Creating Vista Gadgets: Using HTML, CSS and JavaScript with Examples in RSS, Ajax, ActiveX (COM) and Silverlight

Chapter 2. The Architecture

"The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding."

—Leonardo da Vinci

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Gadgets Overview
• Technology Behind Gadget Development
• Gadget Object Model
• Sidebar Gadgets: The Road Ahead

Gadgets Overview

A gadget is a set of HTML, XML, JavaScript, CSS, and image files packed into one file. A gadget package with an extension .gadget is actually a Zip file that contains these files to run the gadget. Figure 2.1 shows a common layout for a simple gadget.

Normally a gadget contains these folders and files:

• en-US folder

• main.html

• Settings.html

• Flyout.html

• Main.js

• Gadget.xml (with proper mapping)

• Images folder

• Dragicon.png

• Logo.png

• Icon.png

FIGURE 2.1. A gadget contains a few HTML, JavaScript, ...