Abstract: A programmable workstation for collaborative working in a network comprises a conventional operating system and a network control program layer. Additionally, the workstation includes a collaborative application support subsystem for interfacing with application programs. The subsystem is responsive to predetermined application program calls to create a logical network model of a collaborative environment. The model comprises sharing sets of application programs, which share data and resources across nodes and logical dedicated data channels connecting members of the sharing set. The subsystem cooperates with the network layer to establish the physical links necessary to implement the model in a physical network, transparently to the application program.