The component of the operating system which is responsible for interaction with the end user is known as the user shell. OS/2 Version 2.0 provides an enhanced, object-based user shell known as the Workplace Shell, which implements the 1991 SAA CUA Workplace Environment.
In the Workplace Shell, system resources such as files, printers, etc. are regarded as objects, and represented by graphical icons on the screen. Users may manipulate objects (open them for editing, copy them, print them, etc.) by direct manipulation of the icons. For example, a file is copied from one location to another by pointing to it with the mouse, dragging the object's icon to the required destination, and dropping the icon by releasing the mouse button. This action is known as drag and drop manipulation.
The Workplace Shell allows users to become more task-oriented by simplifying the user interface and reducing the amount of system-specific knowledge required to perform work tasks. The performance of these tasks using the Workplace Shell is more analogous to the way in which such tasks would be performed manually, thereby requiring less user education on the operation of the system.
The Workplace Shell is described in detail in OS/2 Version 2.0 - Volume 3: Presentation Manager and Workplace Shell.