<s>
A	O
phidget	B-Application
is	O
a	O
physical	O
representation	O
or	O
implementation	O
of	O
a	O
GUI	O
widget	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phidgets	B-Application
are	O
a	O
system	O
of	O
low-cost	O
electronic	O
components	O
and	O
sensors	O
that	O
are	O
controlled	O
by	O
a	O
personal	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
the	O
Universal	O
Serial	O
Bus	O
(	O
USB	B-Protocol
)	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
all	O
phidgets	B-Application
,	O
the	O
complexity	O
is	O
managed	O
behind	O
an	O
Application	B-Application
Programming	I-Application
Interface	I-Application
(	O
API	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applications	O
can	O
be	O
developed	O
in	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
CE	I-Operating_System
and	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phidgets	B-Application
are	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
build	O
physical	O
analogue	O
to	O
software	O
widgets	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
construction	O
of	O
complex	O
physical	O
systems	O
out	O
of	O
simpler	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phidgets	B-Application
are	O
designed	O
and	O
produced	O
by	O
Phidgets	B-Application
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
phidget	B-Application
(	O
physical	O
widget	O
)	O
is	O
attached	O
to	O
a	O
host	O
computer	O
via	O
USB	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
various	O
phidgets	B-Application
available	O
,	O
each	O
having	O
a	O
counterpart	O
class	O
in	O
the	O
phidget	B-Application
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
each	O
phidget	B-Application
is	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
host	O
computer	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
made	O
available	O
to	O
control	O
in	O
the	O
API	B-Application
,	O
where	O
its	O
state	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
and	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phidgets	B-Application
arose	O
out	O
of	O
a	O
research	O
project	O
in	O
2001	O
directed	O
by	O
Saul	O
Greenberg	O
at	O
the	O
Department	O
of	O
Computer	O
Science	O
,	O
University	O
of	O
Calgary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phidgets	B-Application
can	O
be	O
programmed	O
using	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
software	O
and	O
programming	O
languages	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
Java	B-Language
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adobe	O
Director	O
,	O
AutoIt	O
,	O
C#	O
,	O
C/C	O
++	O
,	O
Cocoa	O
,	O
Delphi	O
,	O
Flash	O
AS3	O
,	O
Flex	O
AS3	O
,	O
Java	B-Language
,	O
LabVIEW	O
,	O
MATLAB	O
,	O
Max/MSP	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
Robotics	O
Studio	O
1.5	O
,	O
Python	O
Module	O
(	O
version	O
:	O
2.1.6.20100317	O
)	O
,	O
REALBasic	O
,	O
Visual	O
Basic	O
.NET	B-Application
,	O
Visual	O
Basic	O
6.0	O
,	O
Visual	O
Basic	O
for	O
Applications	O
,	O
Visual	O
Basic	O
Script	O
,	O
Visual	O
C/C	O
++	O
/Borland	O
and	O
FlowStone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
phidget	B-Application
API	B-Application
is	O
what	O
allows	O
systems	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
phidget	B-Application
devices	O
in	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-Application
allows	O
the	O
management	O
of	O
devices	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
attached	O
,	O
to	O
subscribe	O
to	O
events	O
and	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
phidgets	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
API	B-Application
is	O
originally	O
written	O
in	O
C	B-Language
and	O
has	O
been	O
extended	O
to	O
work	O
in	O
numerous	O
languages	O
including	O
.NET	B-Application
and	O
Java	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
TextLCD	O
–	O
A	O
20	O
character	O
*	O
2	O
line	O
LCD	B-Device
display	I-Device
,	O
acting	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
display	O
mechanism	O
in	O
a	O
phidget	B-Application
project	O
.	O
</s>
