WidgetPublisher:Choosing The Right Format And Understanding Requirements
From WidgetAvenue
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Widgets can be developed using a wide variety of standard formats, plus a proprietary format (waHTML/waJS). The following points should be considered when choosing a source format.
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Flash/ActionScript
Benefits
- Flash is the only format which allows to play multimedia content on many platforms.
- waHTML/waJS or HTML/JS widgets do not support Flash embedding, so it is recommended to use the Flash format directly.
- ActionScript can be used to communicate with the wrapper and contextual functions.
Requirements
- Flash version: no specific requirement. However AS3 should be used to communicate with the environment of the widget using ActionScript.
- Size: It is advised to use resizable swfs rather than fixed size, as rendering on startpages will be nicer. If a fixed size is preferred, suggested width is 300 px. Otherwise, if the swf file is resizable, the width can vary from 200 px to 400 px.
Parameters
Issues
- Flash is not supported on mobile platforms.
- On certain desktop platforms (Vista Sidebar, Apple Dashboard), transparency is not supported, so it is advised to use a rectangular shape.
- On Apple Dashboard external links and mouse over events will not work. Additionally, there are special requirements for Flash to work: see Using Flash Widgets On Apple Dashboard.
Useful links
- Flash widgets examples
- Creating A Flash Widget
- Flash Specific Parameters
- Using Flash Widgets On Apple Dashboard
HTML/JS
Benefits
- HTML/JS widgets are simpler to develop than waHTML/waJS
Requirements
- HTML or Javascript versions: no specific requirements
- Size: a fixed size is required, suggested width and heigt are between 200 and 300 px.
Parameters
Issues
- HTML/JS widgets do not work well on Desktop host platforms (for example, links do not work on Apple Dashboard)
- They do not resize properly on startPages.
- This format is also generally not suitable for mobile host platforms.
- HTML/JS widgets are rendered inside an iframe, so they have to be rectangular.
waHTML/waJS
waHTML and waJS are subsets of HTML and Javascript with specific tags and functions.
Benefits
Using waHTML/waJS provides major benefits:
- waHTML/waJS is the most universal format: unlike other formats, it works perfectly on mobile and desktop platforms
- the widget is sized depending on the space available. This is particularly interesting with Startpages, where the space is limited and may vary depending on the width of the columns
- the widget inherits the CSS style of the website where it resides. This is also interesting for Startpages, where a user may not be willing to have as many different visual styles as there are widgets
- Custom Preferences can be set and stored on the host platform (where appropriate) directly from inside the widget
- waHTML/waJS widgets support transparency, so they do not need to be rectangular
Requirements
In order to develop a widget using waHTML/waJS, it is required to follow waHTML and waJS specific guidelines.
Parameters
- root name is "html"
Useful links
- waHTML/waJS widgets examples
- Creating A Hello World waHTML/waJS Widget
- Adding Javascript to a waHTML/waJS widget
- Using Ajax in a waHTML/waJS widget
- waHTML reference
- waJS reference
