Creating Google Chrome Extensions

by Prateek Mehta

Transform your existing web applications into Google Chrome browser extensions and create brand new extensions that improve your own browsing experience and that of your users. This book shows you how Google Chrome browser extensions are extremely useful tools for enhancing the functionality of the Google Chrome web browser. For example, you can create extensions to summarize the current page you are reading, or to save all of the images in the page you are browsing. They have access to almost all of the features provided by the Google Chrome browser, and they can encapsulate such features in the form of a bundled application providing targeted functionality to users. Extensions also run in a sandboxed environment, making them secure – which is a huge plus in the modern web! The APIs provided by the Chrome Extensions framework help you empower web applications by coupling them with amazing features provided by the Google Chrome web browser, such as bookmarks, history, tabs, actions, storage, notifications, search, and a lot more – facilitating increased productivity on the Google Chrome web browser.
What You Will
Who This Book is For
Existing web developers, experienced in creating simple web pages (using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), to help them create browser extensions for Google Chrome. After understanding the examples and lessons in this book, you will be able to transform your existing web applications into Google Chrome browser extensions, as well as create brand new extensions.

184 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2016

Reviews

[Sreena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a comprehensive and well-written guide to developing Chrome extensions. It covers everything from the basics of creating a manifest file to more advanced topics such as using the Chrome API and developing background scripts. But I was reading this book to solve a specific issue I have been having while creating a chrome extension with the manifest file, which I couldn't find in this book. But overall, reading this was helpful.

[Luka · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kinda good, but I mean, the google docs and googles already present sample library is pretty good as is, so this book is kinda good, but also kinda bad, but it does provide a good overview of the page-action, browser-action and so on...so 3 stars I liked it, I truly did, but not like super duper liked it

[Mike Lisanke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book with a lot of detail and a good introduction to get people started coding chrome browser extensions in JavaScript. It didn't answer all (or even many) of my questions But did answer some questions I didn't have. And did get me thinking about how I can get started coding browser extensions without a lot of work. And the author provides Sample code which we assume would allow that getting started to have some initial immediate success. These are all great things for an introductory programming book.

Being ready to get started, I was hoping a 2nd read would get me some notes on setting up a programmer's environment for development. I'm planning on basing much of my web/ui work on vscode and thought I recalled this book had recommendations. Unfortunately I must have confused it with another programming textbook on another subject.

I did pickup on some of the weblinks embedded in the text and noticed google developers for chrome extension should give me much of the needed details for my applications.