What's the real meaning of a widget?

[Mike Opar]

I googled on the keywords Android and widgets, hoping to find clear definition of a widget. But all the definitions are vague and could be applied to any apps.

My feeling is that a widget is a small app that runs in the background at all times, as a separate thread. Usually, it displays something or waits for input at all times. As opposed to an app that has to be started/terminated explicitly when the need arises. If this is the definition of a widget then it is the oldest concept in multi-tasking operating system where such concept used to be called a background process. If this is so, then why it is said that widgets are unique to Android. I bet iPhone has them too but under a different name. What is so unique about widgets?

 

[psionandy]

App Widgets are miniature application views that can be embedded in other applications (such as the Home screen) and receive periodic updates. These views are referred to as Widgets in the user interface, and you can publish one with an App Widget provider. An application component that is able to hold other App Widgets is called an App Widget host. The screenshot below shows the Music App Widget.

https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html

 

[Mike Opar]

App Widgets are miniature application views that can be embedded in other applications (such as the Home screen) and receive periodic updates. These views are referred to as Widgets in the user interface, and you can publish one with an App Widget provider. An application component that is able to hold other App Widgets is called an App Widget host. The screenshot below shows the Music App Widget.

https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html

I am not asking about how a user perceives a widget because the perception is subjective. I am asking about the software implementation of a widget (versus an app) where the real definition is

 

[Slug]

I googled on the keywords Android and widgets, hoping to find clear definition of a widget.

"Widgets are an essential aspect of home screen customization. You can imagine them as "at-a-glance" views of an app's most important data and functionality that is accessible right from the user's home screen. Users can move widgets across their home screen panels, and, if supported, resize them to tailor the amount of information within a widget to their preference."

Source: Android Developers - Widgets

I bet iPhone has them too but under a different name.

Nope, nothing even close.

I am asking about the software implementation of a widget (versus an app) where the real definition is

The two links above should give you all the answers you need, as they lead to developers' resources.

 

[funkylogik]

You pretty much summed it up in your 1st post

 

[EarlyMon]

iOS has relied on cooperative multitasking for years rather than the more modern and common preemptive multitasking.

In the past, the best you could hope for was screen music player control.

Only recently has it been able to support its own version of widgets, only for certain apps and only in the notification center. (The first was the one for Twitter and they claimed at launch that Android had nothing like it. The faithful believed them.)

http://bgr.com/2014/09/18/ios-8-install-and-use-widgets/

If you jailbreak, you can put that on your lock screen.


http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-get-ios-8-widgets-to-show-directly-on-the-lock-screen/

Android has had home screen, lock screen and notification widgets basically all along.

In addition to app widgets, Android includes settings widgets.

Widgets gained popularity on X Windows in Unix. Later, Apple introduced the Dashboard and Dashboard Widgets on OS X. A few years left, Microsoft added them to Windows as Gadgets (thinking that they didn't want to be confused with the Apple widgets lol.