What unique features does Firebug have that are no

Question

I just cleaned my Firefox addons and wondered:

• Which features does Firebug have that make it unique?

• Which features are available in both Firebug and the Firefox Developer Tools?

Answer 1

One advantage of the native dev tools over current firebug version is that it has sourcemaps, where firebug does not.

Answer 2

This will be irrelevant soon, as Firebug and the native developer tools are merging:

Firebug 2 doesn’t work in multi-process browsers (i.e. e10s) and converting it is too complex, it will stop working when e10s is activated in Firefox.

We want to be ready when Firebug 2 stops working and we have come up with the following plan.

Integrate all Firebug 3 features into Firefox built-in tools and forward all Firebug users to it.

Replace Firebug 2 by releasing Firebug 3 (on AMO) only if we have to deliver any critical features missing in Firefox developer tools in an extension.

We are currently working on porting XHR Inspector (bug 1211525), DOM panel (bug 1201475) and Firebug theme (bug 1244054).

The main goal for the next release of Firebug the will be to integrate it into the Firefox built-in DevTools. Besides this the Firebug Working Group plans some new features to extend the DevTools with new functionality.

Firebug 3.0 alpha (aka Firebug.next) is currently compatible with Firefox 35 – 36 and will support upcoming multiprocess (as well as non-multiprocess) browsers.

Firebug 3.0 (also known as Firebug.next) represents the next Firebug generation built on top of the native Firefox developer tools.

If you install Firebug 2 into a multiprocess (e10s) enabled browser, you’ll be prompted to upgrade to Firebug 3 or switch off the multiprocess support.

Mozilla postponed the release of Electrolysis several times already. The current plan is to release multi-process Firefox to the stable channel on April 19, 2016 when Firefox 46 is released to the stable channel.

This is a projected release date only however and it is possible that Electrolysis will be delayed further.

One interesting idea that Mozilla has to make the release less painful for users of the browser is to enable Electrolysis only in versions of Firefox without add-ons, and in versions of Firefox where only compatible add-ons are installed in.

We have been working to unify Firefox Developer tools and Firebug for some time. From Firefox 49, we’ll be shipping Firebug.next built-in.

If you use the built-in Firefox Developer Tools, rather than Firebug, then you may like the DOM Panel and Firebug Theme that we’ve added in this merge.

In addition we’ve ported some common Firebug extensions (PixelPerfect, FireQuery and HARExportTrigger formerly NetExport). And while we’re at it, you might like our new WebSocket Monitor extension.

As part of porting Firebug features to the built-in tools, we’re also porting the Firebug theme, giving Firebug users a more familiar environment to work with.

This theme is hot, hot, hot! Say hi to the Firebug theme for Developer Tools

Mozilla today launched Firefox 48 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The browser has gained multi-processor support (finally), enhanced protection against harmful downloads, and media improvements on Android. Support for old OS X versions and Android Gingerbread has been dropped.

In Firefox 48, Mozilla is slowly enabling multi-process support, starting with 1 percent of users, and ramping up to nearly half of the Firefox Release channel. To check if you’re in the Electrolysis group, type “about:support” into the URL bar and check to see if it says “1/1 (Enabled by default)” under the Multiprocess Windows line item.

References

• Firebug lives on in Firefox DevTools

• Merging Firebug into the built-in Firefox Developer Tools

• Mozilla Launches Multi-Process Test in Firefox Beta

• Firebug Roadmap

• Firebug 3 & Multiprocess Firefox (e10s)

• Firebug.next Github repo

• Unifying Firebug & Firefox DevTools

• Developer Edition 48 – Firebug features, editable storage, inspector improvements and more…

• Firebug 3.0 Project page

• Remote Debugging: Debugging Firefox Desktop

• Firefox 48 Release Notes: Developer Tools

• Firefox 48 arrives with multi-process support, drops old OS X versions and Android Gingerbread