Web widget and mashup
Definition
“A web widget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation. They are akin to plugins or extensions in desktop applications. Other terms used to describe a Web Widget include Gadget, Badge, Module, Capsule, Snippet, Mini and Flake.” (Web widget, Wikipedia, retrieved 17:47, 14 May 2007 (MEST)).
What are web widgets ?
Most Web widgets or web gadgets allow to insert web 2.0 applications into a webpage. This technology is increasingly popular, e.g. on 17:47, 14 May 2007 (MEST) Google lists over 6000 and Widgetbox over 10000. Most widgets are probably based on RSS feeds. But some widgets exist as Desktop widgets or can be converted from a web widget to a desktop widget.
Web widgets are used to build mashups, a website, a web application or desktop applications that combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience.
Template:Quoatation (Vint Cerf interview with J.C. Perez, retrieved 17:47, 14 May 2007 (MEST))
Implementation
Web Widgets often but not always use Adobe Flash or JavaScript programming languages. The widget code itselft is usually very small and connects to some server application.
How to use widgets
Basically, an enduser has several choices (depending on the technology)
- Get a widget insertion code from a widget site
Usually there is "get the code" button that will display some short javascript code which you then can insert into a web page. Unfortunately it's not so easy to find widgets of interest to educators, since the most popular widgets focus on specific information or games ...
- Use a service that supports widgets
Webtops and similar software provide users with a larger set of widgets from which they then can compose an "ajax start page"
- webtop
- An increasing amount of social software services
See:
- Use browser, application or OS-dependent widgets
How to create widgets
Some services have widget creation kits for a certain number of widgets. E.g. iGoogle allows you to create photos, "daily me", you tube channel, personal list...
To program widgets is another issue ....
Links
Widget management sites
(widgets to download, needs to be sorted out at some point ...)
- Widgetbox. s a directory and syndication platform for web widgets for blogs and other web pages. Claim to work with TypePad, WordPress, Blogger, MySpace as well as most other blogs, sidebars or websites.
- Snipperoo (free registration required).
- WidSets (for your mobile phone)
- TagWorld Widgets (free registration required)
- Desktop
- Microsoft Live gadgets
- Yahoo widgets (works with widgets 4 application, Win/MacOS)
Other
- programmableweb Keeping you up to date with the latest on mashups and the new Web 2.0 APIs
References
= Vision / Overviews
- MacManus, Richard (2006). Widgets are the new black, Read/Write Web. HTML
- Kirkpatrick, Marshall (2006), PostApp launches WidgetBox, a marketplace for widgets, TechCrunch. [1]
- Mix, Match, And Mutate, BusinessWeek article.