<longdesc>

<p>You can create new widgets from scratch, using just the <code>$.Widget</code> object as base to inherit from, or you can explicitly inherit from existing jQuery UI or third-party widgets. Defining a widget with the same name as you inherit from even allows you to extend widgets in place.</p>

</longdesc>

<signature returns="jQuery">

<desc>Initialize the widget.</desc>

<argument name="key" type="String"></argument>

<argument name="value" type="Object"></argument>

</method>

<desc>

<p>Maintains proper <code>this</code> context inside the handlers.</p>

<p>Automatically handles disabled widgets: If the widget is disabled or the event occurs on an element with the <code>ui-state-disabled</code> class, the event handler is not invoked.</p>

<p>Event handlers are automatically namespaced and cleaned up on destroy. </p>

</desc>

<argument name="element" type="jQuery" optional="true"></argument>

<argument name="handlers" type="Object"></argument>

</method>

<method name="_super">

<desc>Invoke the method of the same name from the parent widget, with any specified arguments. Essentially <code>.call()</code>.</desc>

</method>