Questions[looking-glass](ubuntu)

when defining Gjs classes within the scope of an extension, Because they can be assigned to a variable for later usage, there is a handle (namely the variable they are assigned to) to use them throughout the code.

var myClass = new Lang.Class({Name:'thisClass',...});
var instance = new myClass();

but attempting to use these classes that are defined within extensions, within the scope of looking glass, is not possible since there is no global variable assigned to them as a handle that I know of.

they are definitely globally defined since declaring a Gjs class of the same name triggers an error in looking glass.

//the following executed is within the scope of looking glass while an exctension including a class with the same name is running
var myClassLG = new Lang.Class({Name:'thisClass',...});
// returns <exception Error: Type of Gjs_thisClass is already registered.>


var myClassLG = new Lang.Class({Name:'thisClassWithDifferentNameButSameContent',...});
// this works
var instance = new myClassLG();

so is there a way to use these classes within the scope of looking glass without having to re-declare them with a different name?

I've got the following snippet of code that (in the looking glass) gives me a list of contacts I have (managed by gnome-contacts):

// METHOD 1:
const ContactDisplay = imports.ui.contactDisplay;
let csp = new ContactDisplay.ContactSearchProvider();
let contacts = csp.getInitialResultSet(['']);
contacts.length // 120 contacts

// METHOD 2:
const ContactSystem = Shell.ContactSystem;
let cs = ContactSystem.get_default();
let contacts2 = cs.initial_search(['']);
contacts2.length // 120 contacts

This two pieces of code are (as far as I know) equivalent, as ContactSearchProvider's getInitialResultSet basically calls the initial_search method of ContactSystem.get_default().

However, when I put these same bits of code into a gnome shell extension (say the enable method), and I global.log(contacts.length) or global.log(contacts2.length), I always get 0.

Hence for some reason this code works in looking-glass but not in an extension. Why is this? Are the contacts not loaded at the point the extension is executed? Is the contact search provider somehow not connected up to me? How can I work around it?

I know that title bar of windows can be removed in {g,d}conf-editor or by modifying the metacity theme. However, I want to have some rather complex rules for showing title bars or not (like hide the title bar if the window is tiled) and an extension is the only way I can think of to do this. MetaWindow.get_frame doesn't seem to be accessible in js, is there a way to control the decoration of windows in a gnome-shell extension?

THX.

Is there a drop down terminal as smooth as gnome-shell's 'looking glass' that has a normal bash shell?

Gnome-shell's looking glass (alt+f2 then lg then enter) is so smooth. I'd like to see a simple gnome-terminal session in a drop down that smooth.

I know you can smooth drop down Tilda, but, well, it flashes and it's not that smooth. I dislike Guake's excessive ui chrome and yukake is outta place. Any other solutions? Has anyone taken the 'looking glass' code and baked a gnome-terminal into it?