I would be surprised if you couldn't find a compiled web services extension somewhere on the web, and it shouldn't be too hard to ship the web services extension along with Verbosio, right? You'd only have to get it once since you're not modifying it, and then just include it along with everything else.

(From Alex: Normally, I'd agree with you. In this case, though, there were issues with the code in that extension besides interfaceinfo.)

Back when Mozilla/Firefox was a (mostly) unknown project, removing public features did not have a significant impact. As Firefox becomes more popular, this will reverse. I hope Mozilla does not make it a habit of removing supported features -- or developers/companies are going to be reluctant to design software that may not work in the future due to a seemingly arbitrary decision to remove functionality.

(From Alex: I disagree totally with this in the context of what was actually removed. SOAP support in Mozilla was buggy, and did deserve to be removed. I just caught some of the fallout, that's all.)

Seems you can distribute a DLL built with VC express. From http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/express/aa718399.aspx :

4. Can I use Express Editions for commercial use?

Yes, there are no licensing restrictions for applications built using the Express Editions.

(From Alex: Okay. But will a DLL from VCE work with a XULRunner built with VC++ 8?)

I'm assured that it will, even if the executable is built with wacky optimisation settings that aren't available in the express compiler.

It's probably a good idea to make sure both build environments are at the same service pack level - if it's built using visual C++ 2005 SP1, you'll need to use visual c++ express SP1.

The express C++ compiler is exactly the same as the Pro these days, optimization and all.