Windows sidebar

Windows sidebar

Windows SidebarThe Windows Sidebar is a lockable panel on the Windows Vista desktop, similar to the Microsoft Windows Taskbar, that is able to host and manage mini-applications known as "gadgets".

Introduction to Gadgets

A gadget is an HTML and script-based application designed to present the user with a limited set of information or functionality obtained from other applications, controls, or Web sites and services. Gadgets, although hosted by the Sidebar, are not confined to the Sidebar area; the user can undock and move them onto the desktop as desired.

A gadget is distributed as a .gadget file—a renamed .zip archive—consisting of a collection of XML, HTML, Microsoft JScript, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) files. Installation consists of downloading the .gadget file and allowing the download process to install the gadget or saving the .gadget file to the local system and double-clicking to start the installation process.

Users can run multiple instances of a gadget simultaneously. For example, if users want to know the time in different time zones, they can run multiple instances of the clock gadget, setting each clock to a specific time zone. A user might want to view slideshows of pictures from two or more different folders at the same time. This is possible because the gadget platform provides methods to store settings and automatically associate settings with the correct instance of each gadget. All current gadget settings are saved when the user logs out or restarts. If the Sidebar is on by default, then all gadget instances will run automatically upon startup, and each gadget instance will run with the correct settings.

（转MSDN）

简单地说sidebar就是Vista系统上有名的侧边栏,这个工具是由HTML,XML,JS(等客户端脚本),CSS组成.然后

打包成一个.gadget后缀的工具包.动行在sidebar上面.