Bug 1352049 - Network panel documentation;r=honza,rickychien draft
authorFred Lin <gasolin@mozilla.com>
Mon, 10 Apr 2017 15:51:24 +0800
changeset 560871 6ee4d7e0b93e4f75126a355393ff92cea687a560
parent 560035 b5b5dbed1c409d96aa6b97f2036cd66312fc45ad
child 623826 f1a4d9b0c8181a40ab6a250173def4f3895dab41
push id53568
push userbmo:gasolin@mozilla.com
push dateWed, 12 Apr 2017 02:01:54 +0000
reviewershonza, rickychien
bugs1352049
milestone55.0a1
Bug 1352049 - Network panel documentation;r=honza,rickychien MozReview-Commit-ID: J4EZnTSmRDA
devtools/client/netmonitor/README.md
devtools/docs/tools/network-panel.md
--- a/devtools/client/netmonitor/README.md
+++ b/devtools/client/netmonitor/README.md
@@ -1,26 +1,125 @@
-# netmonitor
+# Network Monitor
 
-The Network Monitor shows you all the network requests Firefox makes (for example, when it loads a page, or due to XMLHttpRequests), how long each request takes, and details of each request.
+The Network Monitor (netmonitor) shows you all the network requests Firefox makes (for example, when a page is loaded or when an XMLHttpRequest is performed) , how long each request takes, and details of each request. You can edit the method, query, header and resend the request as well. Read [MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Network_Monitor) to learn how to use the tool.
 
 ## Prerequisite
 
+If you want to build the Network Monitor inside of the DevTools toolbox (Firefox Devtools Panels), follow the [simple Firefox build](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Mozilla/Developer_guide/Build_Instructions/Simple_Firefox_build) document in MDN. Start your compiled firefox and open the Firefox developer tool, you can see the Network Monitor inside.
+
+If you would like to run the Network Monitor in the browser tab (experimental), you need following packages:
+
 * [node](https://nodejs.org/) >= 6.9.x
 * [npm](https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/installing-node) >= 3.x
 * [yarn](https://yarnpkg.com/docs/install) >= 0.21.x
+* [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/new/) either the released version or build from the source code.
+
+Once `node` (`npm` included) is installed, use the following command to install `yarn`.
+
+```
+$ npm install -g yarn
+```
 
 ## Quick Setup
 
-Assume you are in netmonitor folder
+Navigate to the `netmonitor` folder with your terminal, then run the following commands:
 
 ```bash
 # Install packages
 yarn install
 
 # Create a dev server instance for hosting netmonitor on browser
 yarn start
 
 # Run firefox
 firefox http://localhost:8000 --start-debugger-server 6080
 ```
 
-Then open localhost:8000 in any browser to see all tabs in Firefox.
+Then open `localhost:8000` in any browser to see all tabs in Firefox.
+
+### More detailed setup
+
+If you have an opened Firefox browser, you can manually configure Firefox as well.
+
+Type `about:config` in Firefox URL field, grant the warning to access preferences. We need to set two preferences:
+
+* disable `devtools.debugger.prompt-connection` to remove the connection prompt.
+* enable `devtools.debugger.remote-enabled` to allow remote debugging a browser tab via the Mozilla remote debugging protocol (RDP)
+
+Go to the Web Developer menu in Firefox and select [Developer Toolbar](https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Tools/GCLI). Run the command
+
+`listen 6080 mozilla-rdp`
+
+The command will make Firefox act as a remote debugging server.
+
+Then run the command
+
+`yarn start`
+
+### How it works
+
+The Network Monitor uses [webpack](https://webpack.js.org/) and several packages from [devtools-core](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core) to run the Network Monitor as a normal web page. The Network Monitor uses [Mozilla remote debugging protocol](http://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/devtools/docs/backend/protocol.md) to fetch result and execute commands from Firefox browser.
+
+Open `localhost:8000` in any browser to see the [launchpad](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core/tree/master/packages/devtools-launchpad) interface. Devtools Launchpad will communicate with Firefox (the remote debugging server) and list all opened tabs from Firefox. Click one of the browser tab entry, now you can see the Network Monitor runs in a browser tab.
+
+### Develop with related modules
+
+When working on make the Network Monitor running in the browser tab, you may need to work on external modules. Besides the third party modules, here are modules required for the Network Monitor and is hosted under `devtools-html` (modules shared accross Devtools):
+
+* [devtools-config](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core/blob/master/packages/devtools-config/#readme) config used in dev server
+* [devtools-launchpad](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core/blob/master/packages/devtools-launchpad/#readme) provide the dev server, landing page and the bootstrap functions to run devtools in the browser tab.
+* [devtools-modules](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core/blob/master/packages/devtools-modules/#readme) Devtools shared and shim modules.
+* [devtools-source-editor](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core/blob/master/packages/devtools-source-editor/#readme) Source Editor component.
+* [devtools-splitter](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core/blob/master/packages/devtools-splitter/#readme) Splitter component.
+* [devtools-reps](https://github.com/devtools-html/reps/#readme) remote object formatter for variables representation.
+
+Do `yarn link` modules in related module directory, then do `yarn link [module-name]` after `yarn install` modules.
+
+## Code Structure
+
+Top level files are used to launch the Network Monitor inside of the DevTools toolbox or run in the browser tab (experimental). The Network Monitor source is mainly located in the `src/` folder, the same code base is used to run in both environments.
+
+We prefer use web standard API instead of FIrefox specific API, to make the Network Monitor can be opened in any browser tab.
+
+### Run inside of the DevTools toolbox
+
+Files used to run the Network Monitor inside of the DevTools toolbox.
+
+* `panel.js` called by devtools toolbox to launch the Network Monitor panel.
+* `index.html` panel UI and launch scripts.
+* `src/utils/firefox/` wrap function call for Firefox specific API. Files in this folder should provide alias in `webpack.config.js` to mock or polyfill those function call. Therefore run the Network Monitor in the browser tab would work.
+
+### Run in the browser tab (experimental)
+
+Files used to run the Network Monitor in the browser tab
+
+* `bin/` files to launch test server.
+* `configs/` dev configs.
+* `index.js` the entry point, equivalent to `index.html`.
+* `webpack.config.js` the webpack config file, including plenty of module alias map to shims and polyfills.
+* `package.json` declare every required packages and available commands.
+
+To run in the browser tab, the Network Monitor needs to get some dependencies from npm module. Check `package.json` to see all dependencies. Check `webpack.config.js` to find the module alias, and check [devtools-core](https://github.com/devtools-html/devtools-core) packages to dive into actual modules used by the Network Monitor and other Devtools.
+
+### UI
+
+The Network Monitor UI is built using [React](http://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/devtools/docs/frontend/react.md) components (in `src/components/`).
+
+* **MonitorPanel** in `monitor-panel.js` is the root element.
+* Three major container components are
+  - **Toolbar** Panel related functions.
+  - **RequestList** Show each request information.
+  - **NetworkDetailsPanel** Show detailed infomation per request.
+* `src/assets` Styles that affect the Network Monitor panel.
+
+We prefer stateless component (define by function) instead of stateful component (define by class) unless the component has to maintain its internal state.
+
+### State
+
+Besides the UI, the Network Monitor manages the app state via [Redux](http://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/devtools/docs/frontend/redux.md). The following locations define the app state:
+
+* `src/constants.js` constants used across the tool including action and event names.
+* `src/actions/` for all actions that change the state.
+* `src/reducers/` for all reducers that change the state.
+* `src/selectors/` functions that return a formatted version of parts of the app state.
+
+We use [immutable.js](http://facebook.github.io/immutable-js/) and [reselect](https://github.com/reactjs/reselect) libraries to return new a state object efficiently.
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devtools/docs/tools/network-panel.md
@@ -0,0 +1,1 @@
+You can find the Network Monitor documentation on `devtools/client/netmonitor/README.md` file.