All of the redesigned widgets functionality is in place in trunktrunk A directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision.. Only remaining is some improvement to the visual design for the widgets screen in adminadmin (and super admin).

The new way to add widgets to WordPress is by extending WP_Widget. All widgets created that way have support for multiple instances.

Also all existing widgets will have to be converted to this system as the previous APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. functions will (most likely) be removed in 2.9. This is quite easy and any of the default widgets can be used as an example.

A typical widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. is constructed as follows:

class WP_Widget_Archives extends WP_Widget {
	function WP_Widget_Archives() {
		$widget_ops = array('classname' => 'widget_archive', 'description' => __( "A monthly archive of your blog's posts") );
		$this->WP_Widget(false, __('Archives'), $widget_ops);
	}

	function widget( $args, $instance ) {
		// displays the widget on the front end
	}

	function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) {
		// update the instance's settings
	}

	function form( $instance ) {
		// displays the widget admin form
	}
}

// register the widget
add_action('widgets_init', 'my_super_widget_init');
function my_super_widget_init() {
	register_widget('WP_Widget_Archives');
}

For more details and examples check wp-includes/widgets.php and wp-includes/default-widgets.php.

#widgets