WP_Widget_Factory::register │ public │ WP 2.8.0

Registers a widget subclass.

Method of the class: WP_Widget_Factory{}

No Hooks.

Returns

null. Nothing (null).

Usage

$WP_Widget_Factory = new WP_Widget_Factory();
$WP_Widget_Factory->register( $widget );
$widget(string|WP_Widget) (required)
Either the name of a WP_Widget subclass or an instance of a WP_Widget subclass.

Changelog

Since 2.8.0 Introduced.
Since 4.6.0 Updated the $widget parameter to also accept a WP_Widget instance object instead of simply a WP_Widget subclass name.
Since 7.1.1 The key for an instance is prefixed so that it is never cast to an integer.

WP_Widget_Factory::register() code WP 7.1.2

wp-includes/class-wp-widget-factory.php 
public function register( $widget ) {
	if ( $widget instanceof WP_Widget ) {
		$this->widgets[ self::INSTANCE_KEY_PREFIX . spl_object_id( $widget ) ] = $widget;
	} else {
		$this->widgets[ $widget ] = new $widget();
	}
}