I’ve always wanted to contribute to Firefox as it’s an important part of my journey into learning about web development. I remember fondly of the first time I created my own program, opening it up in my browser and seeing my code run. Looking back, the stuff I wrote seems trivial, and is nowhere close to touching highly technical topics, but it was my launchpad into Computer Science, and one that’s likely to be a part of the journey for others. Especially given the near universality of browsers, it makes diving into programming on the web incredibly easy–no special software required and all the knowledge is easily accessible online.
However, I’m increasingly worried that Firefox might not be a part of that legacy. Over the years, we’ve seen browser vendors like Opera and Microsoft’s Edge turn to Chromium instead of continuing their own engines. With only WebKit and Firefox as the remaining viable alternatives, we’re already seeing sites that are increasingly designed for Chromium-only experiences. If this trend continues, Firefox might not be around for much longer.
As someone who cares about the open web and the values that Firefox upholds, I want Firefox to be a part of the legacy for future web developers. While I know that individually my impact won’t be particularly large, I’m hoping that my journey might inspire others. I’m creating this series to discuss my journey into contributing to Firefox and the things that I learn along the way, and hopefully this would be helpful to those who want to go down the same path.
Happy hacking!!!
