Chapter 12. Web Site Widgets
Both on the desktop and on the Web, widgets have become a highly sought-after commodity. A widget is a small, self-contained application that performs a specific function. Programs like the Yahoo! Widget Engine (http://widgets.yahoo.com/) offers users a platform to run widgets on their computers. Ranging from newsreaders to eBay feedback monitors, these widgets provide useful information to people that want them. They are applications that require little to no setup and perform only their allotted function.
On the Web, most widgets are DHTML-based and designed to emulate operating system controls such as menus, structure trees, and toolbars. While these widgets have provided a means to emulate traditional applications, they don't offer much more than that. With the introduction of Ajax, web widgets are changing to incorporate data manipulation and retrieval, creating rich widgets that have traditionally been found only on the desktop.
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