Firefox Addon: bootstrap.js mit sdk/page-mod for versions < 38.0

Question

tl;dr: We created a firefox addon using the Addon SDK. Since compiling the addon is one step in a larger build system (we also compile for chrome), our build system packages the xpi manually and does not use jpm. However, we used the contents of a jpm packaged addon as a template for writing our own addon. This only works for firefox >=38. Is there an easy way to make it work for earlier versions?

Details:

So we package an xpi file that contains the following bootstrap.js:

/* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
 * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
 * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
"use strict";

const { utils: Cu } = Components;
const rootURI = __SCRIPT_URI_SPEC__.replace("bootstrap.js", "");
const COMMONJS_URI = "resource://gre/modules/commonjs";
const { require } = Cu.import(COMMONJS_URI + "/toolkit/require.js", {});
const { Bootstrap } = require(COMMONJS_URI + "/sdk/addon/bootstrap.js");
const { startup, shutdown, install, uninstall } = new Bootstrap(rootURI);

Furthermore, the xpi contains an index.js with the actual code. This index.js is then setting up content scripts for sdk/page-mod.

So in the bootstrap.js, the startup/shutdown functions are linked to a Bootstrap object, which then handles enabling/disabling of the plugin.

This works fine in firefox 40, but I tested it with versions before 38 and it doesn't work, because it can't run the bootstrap.js script.

Is there a simple way to get it working for earlier firefox versions? It'S unfortunately quite hard to find documentation on this. Specificially, we don't want to break enabling/disabling the addon, i.e. if a user disables the addon, then the page-mod should be disabled too (as the Bootstrap class does it), and when enabling the plugin, it should be enabled again.

Answer 1

Exposing require as a JSM was only introduced recently, so you're simply using new functionality for your approach.

For older versions you will have to create a custom Loader instance instead which can then be used to require things.