Over the years I’ve setup several app development environments:
- Meamo
- Android
- Ubuntu Touch
- Blackberry
None of those compare to how pleasant Firefox OS’s dev environment is. This morning in viruses class I installed the Firefox OS simulator. Unlike the above platforms the simulator is not a full weight virtualized operating system. It is nothing more than a firefox addon!
The other platforms would take a full day or more to setup their virtual machine and the compile tool chain. Instead I was making real progress on my first FxOS app before my morning’s first class was over!
Now 12 hours after starting my app is live on the Firefox Marketplace!
The app itself is here: https://marketplace.firefox.com/app/my-ip-is/
The source is in this git repo: https://github.com/daniel-dressler/whatismyipaddress
Next I plan to port the html5 WordPress Update Assistant I wrote last year. The entire process is pure fun and I am surprised at how easy FxOS has made app creation.
The FxOS app icon style appears to be circles. This is in contrast to iOS’s rounded squares, and Android’s objects.
I used Firefox’s “building blocks” which provide FxOS look and feel through css sheets. Other apps in the marketplace use bootstrap or jQuery Mobile. The high quality apps use the building blocks plus heavy themeing.