One purpose of the workspace is to contain and launch AFEs. A Metis user indicates which AFEs the workspace contains by using a ``ToolBox'' that provides the user with a list of all AFEs that he is entitled to use. When the user selects an AFE to add to the workspace, the Toolbox returns the location of the AFE class. The workspace passes the location to the code service client to download the class from the Metis Code Server. The icon associated with the class is accessed and added to the workspace as a button. To launch the AFE, the user double clicks the button. An AFE can be removed from the workspace container by removing the button. If it is active, then the AFE is destroyed. The workspace configuration is automatically saved when the user logs out.
Another purpose of the workspace is to provide resources to all AFEs. These resources include the user profile object and the controllers. To access these resources, the AFE is required to get a reference to the workspace object by implementing AFEInterface. When activating an AFE, the workspace calls the setWorkspace() method on the AFE, passing a reference to the workspace object.