Screenlets is the name of both a set of independently-developed widget applications and the
widget engineIn computer software, a widget engine is a software service available to users for running and displaying applets on a graphical user interface, such as that of the desktop....
which runs them. The engine runs primarily on X11-based
compositing window managerA compositing window manager is a component of a computer's graphical user interface that draws windows and/or their borders. It also controls how they are displayed and interact with each other, and the rest of the desktop environment...
s, most notably with
CompizCompiz is one of the first compositing window managers for the X Window System that uses 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. The effects, such as a minimization effect and a cube workspace are implemented as loadable plugins...
on
LinuxLinux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed,...
.
Screenlets is the name of both a set of independently-developed widget applications and the
widget engineIn computer software, a widget engine is a software service available to users for running and displaying applets on a graphical user interface, such as that of the desktop....
which runs them. The engine runs primarily on X11-based
compositing window managerA compositing window manager is a component of a computer's graphical user interface that draws windows and/or their borders. It also controls how they are displayed and interact with each other, and the rest of the desktop environment...
s, most notably with
CompizCompiz is one of the first compositing window managers for the X Window System that uses 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. The effects, such as a minimization effect and a cube workspace are implemented as loadable plugins...
on
LinuxLinux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed,...
.
Screenlet creation
Until 0.0.14, screenlets were exclusively scripted in
PythonPython is a general-purpose high-level programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
and drawn in
SVGScalable Vector Graphics is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and dynamic Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both...
. Afterward, support was added for
web widgetA web widget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation. They are derived from the idea of code reuse. Other terms used to describe web widgets include: gadget, badge, module, webjit,...
s (widgets which are written in
HTMLHTML, which stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for web pages. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists etc as well as for links, quotes, and other items. It allows images...
,
JavaScriptJavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language used to enable programmatic access to objects within both the client application and other applications. It is primarily used in the form of client-side JavaScript, implemented as an integrated component of the web browser, allowing the...
and
CSSCascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
, similar to widgets for Apple Inc.'s
DashboardDashboard is an application for Apple's Mac OS X operating systems, used for hosting mini-applications known as widgets. First introduced in Tiger, it is a semi-transparent layer that is invisible to the user unless activated by clicking its icon in the Dock...
). The engine also supports
Google GadgetsGoogle Gadgets are dynamic web content that can be placed on any page on the web. Gadgets can be games, mini applications, news feeds, maps or any content. Members of Google's site can add them to their iGoogle page...
.
See also
- gDesklets
gDesklets is a GNOME program which provides the architecture for small applets to be placed on top of the user's desktop. It is comparable to other desktop widget programs...
- Plasma
Plasma, part of KDE 4, is a fundamental rewrite of several desktop interaction technologies included in the KDE desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like systems, focusing on eyecandy and special graphical effects. It most notably replaces the previous KDesktop shell, Kicker taskbar and...
widgets
External links