Software widget

A desk accessory or applet is an example of a simple, stand-alone user interface, in contrast with a more complex application such as a spreadsheet or word processor.

These widgets are typical examples of transient and auxiliary applications that don't monopolize the user's attention.

On the other hand, graphical control elements (GUI "widgets") are examples of reusable modular components that are used together to build a more complex application, allowing programmers to build user interfaces by combining simple, smaller components.

Examples of widget engines include: Originally, desk accessories were developed to provide a small degree of multitasking in operating systems that could only held one main application at a time, but when real multitasking OSes became available, these were replaced by normal applications.

A web widget is a portable application installed and executed, typically by non-expert webmasters on HTML-based web pages, to offer site visitors shopping, advertisements, videos, or other simple functionality from third party widget publishers.

The web is an environment well suited to distribution of widgets, as it doesn't require explicit interaction from the user to install new code snippets.

Web widgets have unleashed some commercial interest, due their perceived potential as a marketing channel, mainly because they provide interactivity and viral distribution through social networks.

Wookie is a server that manages widget instances and allows them to be embedded in web applications in addition to being provided for client devices such as Opera.

Toolkits are used by GUI programmers, who combine several widgets (reusable components) to form a single application.