The Eclipse platform itself is structured as subsystems which are implemented
in one or more plug-ins. The subsystems are built on top of a small runtime
engine. The figure below depicts a simplified view.
Workbench
The term Workbench refers to the desktop development environment.
The Workbench aims to achieve seamless tool integration and controlled openness by providing a common paradigm for the creation, management, and navigation of workspace resources.
Each Workbench window contains one or more
perspectives. Perspectives contain views and editors and control
what appears in certain menus and tool bars. More than one Workbench window can exist
on the desktop at any given time.