GNOME Shell

GNOME Shell

GNOME Shell 3.16 in overview mode
Developer(s) The GNOME Project
Initial release April 6, 2011 (2011-04-06)
Stable release 3.22.2 (9 November 2016 (2016-11-09)[1]) [±]
Preview release 3.23.2 (23 November 2016 (2016-11-23)[2]) [±]
Repository git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-shell
Development status Active
Written in JavaScript and C[3]
Operating system Unix-like
Available in 75 languages[4]
Type
License GPL
Website wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeShell

GNOME Shell is the graphical shell of the GNOME desktop environment starting with version 3,[5] which was released on April 6, 2011. It provides basic functions like launching applications, switching between windows and is also a widget engine. GNOME Shell replaced GNOME Panel[6] and some ancillary components in GNOME 2.

GNOME Shell is written in C and JavaScript as a plugin for Mutter.

In contrast to the KDE Plasma Workspaces, a software framework intended to facilitate the creation of multiple graphical shells for different devices, the GNOME Shell is intended to be used on desktop computers with large screens operated via keyboard and mouse, as well as portable computers with smaller screens operated via their keyboard, touchpad or touchscreen. This target is criticized by most users, a opinion poll in Distrowatch website at november 2016 shows that most voters (1448 vote - 76%) want separate interfaces for each device.[7]

Design

As graphical shell (graphical front-end/graphical shell/UX/UI) of the GNOME desktop environment, its design is guided by the GNOME UX Design Team.[8]

Design components

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
GNOME Shell Overview mode
1
Activities button
2
Dash
3
Search bar
4
Notification area
5
Status menu
6
Workspace list
7
Indicators tray

The GNOME Shell comprises following graphical and functional elements:[9]

Software architecture

GNOME Shell is tightly integrated with Mutter, a compositing window manager and Wayland compositor. It is based upon Clutter to provide visual effects and hardware acceleration[10] According to GNOME Shell maintainer[11] Owen Taylor, it is set up as a Mutter plugin largely written in JavaScript[12] and uses GUI widgets provided by GTK+ version 3.

Features

Changes to the user interface (UI) include, but are not limited to:

Extensibility

The functionality of GNOME Shell can be changed with extensions, which can be written in JavaScript. Users can find and install extensions using the GNOME extensions website. Some of these extensions are hosted in GNOME's git repository, though they are not official.[17]

Adoption

Reception

GNOME Shell has received mixed reviews: It has been criticized for a variety of reasons, mostly related to design decisions and reduced user control over the environment. For example, users in the free software community have raised concerns that the planned tight integration with Mutter will mean that users of GNOME Shell will not be able to switch to an alternative window manager without breaking their desktop. In particular, users might not be able to use Compiz with GNOME Shell while retaining access to the same types of features that older versions of GNOME allowed.[27]

Reviews have generally become more positive over time, with upcoming releases addressing many of the annoyances reported by users.[28][29]

History

The first concepts for GNOME Shell were created during GNOME’s User Experience Hackfest 2008 in Boston.[30][31][32]

After criticism of the traditional GNOME desktop and accusations of stagnation and lacking vision,[33] the resulting discussion led to the announcement of GNOME 3.0 in April 2009.[34] Since then Red Hat is the main driver of GNOME Shell’s development.[35]

Pre-release versions of GNOME Shell were first made available in August 2009[36] and became regular, non-default part of GNOME in version 2.28 in September 2009.[37] It was finally shipped as GNOME’s default user interface on 6 April 2011.[38][39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Clasen, Matthias (21 September 2016). "GNOME 3.22". gnome-announce-list (Mailing list). Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Clasen, Matthias (21 September 2016). "GNOME 3.22". gnome-announce-list (Mailing list). Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "GNOME 3 Myths", GNOME Live!, retrieved December 19, 2010 |chapter= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Module Statistics: gnome-shell, retrieved February 14, 2011
  5. ↑ "Planning for GNOME 3.0", GNOME Live!, retrieved March 23, 2011
  6. ↑ Sharma, Apoorva (March 23, 2010), "Why does Gnome-shell replace the current gnome-panel", gnome-shell-list mailing list, retrieved August 18, 2012
  7. ↑ http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20161121#poll
  8. ↑ "GNOME UX Design Team". Retrieved 2014-11-13.
  9. ↑ "GNOME Shell Design". Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  10. ↑ Kissling, Kristian (July 8, 2009), "Mutter: Window Manager in GNOME's Future", Linux Pro Magazine, retrieved March 23, 2011
  11. ↑ Cutler, Paul (July 1, 2009), Behind the Scenes with Owen Taylor, retrieved January 16, 2016
  12. ↑ Taylor, Owen (March 23, 2009), "Metacity, Mutter, GNOME Shell, GNOME-2.28", desktop-devel-list mailing list, retrieved August 18, 2012, gnome-shell is set up as a Mutter plugin that is largely written in JavaScript
  13. ↑ "Mutter 3.13.4 release".
  14. ↑ "GNOME Shell 3.13.4".
  15. ↑ Ljubunčić, Igor (April 6, 2011), Gnome 3 Fallback mode - Get your productivity back, Dedoimedo, retrieved November 25, 2011
  16. ↑ "GNOME 3.7: what is happening now | Goings on". GNOME. 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  17. ↑ "Extensions", GNOME Live!, retrieved November 25, 2011
  18. ↑ Releases/15/FeatureList, Fedora Project, retrieved November 25, 2011
  19. ↑ "OneiricOcelot/ReleaseNotes - Ubuntu Wiki", Ubuntu Wiki, retrieved April 18, 2012
  20. ↑ Andrew (2012-10-19). "Prefer GNOME Shell? Download Ubuntu GNOME Remix 12.10 ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog". Webupd8.org. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  21. ↑ "Introduction to Ubuntu GNOME".
  22. ↑ Portal:12.1, OpenSuSE Project, retrieved November 25, 2011
  23. ↑ Bîru, Ionuț Mircea (April 30, 2011), "GNOME3 in extra", Arch Linux, retrieved December 4, 2011
  24. ↑ "Release Notes", Mageia Wiki, March 7, 2012, retrieved March 24, 2012
  25. ↑ "/ packages / sid (unstable) / gnome / gnome-shell", Debian, retrieved July 10, 2012
  26. ↑ "/ packages / wheezy (testing) / gnome / gnome-shell", Debian, retrieved July 10, 2012
  27. ↑ Taylor, Owen (March 24, 2009), "Re: Metacity, Mutter, GNOME Shell, GNOME-2.28", desktop-devel-list mailing list, retrieved August 18, 2012
  28. ↑ Wallen, Jack (March 28, 2014). "GNOME 3.10 has resurrected what was once the darling of the Linux desktop". TechRepublic. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014.
  29. ↑ Matt Hartley, Chris Fisher (5 January 2014). "In Defense of Gnome 3". Linux Action Show. Jupiter Broadcasting. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "My glimpse at Gnome-Shell". Mad for Ubuntu. Archived from the original on 2010-05-23.
  31. ↑ "User Experience Hackfest". GNOME. 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  32. ↑ "Timeline: The Greatest Show on Earth". Be the signal. 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  33. ↑ "gnome in the age of decadence". wingolog. 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  34. ↑ "Planning for GNOME 3.0". 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  35. ↑ Matthew Garrett (mjg59) wrote, 2010-10-26 18:39:00 (2010-10-26). "mjg59: Fun facts". Mjg59.livejournal.com. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  36. ↑ "ftp.gnome.org". Ftp.acc.umu.se. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  37. ↑ "GNOME 2.28 Release Notes". GNOME. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  38. ↑ "GNOME 2.91.x Development Series". GNOME. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  39. ↑ "GNOME 3.0 with GNOME Shell officially launched | ITProPortal.com". Thinq.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
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