Workspace SDK represents a shift in structure and approach for the Workspace product, providing customers with greater flexibility in functionality and greater control over visual appearance and interactive elements.

Architecture

Within the overall architecture of OpenFin's products, Workspace provides a user interface for common features that OpenFin customers frequently want to create for their users. It simplifies solution development beyond the APIs provided by the OpenFin Container.

There are certain types of functionality that customers need to provide to their users that are specific to their environment, and are also beyond the scope of the Container. These include:

• Authentication and authorization to use applications
• Cross-origin requests
• Repositories of content, including branding, applications, workspaces, and views
• Services shared by multiple customer applications

To support customers' need to provide such functionality, starting in Workspace 4.0, OpenFin has restructured the architecture of Workspace to support custom implementations of a Workspace Platform. A Workspace Platform is an extension of OpenFin's Platform API through the use of NPM modules that enable developers to take advantage of the Workspace components — Home, Store, Notification Center and Browser — while retaining control and flexibility. A Workspace Platform implements APIs that are specified by OpenFin and called by Workspace UI components.

In addition, starting in Workspace 5.0, OpenFin has given Workspace Platform applications control over OpenFin Browser windows through the Browser API.

In order to be a Workspace Platform, an application needs to do the following:

• Implement the client APIs that you want it to provide
• Register its API providers with Workspace components
• Supply data to components
• Respond to user interactions, such as:
  • Launch content
  • Provide search suggestions and results
  • Filter search results
  • Open an application with context based on a notification action
  • Use the Browser API to load content into Browser Windows

The Workspace SDK includes a set of APIs that enable the following functionality:

• Provide content to Storefront, to enable users to peruse and launch apps and views.
• Provide commands to Home, to enable users to perform searches, execute commands, and launch applications.