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Information about Widget (computing)

This article is about the widgets used in computer programming. For other uses, see widget.


In computer programming, a widget (or control) is an interface element that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box. Widgets are sometimes qualified as virtual to distinguish them from their physical counterparts, e.g. virtual buttons that can be clicked with a mouse cursor, vs. physical buttons that can be pressed with a finger. Widgets are often packaged together in widget toolkits. Programmers use widgets to build graphical user interfaces (GUIs).

Etymology

The term was first applied to user interface elements during Project Athena in the 1980s. The word was chosen because "all other common terms were overloaded with inappropriate connotations" and – since the project's Intrinsics toolkit associated each widget with a window of the underlying X Window System – because of the common prefix with the word window. [1]

Various widgets

Layout

  • systematic
  • tiles (frames)
  • docking
  • grid
  • free
  • windows (on a form or on the desktop)
  • by
  • programmer and then fixed at compilation
  • user

See also

References

1. ^ Ralph R. Swick, Mark S. Ackerman (1988). "The X Toolkit: More Bricks for Building User-Interfaces, or, Widgets for Hire". USENIX Winter: 221–228. Retrieved on 2007-01-03. 


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Elements of graphical user interfaces
About box · Accordion · Balloon help · Button · Check box · Combo box · Combutcon · Context menu · Dialog box · Disclosure widget · Drop-down list · File dialog · Grid view · Heads-up display · Icon · Label · List box · Menu · Menu bar · Pie menu · Progress bar · Radio button · Ribbon · Scrollbar · Sidebar · Slider · Spinner · Status bar · Tab · Text box · Toolbar · Tooltip · Tree view · Widget
Widget may refer to:
  • Widget (economics), a placeholder name for an object or, more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device
  • In computing:
  • Widget engine, such as Dashboard widgets for Apple's Mac OS X v10.

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window is a visual area, usually rectangular in shape, containing some kind of user interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one of a number of simultaneously running computer processes.
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A text box, text field or text entry box is a common element of graphical user interface of computer programs, as well as the corresponding type of widget used when programming GUIs.
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button (sometimes known as a command button or push button) is a widget that provides the user a simple way to trigger an event, like searching for a query at a search engine, or to interact with dialog boxes, like confirming his actions.
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cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input.

In most command line interfaces, the cursor is an underscore, a solid rectangle, or a vertical line, which may be flashing or steady, indicating where
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push-button (often simply "button" or "pushbutton") is a simple switch mechanism for controlling some aspect of a machine or a process. Buttons are typically made out of hard material, usually plastic or metal.
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A widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of generic widgets for use in designing graphical user interfaces. Widgets that are part of a toolkit typically adhere to a unified design specification, including aesthetics and possibly an application
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graphical user interface (GUI) is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with a computer and computer-controlled devices which employ graphical icons, visual indicators or special graphical elements called "widgets", along with text, labels or text
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Project Athena was a joint project of MIT, Digital Equipment Corporation, and IBM. It was launched in 1983, and research and development ran through June 30, 1991, eight years after it began.
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worldwide view of the subject.
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Intrinsics (also known as Xt, for X toolkit) is a library used in the X Window System. More precisely, it is a library that uses the low-level Xlib library and provides a friendly (object-oriented-looking) API to develop X11 software with graphical widgets.
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X Window System (commonly X11 or X) is a display protocol which provides windowing on bitmap displays. It provides the standard toolkit and protocol to build graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on Unix-like operating systems and OpenVMS, and has been ported to all other
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button (sometimes known as a command button or push button) is a widget that provides the user a simple way to trigger an event, like searching for a query at a search engine, or to interact with dialog boxes, like confirming his actions.
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toggle switch is a class of electrical switches that uses a mechanical lever, handle or rocking mechanism to actuate them.

Toggle switches are available in many different styles and sizes, and are used in countless applications. Many are designed to provide, e.g.
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In computing, a check box (checkbox, tickbox, or tick box) is a graphical user interface element (widget) that permits the user to make multiple selections from a number of options.
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For information on radios, see .
A radio button or option button (sometimes improperly referenced as "radial button") is a type of graphical user interface widget that allows the user to choose one of a predefined set of options.
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A slider is a graphical widget in a GUI with which a user may set a value by moving an indicator, usually in a horizontal fashion. In some cases the user may also click on a point on the slider to change the setting.
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list box is a GUI widget that allows the user to select one or more items from a list contained within a static, multiple line text box. The user clicks inside the box on an item to select it, holding the Shift or Control (Command for Mac users) key allows him or her to make
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A spinner is a graphical widget in a GUI, typically oriented vertically, with which a user may adjust a value in an adjoining text box by either clicking on an up or down arrow, or by holding the arrow down, causing the value in the text box to increase (if the up arrow is held
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drop-down list is a user interface control GUI element similar to a list box which allows the user to choose one value from a list. When a drop-down list is inactive it displays a single value.
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menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. They may be thought of as shortcuts to frequently used commands that avoid the operator having to have a detailed knowledge or recall of syntax.
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context menu (or contextual menu, shortcut menu) is commonly used for menus which pop up when clicking an item in a graphical user interface, offering a list of options which vary depending on the context of the action, the application running, and the item selected.
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A pie menu (sometimes called radial menu or marking menu) is a circular popup menu where selection depends on direction. A pie menu is made of several "pie slices" around an inactive center and works best with stylus input, and well with a mouse.
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toolbar is a row, column, or block of onscreen buttons or icons that, when clicked, activate certain functions of the program. Earlier forms of toolbars were defined by the programmer and had set functions.
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The ribbon is a graphical user interface widget composed of a strip across the top of the window that exposes all functions the program can perform in a single place, with additional ribbons appearing based on the context of the data.
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A combo box is a commonly-used GUI widget. It is a combination of a drop-down list or list box and a single-line textbox, allowing the user either to type a value directly into the control or choose from the list of existing options.
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A text box, text field or text entry box is a common element of graphical user interface of computer programs, as well as the corresponding type of widget used when programming GUIs.
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menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. They may be thought of as shortcuts to frequently used commands that avoid the operator having to have a detailed knowledge or recall of syntax.
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list box is a GUI widget that allows the user to select one or more items from a list contained within a static, multiple line text box. The user clicks inside the box on an item to select it, holding the Shift or Control (Command for Mac users) key allows him or her to make
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computer icon is a small pictogram. Icons have been used to supplement the normal alphanumerics of the computer. Modern computers now can handle bitmapped graphics on the display terminal, so the icons are widely used to assist users.
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