Web widget
- This article is about computer programming. For other uses of widget, see widget.
Definition
A Web Widget is a portable software application, or module, that can be installed and executed within one, or more separate browser-based (ex: Internet Explorer, Firefox) content aggregation platforms (ex: MySpace, Blogger (service), Netvibes) by an end user (computer science) without requiring additional compilation. Other terms used to describe a Web Widget include Gadget, Badge, Module, Capsule, Snippet. Web Widget applications are usually created by software developers using the Adobe Flash, or JavaScript programming languages.
Widget Examples
Many Start Pages have directories complete with listings and references to widgets that work with their respective platforms. Some examples are listed below.
Other examples of Widgets existing outside of these galleries include:
Widget Drop Targets
Web Widgets can be utilized by end users to enhance a number of web-based applications, or drop targets. Categories of drop targets include social networks, blogs, and personal homepages. Although Web Widgets are primarily used by to enhance their personal web experiences, or the web experiences of visitors to their personal sites, Web Widgets could also potentially be used to by corporations to improve their web sites using syndicated content and functionality from third party providers.
Etymology
Some say that the word "widget" is derived from the combination of "window" and "gadget". This is unlikely. The earliest known occurrence of the word "widget" is in Beggar on Horseback (1924), a comedy play written by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. The hero of this play is a struggling composer who must choose between creating music that stimulates his soul (but earns no money) or earning a living by accepting a soul-deadening job in a factory that makes "widgets". The text of the play intentionally refrains from revealing what "widgets" are; clearly, they represent any purely mercantile commodity that has no artistic or spiritual value.