Browser extensions are underrated: the promise of hackable software
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About
Concept
Browser extension by the author
Browser extensions make the browsers (and implicitly the websites) hackable, not just customizable
They allow for using the applications in ways that the original developers didn't specifically plan for
What would be a years-long reverse engineering project in a normal app may get turned in an acceptable effort.
Extensions can be considered as tools that act on some common data instead of isolated apps.
Enabled by
Sending code to browser in a human-readable form
A web layout model with standardized semantic markup
An open platform
Challenges
Accesibility
Difficult entry barrier to write one.
Compatibility across website versions
Aside from using specific APIs, write clean markup, human-readable CSS, source maps. Also, provide the choice for when to update (this seems the most uncomfortable one 😅
Power
Limited by the Server/Client boundary.