Odoo 14 is a bit unique for the backend web client compared to other Odoo versions. It contains two different frameworks to maintain the GUI of the Odoo backend. The first one is the widget-based legacy framework, and the second one is the component-based modern framework called the Odoo Web Library (OWL). OWL is the new UI framework introduced in Odoo v14. Both use QWeb templates for structure, but there are significant changes in the syntax and the way those frameworks work.
Although Odoo 14 has a new framework OWL, Odoo does not use this new framework everywhere. Most of the web client is still written with the old widget-based framework. In this chapter, we will see how to customize the web client using a widget-based framework. In the next chapter, we will look at the OWL framework.
In this chapter, you will learn how to create new field widgets to get input from users. We will also be creating a new view from scratch. After reading this chapter, you will be able to create your own UI elements in the Odoo backend.