Extension

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A short description

Extensions are small addons to a Mozilla product, such as Firefox or Thunderbird, that can extend the functionality of the browser to meet the user's needs.

A longer detailed discussion

Extensions allow a user to enhance their Mozilla product to meet their personal requirements without the core product being too bloated. It can be anything from a toolbar button to a small icon on the status bar to another addon to the right-click menu. Extensions can be created by anyone that has the the knowledge of the following extension-related technologies:

  • XPI — Cross-Platform Installer module
  • JavaScript – The primary language of Mozilla Browsers
  • XUL (XML User Interface Language) – Used to define the UI (User Interface) and interaction with user.
  • DOM (Document Object Model) – Used to change XUL in real-time or to edit HTML that is currently loaded
  • CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
  • XPCOM/XPConnect

Extensions are installed via an XPInstall module.

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