"Widget" or "Gadget"?

Question

This question is about semantics.

I have a client who says that the term "widget" should only be used when referring to a dynamic object that syndicates your own content on to a third party site. I believe widget can be used to refer to any self-contained dynamic object on a site (your own or a third party). However, my client says that if the object is on your own site, it is a "gadget."

I'm not sure if there is an official definition, but I'm interested to know what is the common understanding of the difference, if any, between the two terms?

Answer 1

IMO, the broad meaning of both is the same. They both mean thing. When used in a particular context, they mean whatever the person defining it says they mean. If your client is talking about a particular tech/tool, then maybe its documentation uses one term or another. But outside of a particular context they mean the same. Similar words include whatchamacallit, whatsit and thingamadoodle. As @Evan Shaw says, make your client happy and use their term.

Answer 2

Dictionary.com:

widg⋅et
-noun
a small mechanical device, as a knob or switch, esp. one whose name is not known or cannot be recalled; gadget: a row of widgets on the instrument panel.

gadg⋅et
-noun
a mechanical contrivance or device; any ingenious article.

'Widget' does not mean 'Window Gadget'. These terms have existed for 150 years in published literature (~85 for 'widget'), and as far as programming goes, it's up to you.

Answer 3

"Widget" means "Window Gadget"

Personally, I don't really like the term 'widget', especially in GUI libraries. I'm still waiting for the library that will provide a 'window' namespace with a 'gadget' class declared in it.

Answer 4

If your client wants to call it a gadget, let him/her call it a gadget. They have similar meanings, neither is really a very technical term, and it's a waste of time to argue the point.