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This document describes widgets. It covers the packaging format, the manifest file config.xml, and scripting interfaces for working with widgets. The type of widgets that are addressed by this document are usually small client-side applications for displaying and updating remote data, packaged in a way to allow a single download and installation on a client machine. The widget may execute outside of the typical web browser interface. Widgets are web applications which use the browser as an environment to run in, but which do not have the usual browser chrome. They are installed on a local client, and have several features that are not available to regular web applications, such as a more explicit security model to allow them to perform a wider range of tasks easily, and a persistent information store apart from cookies.

JSR 168 defines portlets as Java-based Web components, managed by a portlet container, that process requests and generate dynamic content. Portals use portlets as pluggable user interface components that provide a presentation layer to information systems.

This article will walk through the development of a simple portlet application to demonstrate the inner workings of a compliant portlet.