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Moderators: martimiz, Sean, Ed, biapar, Willr, Ingo, swaiba

Modules vs. Widgets


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3 Posts   3514 Views

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yaizo

Community Member, 19 Posts

24 August 2009 at 12:26am

hello,

i know this must be a very stupid question: but i dont get it anyhow. i do not understand the diffrence between a Modul and Widget.
can anybody tell me what the main diffrence is? i found this link: http://doc.silverstripe.com/doku.php?id=widgets#writing_your_own_widgets# to create own widgets. but how can i create a module? is a module in connection to DataObjectManager ?

if anyone knows a very useful link thanks for this information :) ...

m. = a greenhorn

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JoshuaLewis

Community Member, 81 Posts

24 August 2009 at 1:30am

I haven't much experience with either but here is my understanding.

Modules in some way extend the functionality of Silverstripe and are generally more complex in what they effect/change and how.
Examples would be the blog or forum modules that each add a set of multiple pieces of functionality that make running a blog or forum from Silverstipe possible.

Widgets on the other hand tend to extend the functionality of pages and are usually more simple and restricted/contained in what they effect and how.

An analogy would be that modules are like installing a full heating and Air Conditioning system in a building versus widgets that are like putting a plug-in space heater or window AC unit in a single room.

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dhensby

Community Member, 253 Posts

25 August 2009 at 6:31am

A widget is a small piece of content or functionality that a CMS user can add to a site. Where as a module is added functionality that is added by the site admin to extend or enhance overall functionality of the site or CMS.

Widgets are probably best used by have a sidebar in your design and a user could choose to add widgets you make such as:
A quick newsletter sign-up
a twitter feed
latest news

It basically means that the site is more felxible and customisable as a user can choose what widgets appear where, rather than the design being rigid and saying 'this page must have a sign-up form in the sidebar'.