Bsrgvty

In computer science we are more or less used to the term widget:

An application, or a component of an interface, that enables a user to perform a function or access a service.

The user interface for the Stack Exchange sites hosts several of these widgets. The word is being used as is in Spanish, as the Spanish entry for the word is found untranslated in the Wikipedia. Nonetheless, it offers an alternative in Spanish: artilugio, which is the translation for gadget, and is defined as "mechanism, artifact" among other meanings.

Is there a better word in Spanish to convey what a widget is?

Cuando no quiero usar widget, la palabra que uso es componente:

componente

1. adj. Que compone o entra en la composición de un todo.

El contexto se encarga de dejar claro que me refiero a un componente visual:

Tras evaluar la librería Javascript para la galería de imágenes, he creado un componente GWT para que podáis incluirla en las pantallas que queráis sin necesidad de implementar lógica adicional.

No quiero imaginar la cara que habrían puesto mis compañeros si en vez de componente hubiese usado "adminículo" — por correcta que sea :D

Yes, there is:

adminículo

Del lat. adminicŭlum.

1. m. Aquello que sirve de ayuda o auxilio para una cosa o intento.

In English:

Something that serves as help or assistance for a thing or attempt.

You may use "control" in some cases, in the senses 7 or 8 of what Real Academia Española says (strongly related to 5):

control Del fr. contrôle.

1. m. Comprobación, inspección, fiscalización, intervención.




2. m. Dominio, mando, preponderancia.




3. m. Oficina, despacho, dependencia, etc., donde se controla.




4. m. puesto de control.




5. m. Regulación, manual o automática, sobre un sistema.




6. m. testigo (‖ muestra).




7. m. Mando o dispositivo de regulación.




8. m. Tablero o panel donde se encuentran los mandos. U. m. en pl.




9. m. Examen parcial para comprobar la marcha de los alumnos.

for example if you want to refer to sliders or other things that respond to user command.

In Argentina we tend to go with the english word (with spanglish accent, of course :P). Informally, I'd say "coso" or "cosito" (depending on the size of the widget, probably)

In Costa Rica they use “chunche” which means “thingamajig”. That will at least get you by, no?

EDIT:
(first, grassyass for the negative vote)
I got to thinking how I was introduced to the word in regards to manufacturing of any small device and came back and googled "the origin of the word widget".
noun INFORMAL
noun: widget; plural noun: widgets
a small gadget or mechanical device, especially one whose name is unknown or unspecified.
COMPUTING
an application, or a component of an interface, that enables a user to perform a function or access a service.
Origin
1930s: perhaps an alteration of gadget.
Translate widget to Spanish:
"widget"

Then, on down the page I found more verification that the word originated to describe a mechanical thingy, even though currently used as a term for a computer item (which I guess was the original question).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Look up widget in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The word widget is a placeholder name for an object or, more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device. It is an abstract unit of production.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "An indefinite name for a gadget or mechanical contrivance, esp. a small manufactured item" and dates this use back to 1931. It states that the origin is "perhaps U.S." and for etymology suggests that it may be a variant of gadget.[2] However, the term also appears earlier in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1924 play Beggar on Horseback.[3]

General Motors Corporation sponsored a short film in 1939, "Round and Round", which features widgets throughout.[4][5]

When discussing a hypothetical situation, the term is used to represent any type of personal property, with the corresponding term Blackacre used to represent any type of real property. In such use, the widget or Blackacre has whatever characteristics are relevant to the scenario. So, if the object being discussed needs to be a liquid, then the widget is liquid. If it needs to be light, heavy, manufactured, naturally occurring or whatever, the widget has the necessary characteristics. In technology, the term has a variant, gigawidget, which is used to describe an object that is fictitious. The term is also used for obfuscation, if the object's real technology, composition, or purpose is unknown.[6]

Usage
"Widget" is used in texts and speech, especially in the context of accounting, to indicate a hypothetical "any-product". Companies in such texts will frequently be given names such as "ABC Widgets" or "Acme Widget Corp." to indicate that the particular business of the hypothetical company is not relevant to the topic of discussion.[7]