

[Andreas Gal :gal]

The whitelist is a hack to guarantee that your dashboard won't run into any trouble. Anything else should go via the proper permission system, which requires a FF UI piece and won't be done for Firefox 11 (but very likely FF 12).

Comment 5

[Ian Bicking (:ianbicking)]

Work for the extension and HTML implementation are progressing in this branch: https://github.com/mozilla/openwebapps/tree/updated-api

Currently I believe we have an HTML implementation that matches the proposed IDL.

Comment 6

[Jason Smith [:jsmith]]

Any updates on this bug? What work is left on this bug?

Comment 7

[Ian Bicking (:ianbicking)]

It depends on bug 711138, but that bug may actually be resolved.  I believe all other aspects of this bug are resolved.