Custom plug-ins for Internet Explorer and Firefox
Implicit specializes in developing custom add-ons for Internet Explorer and Firefox. Both browsers allow
third-party add-ons to extend their functionality. Add-ons can be used to implement custom user interface,
custom event handling and custom functionality that execute within the browser.
There are many consideration leading to the decision which technology to use for a specific project. Implicit
has extensive experience in the use of the technologies listed below and in making the architectural decisions
which technology to use depending on the technical requirements of the specific application.
IE Add-ons
Internet Explorer exposes a set of COM interfaces that allow IE Add-ons to extend it’s functionality.
IE extensions are divided into two types: Functionality extensions and Content extensions. IE functionality
extensions are used to expose UI features and add context menu entries, toolbars, menu items etc. IE extensibility
interfaces can be used to plug in Browser Helper Objects (BHO) that extend the feature set of the browser.
BHOs are DLLS with full unrestricted access to the Internet Explorer Document Object Model (DOM) and event
handling as well as privileges to access the file system, registry and other OS components. Content extension
interfaces are used by different content-type handlers to add support for non-native content formats.
Firefox Add-ons
Firefox was originally conceived with a notion of a very minimalistic but robust foundation with a high
degree of extensibility. Add-ons are installable enhancements to the Mozilla Foundation. They can be used
to modify the behavior of existing native functionality or add entirely new features. Extensions can also
be used change the content of a webpage as it is rendered.