IBM Business Monitor, V8.0.1 > Reference > Developing for Monitor dashboard spaces > Overview of widgets
Environment for developing a widget
To develop widgets, you need an environment for coding, running, testing, and viewing them.
Widgets are client-side user interface components that consist of an XML descriptor with optional JavaScript and HTML resources. Widgets can be developed using any web authoring tools and can be written in a variety of web technologies from HTML and JavaScript to Flex. In particular, Rational Application Developer and Integration Designer provide an authoring environment (editors) for developing widgets.
Editor
The editor you work with is a matter of preference. Even a simple text editor such as Microsofth If pad is sufficient. However, because you are working with either XML or JavaScript, an editor or set of editors that are designed for XML or JavaScript code will make your coding easier in terms of checking the code and handling the formatting. Rational Application Developer and Integration Designer are good examples of products with these capabilities.
Browser
As with the editor, your browser is a matter of preference. Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer are popular browsers used for widget development. Rational Application Developer and Integration Designer also have the capability of launching browsers such as Firefox or Internet Explorer.
Deploying, registering and testing
After you develop your widgets, you need to deploy them. This means packaging them by creating an enterprise archive (EAR) file and a web archive (WAR) file and deploying them to a server. You also need to register your widgets with the server. Then you should test your widgets; that is, start your server, create a business space and a new page, and work with them like a user would. You might find certain browser add-ons useful for testing, debugging, and analyzing your widgets.
Related concepts:
Anatomy of a widget
Related tasks:
Create widgets
Packaging and deploying custom widgets