POLL : JavaBean Model Importer

[Former Member]

Hello All,

Kindly use this thread for giving your valuable inputs on JavaBean Model importer.

1. New Features required

2. Limitations

3. Usability and Performance

Your input is highly appreciated.

Thanks & Regards, Anilkumar

[Former Member]

Hallo Everybody,

Well i am currently engaged in a WebDynPro project where i use the JavaBean Model importer and SAP Connectivity helper classes.

-o Firstly i would say JavaBean Model gives better abstractness. By using Business Delegates to access a R3 System (SAP Connectivity helper classes) seperates the business logic and the R3 Database Access Logic. i find this good.

<u>-o Usability , Limitations :</u>

-o on deletion of an existing model, the package where it was generated is not deleted. ( also .wdmodelclass )

The list under Used Models is also not updated, i mean the a deleted Bean is still seen.

-o Reimport should also be provided, as the bean attributes / information are modified generally in the initial stages of development.

-o A Proper help / documentation with a classical example like a Flight_GetList should be made available.

<a href="http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw2004s/helpdata/en/46/ddc4705e911f43a611840d8decb5f6/content.htm">Flight Example</a>

-o or provide a wizard to help the developer build an example java bean model, bind it with controller and context etc.

<u>Performance - usage wise:</u>

-o i must it is as good as the other models which we can import. Except may be for some huge Type Casting done at the controller levels / view levels.

<b>to summarize :</b>

- <i>better</i> documentation ( Example + Wizards + help)

- re-import ( if failed , <i>why and what</i> it went wrong)

- delete option ( which really deletes <i>itself n its all references</i>)

I have listed the information which i seen in my current project. please correct / clarify me if something is wrong . Thanks.

Rgds ,

Sreenivas.

[Former Member]

Thank you, Anilkumar, for this excellent way of collecting feedback for our SAP colleagues.

Besides the obvious -- better error handling on import errors and above all better reimport of models -- the replies above have touched on the biggest problems we have had with JavaBean models. Namely,

(1) Darren mentions "associations". Assuming he is referring to model relations, that is something we are uncertain about. The aRFC and Web Service model import wizards create the appropriate model relationships for you, so we see from that pretty much how they work. But we lack enough of a conceptual understanding to create our own with our JavaBean classes, even where our instinct tells us we should.

(2) Sreenivas refers to "some huge Type Casting done at the controller / view levels". We are definitely having type-related problems doing UI element binding to our model classes and their properties, especially with non-scalar types.

(3) (1) and (2) would be solved by the better documentation and more robust tutorial examples called for by Gregor and Sreenivas - and us!

[MartinHastik]

Hi,

an other thing is the stability of the model importer. Some times iget some VM crashes when importing a java bean model and have to restart eclipse.

Martin

[Former Member]

Hi,

having a way to reimport model in WD would be great!

I created my EJB application and imported commandBean into my WD without using Web Service. In NWDS 2.0.15 WS didn't work.

To import a model into a WD it's necessary to pass a java collection or simple type like String, Integer, etc. (WD doesn't accept others type of structures). No problem on performances.

The main point is related to the fact that is important to use the advantage of a SOA architecture, so the must should be to use a WS, inn addition with WS is possible to use every type of structures.

Vito Palasciano

[former_member187167]

Hi,

First, I must admit that it is a very good and useful tool.The features we need are :

1. Reimport - very necesarry in the early stages of the project, when the data structures are not clarified yet. Doing this by hand takes too much time.

2. Indications for the reason, when import fails. May be some more descriptive logs.

Regards

Konstantin

[Former Member]

Improvements that would make a BIG difference to large java projects...

1. Re-import - obviously. This is such a time consumming job at the moment.

2. When Java 5.0 is supported by NetWeaver, the importer should be updated to recognise collections using generics and automatically construct the association in the Model. e.g. List<OrderLine> orderLines; Automatically creating the one to many associations would be a huge timesaving.

3. Have some way to inform the importer that we wish to use a Java Dictionary Simple Type rather than just the java type defined by the bean. Java 5.0 annotations would be a good method.

4. How about listing classes alphabetically in the import wizard?

5. Allow developer to select multiple classes in the import wizard (ctrl click) and then click add once. Or allow double click to select and add. At the moment, each class must be selected and added individually.

6. Fix the runtime crash when jar file is changed and between first and second import.

7. When creating the associations in the wizard, sometimes I realise I need to remove or add a class. This destroys all association mappings done so far. It would be nice if it didn't do that.

Regards

Darren

[former_member212767]

Reimport is a must. If you make changes to the javabean you'll have to recreate the whole modeal again, which is such a pain that when you do it a couple of times, you don't want to do it again...

I've resorted to just copying the jar to \bin and importing the classes to webdynpro without using the model importer.

Jari

[MartinHastik]

Hi,

i used the Java Bean Model Importer the first time to connect to EJB Business logic and (had a look at the tutorial..) an was positiv impressed. It is easy to use!

One thing is, when changing fields in the ejb and in the command bean i would like to have a reimporter for the model. It was necessary to delete the model and all bindings and import the modes for a new time.

regards

Martin

[former_member184385]

Hi,

I got the JBMI to work after some struggle. To make it appeal to a broader audience

1. A better documentation is a must:

- it need to state, that the to be imported JAR must be self contained

- at least, it need to introduce DACBs

2. Error handling needs improvement:

- it need to say, why the import failed

Thanks

Gregor

[htammen]

Hi,

what I really need is the "reimport model" features I´m used from aRFC Model.

Regards

Helmut

[Former Member]

Hello!

Well - JavaBean Model-Importer was my first choice to integrate EJB Business-Logic.

But after a very long series of problems I'm quite disappointed now and think about changing to WebService-Model.

Despite the technical problems, it is escpecially the need to delete and "re"import the model everytime you made changes to the CommandBean. Especially in the beginning this is very error-prone and time-consuming.

Regards,

Simon

P.S:

Any detailled specifications, about what the importer EXACTLY does would be very much appreciated. I know, there are the turorials, but...

[Former Member]

I agree with Simon - the current invocation of the JB Importer just doesn't work that well with command beans that contain more than simple objects. The import just doesn't do anything when an error occurs.

I would very much like to expose EJBs to WebDynpro, but not with Web Services - the web services interface is simple, but fast it ain't. Using a commad bean is much faster, and certainly more efficient. Unfortunately, until the import issues are dealt with, command beans are effectively useless.

The ability to refresh/update the model interface once created would also be useful.