Development

Gimmie is written entirely in Python, and uses PyGTK.

[edit] Source Code

Gimmie source code is stored in the Gnome Subversion repository, in the "gimmie" module. See the GNOME Subversion Tutorial for more information.

To check out the most recent Gimmie code, just run this command:

$ svn co http://svn.gnome.org/svn/gimmie/trunk gimmie

You can also browse the repository online.

[edit] Bugs

Please report bugs using Gnome's Bugzilla.

[edit] Development Discussion

To discuss Gimmie development, sign up for the Gimmie discussion group (hosted by Google Groups).

You may also have luck finding Gimmie developers using IRC by visiting the #gimmie channel on Gnome's IRC server (irc.gnome.org:6667).

[edit] Current Development

Release Cycle: 0.3.x Unstable

Gimmie is currently in an unstable release cycle, where new features are added and major changes being made at a cost to stability.

The imminent release will be gimmie-0.3.0 and it hopefully be released quite soon. Take a look at the Roadmap, containing tasks to be done. Help appreciated!

Check out the Gimmie 0.3.x TODO for details on areas where help is needed from new contributors in the 0.3.x timeframe.

[edit] Terms Used in the Code

Item

a thingie: possibly a local or remote file, url, buddy, printer or any other activatable object. Has an icon, name, url, timestamp, description, open action, etc.

ItemSource

Provides a list of Items, has a name, icon, name, url

Topic (aka Tab)

Visual window/drop-down menu listing Sources in a sidebar, and the Items for a selected Source in a main content area. Also has a toolbar, and search entry. Has name, icon, color.

Plugin

Python script providing Sources, possibly installed with Gimmie package, or installed in user's plugin directory.

[edit] Related Reading/Links

• Tog on Software: The Dock Sucks
• The Mozilla Desktop
• iClip -- clipboard manager for OSX
• DragThing -- awesome dock replacement for OSX

[edit] User Submitted Hacks

NOTE: These should be put into bugzilla, instead of here.

My first attempt at hacking Gimmie was to remove the open/closed indication from the icons. This allows me to get much more use out of my favorite section - the People section! - since icon fading now indicates person online status. Icons that don't fade

In my opinion Beryl is a great complement to Gimmie - especially its scale feature. I decided to take that relationship one step further by modifying the behavior of Gimmie icons to initiate a Beryl scale when clicking on an icon that has more than one window open. Using Beryl for window switching