widget
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widget
1. Informal any small mechanism or device, the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten
2. a small device in a beer can which, when the can is opened, releases nitrogen gas into the beer, giving it a head
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
widget
(1)A meta-thing. Used to stand for a real object in didactic
examples (especially database tutorials). Legend has it that
the original widgets were holders for buggy whips. "But
suppose the parts list for a widget has 52 entries..."
widget
(2)[possibly evoking "window gadget"] In graphical user
interfaces, a combination of a graphic symbol and some program
code to perform a specific function. E.g. a scroll-bar or
button. Windowing systems usually provide widget libraries
containing commonly used widgets drawn in a certain style and
with consistent behaviour.
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