Developer Guide

PART 1 : Why Use Mozilla?

From mozilla.org

• Supporting the family of Gecko based browsers
• Embedding a world-class HTML rendering engine
• Developing with the Mozilla Application Framework

PART 2 : Mozilla Structure

• 1. Mozilla Technolgies
  • 1.1 Introduction to Mozilla Development
  • 1.2 Mozilla Execution Model
• 2. About Mozilla Technologies
  • 2.1 XUL - XML User Interface Language
  • 2.2 Gecko - the Layout Engine
  • 2.3 XPCOM
  • 2.4 Application Framework
  • 2.5 Some Common Terminology
• 3. Specifics about Mozilla
  • 3.1 Directory Structure
  • 3.2 Profiles
  • 3.3 Security Model
  • 3.4 Chrome System
• 4. Getting Started With...
  • 4.1 Building a Browser Extension
  • 4.2 Creating a Standalone Application
  • 4.3 Embedding Mozilla
  • 4.4 Creating a Custom Browser

PART 3 : XUL - The XML User Interface Language

From XULPlanet.com

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 Introduction
  • 1.2 Adding XUL Files
  • 1.3 The Chrome URL
  • 1.4 Manifest Files
• 2. Simple Elements
  • 2.1 Creating a Window
  • 2.2 Adding Buttons
  • 2.3 Adding Labels and Images
  • 2.4 Input Controls
  • 2.5 List Controls
  • 2.6 Adding HTML Elements
  • 2.7 Using Spacers
  • 2.8 More Button Features
• 3. The Box Model
  • 3.1 The Box Model
  • 3.2 Window Element Positioning
  • 3.3 Box Model Details
  • 3.4 Groupboxes
  • 3.5 Adding More Elements
• 4. Common Elements
  • 4.1 Progress Meters
  • 4.2 Scroll Bars
  • 4.3 Stacks and Decks
  • 4.4 Stack Positioning
  • 4.5 Tabboxes
  • 4.6 Toolbars
  • 4.7 Content Panels
  • 4.8 Splitters
  • 4.9 Persistant Data
• 5. Menus
  • 5.1 Simple Menu Bars
  • 5.2 More Menu Features
  • 5.3 Popup Menus
  • 5.4 Scrolling Menus
• 6. Grids, Trees and RDF
  • 6.1 Grids
  • 6.2 More Listbox Features
  • 6.3 Trees
  • 6.4 More Tree Features
  • 6.5 Introduction to RDF
  • 6.6 Templates
  • 6.7 Trees and Templates
  • 6.8 RDF Datasources
  • 6.9 Advanced Rules
• 7. Events and Scripts
  • 7.1 Adding Event Handlers
  • 7.2 Document Object Model
  • 7.3 Keyboard Shortcuts
  • 7.4 Focus and Selection
  • 7.5 Tree Selection
  • 7.6 Custom Tree Views
  • 7.7 Commands
  • 7.8 Updating Commands
  • 7.9 Broadcasters and Observers
• 8. XPCOM and XPConnect
  • 8.1 XPCOM Interfaces
  • 8.2 XPCOM Examples
  • 8.3 Manipulating RDF Datasources
  • 8.4 Using the Clipboard
  • 8.5 Drag and Drop
  • 8.6 Drag and Drop JavaScript Wrapper
  • 8.7 Drag and Drop Example
• 9. Skins and Locales
  • 9.1 Adding Style Sheets
  • 9.2 Styling a Tree
  • 9.3 Modifying the Default Skin
  • 9.4 Creating a Skin
  • 9.5 Localization
  • 9.6 Property Files
• 10. Bindings
  • 10.1 Introduction to XBL
  • 10.2 Anonymous Content
  • 10.3 XBL Attribute Inheritance
  • 10.4 Adding Properties
  • 10.5 Adding Methods
  • 10.6 Adding Event Handlers
  • 10.7 XBL Inheritance
  • 10.8 XBL Example
• 11. Specialized Window Types
  • 11.1 Features of a Window
  • 11.2 Creating Dialogs
  • 11.3 Open and Save Dialogs
  • 11.4 Creating a Wizard
  • 11.5 More Wizards
  • 11.6 Overlays
  • 11.7 Dynamic Overlays
• 12. Installation
  • 12.1 Creating an Installer
  • 12.2 Install Scripts
  • 12.3 Additional Install Features

PART 4 : Mozilla API Guide

The following guide documents how to use much of the Mozilla API using JavaScript, including some XPCOM services.

• 1. Base XPCOM Interfaces
  • 1.1 Introduction to XPCOM
  • 1.2 nsISupports
  • 1.3 Component Creation
  • 1.4 Services and Factories
  • 1.5 Querying Components
• 2. Executing Code
  • 2.1 JavaScript Timeouts
  • 2.2 Threads
  • 2.3 XPCOM Timers
  • 2.4 Processes
  • 2.5 Exception Handling
  • 2.6 Global Notifications
• 3. File Handling
  • 3.1 Reading and Writing to Files
  • 3.2 Directory Service
  • 3.3 Streams
  • 3.4 File Example
• 4. Networking
  • 4.1 Network Introduction
  • 4.2 Managing URLs
  • 4.3 Channels
  • 4.4 Making Connections
  • 4.5 Sockets
  • 4.6 Server Push and Server Sockets
  • 4.7 Downloading Content
• 5. Window Management
  • 5.1 Managing a Window
  • 5.2 Querying Window Information
  • 5.3 Displaying Prompts
  • 5.4 Browsers and Frames
  • 5.5 Loading URLs
  • 5.6 Getting Load Progress
  • 5.7 Printing Content
• 6. Managing Content
  • 6.1 Introduction to the DOM
  • 6.2 Manipulating a Document
  • 6.3 Managing Mozilla Documents
  • 6.4 Layout Engine Concepts
  • 6.5 Handling XBL
• 7. Working with Text
  • 7.1 Text Selection
  • 7.2 Managing the Focus
  • 7.3 Commands and Controllers
  • 7.4 Using the Clipboard
  • 7.5 Drag and Drop
  • 7.6 Drag and Drop JavaScript Wrapper
  • 7.7 Drag and Drop Example
  • 7.8 Undo and Transactions
  • 7.9 HTML Editing
  • 7.10 Editing Example
• 8. Mozilla Application Components
  • 8.1 Bookmarks
  • 8.2 History
  • 8.3 Session History
  • 8.4 Form Fill-in
  • 8.5 Autocomplete
  • 8.6 Sidebar
  • 8.7 Search Plugins
• 9. XML
  • 9.1 Available XML Features
  • 9.2 Parsing and Serializing XML
  • 9.3 XSLT
  • 9.4 Parsing Schemas
  • 9.5 XPointers
• 10. RDF
  • 10.1 Introduction to the RDF Model
  • 10.2 RDF/XML Syntax
  • 10.3 RDF Datasources
  • 10.4 RDF Datasource Details
  • 10.5 RDF Resources and Literals
  • 10.6 Querying RDF Datasources
  • 10.7 Modifying RDF Datasources
  • 10.8 RDF Containers
  • 10.9 Saving RDF
• 11. Web Services
  • 11.1 SOAP
  • 11.2 SOAP Example
  • 11.3 XML-RPC
  • 11.4 WSDL
  • 11.5 Web Services Security
• 12. Additional Features
  • 12.1 Retrieving and Modifying Preferences
  • 12.2 Playing Audio
  • 12.3 Communicating with Plugins

PART 5 : XPCOM Usage in C++

From mozilla.org

1. Introduction
2. Core
   • Data types
   • Dependencies
3. Components
   • Reference counting
   • Typing / QueryInterface
   • nsCOMPtrs
   • Components
   • Services
   • Weak References
   • Interface Requestor
   • nsIClassInfo
   • Modules (dlls)
4. Runtime
   • Memory
   • Arenas
   • Threading
   • Event Queues
   • Timers
   • Proxies
   • Recycling Allocator
   • Text formatting
   • nsCRT
   • Escaping
   • Native charset conversion
5. Data Structures
   • Arrays
   • Enumerators
   • Strings
   • Hashtables
   • Atoms
   • Buffers
   • Observers
   • Property Lists
   • nsInt64
   • Time
   • nsISupportsPrimitives
   • Quicksort
   • Variants?
   • Vectors?
6. I/O
   • File objects
   • Directory Service
   • Streams
     • Input
     • Output
     • Binary
     • StringStream
     • Unicode/UTF8
     • Buffers
   • Fastload
   • Pipes
   • Manifest line reader
7. Other
   • Error service
   • Console service
   • Exception Service
   • nsISystemInfo
   • Timeline
8. Debugging
   • Assertions, etc
   • TraceRefCnt
   • TraceMalloc
9. IDL

PART 6 : Creating XPCOM Components in C++

From the book by Doug Turner and Ian Oeschger

• 1.0 What is XPCOM?
• 2.0 Using XPCOM Components
• 3.0 Component Internals
• 4.0 Creating the Component Code
• 5.0 Using XPCOM Utilities To Make Things Easier
• 6.0 Starting WebLock
• 7.0 Finishing the Component
• 8.0 Building the WebLock UI
• 9.0 Packaging WebLock

PART 7 : Creating a Mozilla/Firebird Extension

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PART 8 : Creating a Standalone Mozilla-Based Application

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PART 9 : Embedding Gecko

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PART 10 : Working with the Mozilla Source Code

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Creating Applications with Mozilla

From the Book by David Boswell, Brian King, Pete Collins, Ian Oeschger and Eric Murphy.

• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1: Mozilla as Platform
• 2: Getting Started
• 3: XUL Elements and Features
• 4: CSS in Mozilla Applications
• 5: Scripting Mozilla
• 6: Packaging and Installing Applications
• 7: Extending the UI with XBL
• 8: XPCOM
• 9: XUL Templates
• 10: RDF, RDF Tools and the Content Model
• 11: Localization
• 12: Remote Applications
• Appendix A: Getting and Building the Mozilla Source
• Appendix B: Development Tools
• Appendix C: Programmer's Reference

REFERENCES

• Mozilla Glossary (mozilla.org)
• XUL Element Reference (XULPlanet.com)
• JavaScript Guide (Netscape DevEdge)
• JavaScript Reference (Netscape DevEdge)
• XPCOM Reference (XULPlanet.com)
• XPInstall Reference (Netscape DevEdge)
• Embedding API Reference (mozilla.org)