Why a Widget? Whats the diff?

[cyber3d]

What is the difference between a widget and an program? I wanted to add an icon to the desktop and I found LED Flashlight in both my widget list and the program list. Why do we have widgets at all?

 

[jasonb]

Widgets will be a quicker way to access the app or do what the app is meant to do with the push of one button. They may also automatically update certain info. Like the sportstap widget will show you the score of a game right on the home screen w/o doing anything at all. A weather widget will automatically update weather.

 

[wuyanks]

widgets are programs that run in the background on your homescreens. and thus you can use them as programs without executing them first. and they update on their own, as jasonb said

 

[coondogg97]

If you use the LED flashlight widget your LED light will come on as soon as you tap the widget. Adding the LED Flashlight app to your home screen will launch the app and then allow you to start the LED flashlight.

A widget is a "live" program for lack of a better word.

 

[jasonb]

If you use the LED flashlight widget your LED light will come on as soon as you tap the widget. Adding the LED Flashlight app to your home screen will launch the app and then allow you to start the LED flashlight.

A widget is a "live" program for lack of a better word.

Exactly!!!

 

[shademar]

One of the most useful aspects of widgets is that they allow you to embed things in your home screens without opening a program, allowing for quick access to information and control over how things look. You can turn on and off a flashlight app with one click or instance, but also much more. Try turning on the innate 'Power control' widget for a very useful tool that gives you a good idea how they work (controls wifi/bluetooth/GPS/sync/brightness from one easy-access menu).

For a market-available example, check out this calendar (pure calendar grid):

or the clock/weather widget and calendar task widget (pure calendar) here: