Firefox/Projects/PlacesQueryAPIRedesign

Places Query API

Create a sensible, easy to use Query API for Places for Firefox.next & Jetpack. This API should make it possible to do targeted queries against history and bookmarks with a minimum of code.

Goals/Use Cases

• An elegant and easy to use API. Fx devs, Jetpack and extension developers will all benefit.
• allows us to prototype the new ui for Fx.next
• 'Pluggable' results handling Easy wrappable querying object and results
  
• Focus on JS usage
• Paging Support - Sounds like a great use of Generators! dropped, there is no perf gain, can be a follow-up
  
• Fetch individual record by Id or other property

(After talking to the Labs guys about Weave, we should try to provide a plugin-interface whereby you can allow a developer to keep track of and index random JSON objects.

Dan Mills has example code that was created for the people store. Link coming soon.)

Non Goals

• Tailoring the API to tree views
• Creating the perfect API (lets iterate)
• Create an abstract datastore
  
• Intended as a snap-in replacement of the current API Future follow-up through a live-updating wrapper
  
• Wrap current sync and XPCOM API

Status

• Old prototype landed in Jetpack 0.8, currently being revised
  
• Team
  • API: ddahl, mak
  • UX/UI: not required so far, future users could though
• Implementation bugs: bug 522572 bug 531940 bug 543888
• Next Steps
  • Iterate the feel of the API with the Places team and other interested developers. Ideas and feedback are encouraged. Build working examples to encourage feedback.

Timeline / Milestones

• 2010/02 Landed in Jetpack 0.8
• 2010/03 Work on "skeleton" API design with Marco
• 2010/05 New redesign, collecting feedback and proceeding.
  

Delivery Requirements

• This is purely additive.
• Coordination with Jetpack as this should be coded once, checked into places and imported into Jetpack's implementation.

Constraints

• Final implementation should use only Async Storage APIs

Testing

• Comprehensive xpcshell tests
• Example/Documentation style Browser Chrome tests Not for now, when treeviews will use this.
  
• TDD

Related Projects

• Jetpack
  

Additional Details

The initial API "sketches" are here: [1]

Faaborg has been mocking up designs and putting a lot pf thought into the UX: http://blog.mozilla.com/faaborg/2009/10/13/browsing-your-personal-web

Inspriation

Links to code we should study...

Gloda

Gloda: [2]

facet.js: [3]

Gloda Fundamental Attribute provider: [4]

Explicit Attribute Provider: [5]

FacetView: [6]