Using the Workspace Manager

As discussed in Integrated Object Model, the SAS IOM components are arranged in a hierarchy and the root of the hierarchy is a SAS workspace object. A SAS workspace represents a session with the SAS System and is functionally equivalent to a SAS Display Manager session or the execution of base SAS software in a batch job.

The SAS Workspace Manager is a component that executes on the client machine and it is used to create and manage SAS workspaces on IOM servers. The Workspace Manager uses IOM server definitions that are administered separately from the application. This enables, for example, a client application to connect to a server simply by using a logical name. The definition for this server can change as required without affecting the application.

The Workspace Manager can create a SAS Workspace in one of three ways:

• Through local COM if the SAS Server runs on the same machine as the client

• Through DCOM if the SAS Server runs on another machine that supports DCOM

• Through the IOM Bridge for COM (SASComb.dll) if the SAS Server runs on another machine that does not support COM/DCOM functionality (UNIX [Solaris, HP/UX, AIX] or OS/390)

With the Workspace Manager, you can:

• Launch SAS Workspaces
• Select between running SAS Workspaces
• Share IWorkspace pointers within a process
• Access a Workspace from within Web pages
• Use ADO within a SAS Workspace
• Store and retrieve definitions using LDAP or a flat file

The Workspace Manager can be used from Visual Basic, C, C++, and VBScript (with the help of Scripto).