MapQuest Zipcode
Search I wrote my first Firefox search plugin: a zipcode search for MapQuest. This turned out to be pretty easy. They provide an excellent tutorial on how to write a plugin.
It isn't perfect. Firefox plugins are based on Apple's Sherlock search technology. Sherlock needs <interpret> parameters so that the search results can be parsed and rendered properly, whereas the results returned from a Firefox plugin are simply returned to the browser. Because, strictly speaking, there is no results set for a MapQuest zipcode search other than the map itself, I decided I could fudge things and supply bogus <interpret> parameters. This turned out to be a correct assumption and the plugin works fine in Firefox. However, it is clear that this plugin could never work for Sherlock. So don't try it.
I decided to try my hand at another Firefox search plugin. This is a search engine for the Morris Dancing Discussion List, a listserv that I own. This one actually stands a chance of working as a Sherlock plugin (although I admit I did not test it).
Morris Dancing
Discussion Listserv Search
Here's one that basically a site-specific variant of the Google search plugin. As W3Schools itself uses Google for searching their site, this seems appropriate.
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2008 Tom Keays /
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URL: http://www.tomkeays.com/notebook/firefox_plugin.php
Last updated: February 16, 2005
