Q&A with Developer Stefan Van Damme

This is a guest post from Mozilla technical writer Judy DeMocker. She recently chatted with Stefan Van Damme about his extension Turn Off the Lights, and his experience porting it from its original Google Chrome version. Take it away, Judy…

Stefan Van Damme had a small problem—but it happened all the time. He liked to watch videos online, but video players on sites like YouTube don’t eliminate the other content on the screen—and that makes it hard to focus on the show. So Stefan, who lives in Antwerp, Belgium, built his first browser add-on to dim the lights on distracting content. And since so many people love movies, he built it for seven different browsers for users around the world.

Stefan’s extension, Turn Off the Lights, has been downloaded more than 3 million times. With that many users, it’s critical for him to be able to update it quickly and easily, without spending days or weeks on maintenance. So he’s excited about the new WebExtensions API, which makes it easy for him to port his extensions to Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge using a universal code base.

Turn Off the Lights in action.

 

Porting to Firefox

What browser did you first create your extension for?
Google Chrome

Why was it important for you to write your extension for Firefox?
It is important to me that everyone can have the Turn Off the Lights experience in their favorite web browser. And Firefox is still one of the most popular web browsers out there today.

Did you migrate your add-on from the legacy Firefox platform, XUL? How difficult was that?
In the first version of Turn Off the Lights, I used the XUL technology. If I had to migrate to the new version, it would be difficult. However, I already had the Chrome extension, so migrating that code to Firefox was very easy. There was only one file I had to change, the manifest file. All the other files, I had to do nothing.

How difficult was it to learn and write to the WebExtensions API? (1 = easiest; 10 = hardest)
Since Firefox now supports the WebExtensions API, it was very easy to take code that runs on Chrome or Edge and put it on Firefox. I can use the same code base and just change the settings to work with each browser. If I continue with Chrome extensions, then it’s just a “1,” very easy.

Did you find all the functionality of your XUL add-on in the WebExtensions API? Or did you have to learn a new way to write the same features?
At the time I wrote the XUL add-on from my Chrome extension code, it was difficult, but I got all the functions inside. Today WebExtensions have more APIs, even those that extend outside the website content. For example, the extension can now dim the toolbar of Firefox thanks to the browser.theme API. And that is very unique and also cool.

What problems, if any, did you experience developing for Firefox?
Mostly I had trouble with the performance of the browser. If I click on my gray lamp button, it goes very slowly to that capacity level. On other browsers, it’s one click and done. I understand Mozilla is working hard to improve this.

What do you think of the new Quantum version of Firefox?
I see some good improvement in the Firefox Quantum web browser. That is what I like, and it can also be good for my users.

Tools & Resources

How has the technology changed since 2009?
At first, I used Notepad ++ on Windows to write my code. Now I use a Mac and Microsoft Visual Studio. Visual Studio is a better experience for both platforms. I can use it on Mac and Windows (using Boot Camp). I can switch to a Windows PC and use the same developer kit to write code and test it also.

How long does it take to publish a Firefox extension?
It’s very quick to publish an update to an add-on. Normally I just zip it and click on “Publish” and it’s done. Yesterday, I updated my Date Today add-on, and it took 10 to 15 minutes.

How is adoption of your new extension?
It’s good. Turn Off the Lights has been downloaded more than 3,000,000 times. I’’ve set up my website to detect a visitor’s browser and send them to the correct hyperlink, so they can download the version that works for them.

How long does it take up update your different extensions?
So in browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, it takes about two hours to update my add-on. I do one or two major updates for Turn Off the Lights a year, for instance moving from version 3.3 to 3.4. Those take more time. But it’s worth it. I get user feedback from my users that those updates provides better harmony in the current web experience.

What resources helped you learn about the WebExtensions API?
The MDN website was helpful. I was working with the Chrome documentation, but their site only shows information for the Chrome platform. That’s a minus for the Google team. They didn’t have a browser compatibility table that could show me if a feature is available on another web browser.

What help, if any, did you get from Mozilla?
I didn’t talk to anybody at Mozilla. But I do report bugs and performance issues. It’s important to get a great experience on all web browsers.

What advice would you give other developers who are thinking of creating extensions for Firefox?
Just do it. And, listen to your users’ feedback. They are the experts on how you can improve your Firefox extension.


Related content

Q&A with Grammarly’s Sergey Yavnyi

Why I Switched from Chrome to Firefox Quantum

Porting a Google Chrome Extension

Cross-browser extensions, available now in Firefox

Remaking Lightbeam as a Browser Extension

12 comments on “Q&A with Developer Stefan Van Damme”

  1. harshad wrote on

    Well thats was a nice thing. we’re looking forward for further improvements

  2. john wrote on

    well its nov 14th and no sign of this mysterious firefox quantum

    1. Judy DeMocker wrote on

      You can download Firefox Quantum here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

      It’s super duper fast. It’s like you can feel the threads working…

      1. john wrote on

        hi all im getting is firefox 57 no reference at all to the word quntaum

        1. john wrote on

          you should have started quantum 1.0 as far as im concerned its just firefox 57 with the loss of thousands of addons

          1. Caitlin Neiman wrote on

            Hi John, Firefox 57 and Firefox Quantum are the same thing. 🙂 Can I ask what extensions you had installed? We might be able to find some replacements.

  3. john wrote on

    thanks for replying jorge is still mad at me laugh ive tried i really need tile view but the new tile tabs we is a nightmare to use takes up 70 percent of my ram with just 3 tabs open and i got a dual core lol another one is hide caption too much wasted space with the new firefox and you dont have one single sports addon like 365 or ruwt that is a real sore point with me and jorge lol hes a good guy but i guess he doesnt use extentions lol

  4. Kenneth Eriksson wrote on

    Where did the mht (Web Archive File) creator go in the recent update of Firefox. I use it regularly, and I will have to turn to Internet Explorer unless it is reinstated…

    Yours,

    Kenneth Eriksson

  5. 麥克滑司機 wrote on

    Video DownloadHelper 7.0.0 Download video will make CPU rise

  6. joe wrote on

    Not a lot of point to an add-on blog when you’ve deliberately torpedoed the support for the vast majority of existing add-ons, and with that the main reason for using firefox. I couldn’t care less if it’s faster, I want it to be more effective.

  7. john wrote on

    im sorry but they just dont care that most addons DONT WORK anymore they just dont give a flying——-

  8. Justin Strachan wrote on

    Listen most addons were dropped becuase they NEEDED to be rewritten anyways. Some of the security flaws. EG: Late last year, a Google researcher found a vulnerability in a free plugin installed by AVG AntiVirus that bypassed Google’s Chrome browser security. It has been an epidemic since around http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/x-malicious-browser-extensions-help-hackers-target-victims/

    Another oldie but goodie…
    https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/945865

    Bottom line is this:
    You cannot be dependent on third party plugins that have been compromised for a decade. You cannot bolt 10,000 patches to a language without it becoming the exploit itself? Unless you can build a browser with Fortran and never need to filter data for any reason, you have to get rid of the rental code, before you end up holding a bag of cocaine left in the trunk by the last exploit. Yep, that’s a great excuse at the boarder, but you stll have the damage control to do and it was only chrystal meth anyway.