Give me some brief introduction on ABAP

[Former Member]

Hi all

Give me some brief introduction on ABAP

[Former Member]

Hi

Welcome to SDN

ABAP is one of many application-specific fourth-generation languages (4GLs) first developed in the 1980s. It was originally the report language for SAP R/2, a platform that enabled large corporations to build mainframe business applications for materials management and financial and management accounting. ABAP used to be an abbreviation of Allgemeiner Berichtsaufbereitungsprozessor, the German meaning of "generic report preparation processor", but was later renamed to Advanced Business Application Programming. ABAP was one of the first languages to include the concept of Logical Databases (LDBs), which provides a high level of abstraction from the basic database level.

The ABAP programming language was originally used by SAP developers to develop the SAP R/3 platform. It was also intended to be used by SAP customers to enhance SAP applications – customers can develop custom reports and interfaces with ABAP programming. The language is fairly easy to learn for programmers but it is not a tool for direct use by non-programmers. Good programming skills, including knowledge of relational database design and preferably also of object-oriented concepts, are required to create ABAP programs.

ABAP remains the language for creating programs for the client-server R/3 system, which SAP first released in 1992. As computer hardware evolved through the 1990s, more and more of SAP's applications and systems were written in ABAP. By 2001, all but the most basic functions were written in ABAP. In 1999, SAP released an object-oriented extension to ABAP called ABAP Objects, along with R/3 release 4.6.

SAP's most recent development platform, NetWeaver, supports both ABAP and Java.

Implementation

Where does the ABAP Program Run?

All ABAP programs reside inside the SAP database. They are not stored in separate external files like Java or C++ programs. In the database all ABAP code exists in two forms: source code, which can be viewed and edited with the ABAP workbench, and "compiled" code ("generated" code is the more correct technical term), which is loaded and interpreted by the ABAP runtime system. Code generation happens implicitly when a unit of ABAP code is first invoked. If the source code is changed later or if one of the data objects accessed by the program has changed (e.g. fields were added to a database table), then the code is automatically regenerated.

ABAP programs run in the SAP application server, under control of the runtime system, which is part of the SAP kernel. The runtime system is responsible for processing ABAP statements, controlling the flow logic of screens and responding to events (such as a user clicking on a screen button). A key component of the ABAP runtime system is the Database Interface, which turns database-independent ABAP statements ("Open SQL") into statements understood by the underlying DBMS ("Native SQL"). The database interface handles all the communication with the relational database on behalf of ABAP programs; it also contains extra features such as buffering of frequently accessed data in the local memory of the application server.

Basis

Basis sits between ABAP/4 and Operating system.Basis is like an operating system for R/3. It sits between the ABAP/4 code and the computer's operating system. SAP likes to call it middleware because it sits in the middle, between ABAP/4 and the operating system. Basis sits between ABAP/4 and the operating system. ABAP/4 cannot run directly on an operating system. It requires a set of programs (collectively called Basis) to load, interpret, and buffer its input and output. Basis, in some respects, is like the Windows environment. Windows starts up, and while running it provides an environment in which Windows programs can run. Without Windows, programs written for the Windows environment cannot run. Basis is to ABAP/4 programs as Windows is to Windows programs. Basis provides the runtime environment for ABAP/4 programs. Without Basis, ABAP/4 programs cannot run. When the operator starts up R/3, you can think of him as starting up Basis. Basis is a collection of R/3 system programs that present you with an interface. Using this interface the user can start ABAP/4 programs. To install Basis, an installer runs the program r3inst at the command-prompt level of the operating system. Like most installs, this creates a directory structure and copies a set of executables into it. These executables taken together as a unit form Basis.

To start up the R/3 system, the operator enters the startsap command. The Basis executables start up and stay running, accepting requests from the user to run ABAP/4 programs.

ABAP/4 programs run within the protective Basis environment; they are not executables that run on the operating system. Instead, Basis reads ABAP/4 code and interprets it into operating system instructions. ABAP/4 programs do not access operating system functions directly. Instead, they use Basis functions to perform file I/O and display data in windows. This level of isolation from the operating system enables ABAP/4 programs to be ported without modification to any system that supports R/3. This buffering is built right into the ABAP/4 language itself and is actually totally transparent to the programmer.

Basis makes ABAP/4 programs portable. The platforms that R/3 can run on are shown in Table. For example, if you write an ABAP/4 program on Digital UNIX with an Informix database and an OSF/Motif interface, that same program should run without modification on a Windows NT machine with an Oracle database and a Windows 95 interface. Or, it could run on an AS/400 with a DB2 database using OS/2 as the front-end.

SAP also provides a suite of tools for administering the Basis system. These tools perform tasks such as system performance monitoring, configuration, and system maintenance. To access the Basis administration tools from the main menu, choose the path Tools->Administration.

Platforms and Databases Supported by R/3

Operating Systems Supported Hardware Supported Front-Ends Supported Databases

AIX SINIX IBM SNI SUN Win 3.1/95/NT DB2 for AIX

SOLARIS HP-UX Digital HP OSF/Motif Informix-Online

Digital-UNIX Bull OS/2 Oracle 7.1

Windows NT AT&T Compaq Win 3.1/95/NT Oracle 7.1

Bull/Zenith OSF/Motif SQL Server 6.0

HP (Intel) SNI OS/2 ADABAS D

OS/400 AS/400 Win95 OS/2 DB2/400

SAP Systems and Landscapes

All SAP data exists and all SAP software runs in the context of an SAP system. A system consists of a central relational database and one or more application servers ("instances") accessing the data and programs in this database. A SAP system contains at least one instance but may contain more, mostly for reasons of sizing and performance. In a system with multiple instances, load balancing mechanisms ensure that the load is spread evenly over the available application servers.

Installations of the Web Application Server (landscapes) typically consist of three systems: one for development, one for testing and quality assurance, and one for production. The landscape may contain more systems, e.g. separate systems for unit testing and pre-production testing, or it may contain fewer, e.g. only development and production, without separate QA; nevertheless three is the most common configuration. ABAP programs are created and undergo first testing in the development system. Afterwards they are distributed to the other systems in the landscape. These actions take place under control of the Change and Transport System (CTS), which is responsible for concurrency control (e.g. preventing two developers from changing the same code at the same time), version management and deployment of programs on the QA and production systems.

The Web Application Server consists of three layers: the database layer, the application layer and the presentation layer. These layers may run on the same or on different physical machines. The database layer contains the relational database and the database software. The application layer contains the instance or instances of the system. All application processes, including the business transactions and the ABAP development, run on the application layer. The presentation layer handles the interaction with users of the system. Online access to ABAP application servers can go via a proprietary graphical interface, the SAPGUI, or via a Web browser.

Transactions

We call an execution of an ABAP program using a transaction code a transaction. There are dialog, report, parameter, variant, and as of release 6.10, OO transactions. A transaction is started by entering the transaction code in the input field on the standard toolbar, or by means of the ABAP statements CALL TRANSACTION or LEAVE TO TRANSACTION. Transaction codes can also be linked to screen elements or menu entries. Selecting such an element will start the transaction.

A transaction code is simply a twenty-character name connected with a Dynpro, another transaction code, or, as of release 6.10, a method of an ABAP program. Transaction codes linked with Dynpros are possible for executable programs, module pools, and function groups. Parameter transactions and variant transactions are linked with other transaction codes. Transaction codes that are linked with methods are allowed for all program types that can contain methods. Transaction codes are maintained in transaction SE93.

So, a transaction is nothing more than the SAP way of program execution—but why is it called “transaction”? ABAP is a language for business applications and the most important features of business applications were and still are are transactions. Since in the early days of SAP, the execution of a program often meant the same thing as carrying out a business transaction, the terms transaction and transaction code were chosen for program execution. But never mix up the technical meaning of a transaction with business transactions. For business transactions, it is the term LUW (Logical Unit of Work) that counts. And during one transaction (program execution), there can be many different LUW’s.

Let’s have a look at the different kind of transactions:

Dialog Transaction

These are the most common kind of transactions. The transaction code of a dialog transaction is linked to a Dynpro of an ABAP program. When the transaction is called, the respective program is loaded and the Dynpro is called. Therefore, a dialog transaction calls a Dynpro sequence rather than a program. Only during the execution of the Dynpro flow logic are the dialog modules of the ABAP program itself are called. The program flow can differ from execution to execution. You can even assign different dialog transaction codes to one program.

Parameter Transaction

In the definition of a parameter transaction code, a dialog transaction is linked with parameters. When you call a parameter transaction, the input fields of the initial Dynpro screen of the dialog transaction are filled with parameters. The display of the initial screen can be inhibited by specifying all mandatory input fields as parameters of the transaction.

Variant Transaction

In the definition of a variant transaction code, a dialog transaction is linked with a transaction variant. When a variant transaction is accessed, the dialog transaction is called and executed with the transaction variant. In transaction variants, you can assign default values to the input fields on several Dynpro screens in a transaction, change the attributes of screen elements, and hide entire screens. Transaction variants are maintained in transaction SHD0.

Report Transaction

A report transaction is the transaction code wrapping for starting the reporting process. The transaction code of a report transaction must be linked with the selection screen of an executable program. When you execute a report transaction, the runtime environment internally executes the ABAP statement SUBMIT—more to come on that.

OO Transaction

A new kind of transaction as of release 6.10. The transaction code of an OO transaction is linked with a method of a local or global class. When the transaction is called, the corresponding program is loaded, for instance methods an object of the class is generated and the method is executed.

Types of ABAP programs

In ABAP, there are two different types of programs:

Report programs(Executable pools)

A Sample ReportReport programs AKA Executable pools follow a relatively simple programming model whereby a user optionally enters a set of parameters (e.g. a selection over a subset of data) and the program then uses the input parameters to produce a report in the form of an interactive list. The output from the report program is interactive because it is not a passive display; instead it enables the user, through ABAP language constructs, to obtain a more detailed view on specific data records via drill-down functions, or to invoke further processing through menu commands, for instance to sort the data in a different way or to filter the data according to selection criteria. This method of presenting reports has great advantages for users who must deal with large quantities of information and must also have the ability to examine this information in highly flexible ways, without being constrained by the rigid formatting or unmanageable size of "listing-like" reports. The ease with which such interactive reports can be developed is one of the most striking features of the ABAP language.

The term "report" is somewhat misleading in the sense that it is also possible to create report programs that modify the data in the underlying database instead of simply reading it.

A customized screen created using Screen Painter,which is one of the tool available in ABAP workbench(T-code = SE51).

Online programs

Online programs (also called module pools) do not produce lists. These programs define more complex patterns of user interaction using a collection of screens. The term “screen” refers to the actual, physical image that the users sees. Each screen also has a “flow logic”; this refers to the ABAP code invoked by the screens, i.e. the logic that initializes screens, responds to a user’s requests and controls the sequence between the screens of a module pool. Each screen has its own Flow Logic, which is divided into a "PBO" (Process Before Output) and "PAI" (Process After Input) section. In SAP documentation the term “dynpro” (dynamic program) refers to the combination of the screen and its Flow Logic.

Online programs are not invoked directly by their name, but are associated with a transaction code. Users can then invoke them through customizable, role-dependent, transaction menus.

Apart from reports and online programs, it is also possible to develop sharable code units such as class libraries, function libraries and subroutine pools.

Subroutine Pools

Subroutine pools, as the name implies, were created to contain selections of subroutines that can be called externally from other programs. Before release 6.10, this was the only way subroutine pools could be used. But besides subroutines, subroutine pools can also contain local classes and interfaces. As of release 6.10, you can connect transaction codes to methods. Therefore, you can now also call subroutine pools via transaction codes. This is the closest to a Java program you can get in ABAP: a subroutine pool with a class containing a method – say – main connected to a transaction code!

Type Pools

Type pools are the precursors to general type definitions in the ABAP Dictionary. Before release 4.0, only elementary data types and flat structures could be defined in the ABAP Dictionary. All other types that should’ve been generally available had to be defined with TYPES in type pools. As of release 4.0, type pools were only necessary for constants. As of release 6.40, constants can be declared in the public sections of global classes and type pools can be replaced by global classes.

Class Pools

Class pools serve as containers for exactly one global class. Besides the global class, they can contain global types and local classes/interfaces to be used in the global class. A class pool is loaded into memory by using one of its components. For example, a public method can be called from any ABAP program or via a transaction code connected to the method. You maintain class pools in the class builder.

Interface Pools

Interface pools serve as containers for exactly one global interface—nothing more and nothing less. You use an interface pool by implementing its interface in classes and by creating reference variables with the type of its interface. You maintain interface pools in the class builder.

ABAP Workbench

The ABAP Workbench contains different tools for editing Repository objects. These tools provide you with a wide range of assistance that covers the entire software development cycle. The most important tools for creating and editing Repository objects are:

ABAP Editor for writing and editing program code

ABAP Dictionary for processing database table definitions and retrieving global types

Menu Painter for designing the user interface (menu bar, standard toolbar, application toolbar, function key assignment)

Screen Painter for designing screens (dynamic programs) for user dialogs

Function Builder for displaying and processing function modules (routines with defined interfaces that are available throughout the system)

Class Builder for displaying and processing ABAP Objects classes

The ABAP Dictionary

Enforces data integrity

Manages data definitions without redundancy

Is tightly integrated with the rest of the ABAP/4 Development Workbench.

Enforcing data integrity is the process of ensuring that data entered into the system is logical, complete, and consistent. When data integrity rules are defined in the ABAP/4 Dictionary, the system automatically prevents the entry of invalid data. Defining the data integrity rules at the dictionary level means they only have to be defined once, rather than in each program that accesses that data.

The following are examples of data lacking integrity:

A date field with a month value of 13

An order assigned to a customer number that doesn’t exist

An order not assigned to a customer

Managing data definitions without redundancy is the process of linking similar information to the same data definition. For example, a customer database is likely to contain a customer’s ID number in several places. The ABAP Dictionary provides the capability of defining the characteristics of a customer ID number in only one place. That central definition then can be used for each instance of a customer ID number.

The ABAP Dictionary’s integration with the rest of the development environment enables ABAP programs to automatically recognize the names and characteristics of dictionary objects.

Additionally, the system provides easy navigation between development objects and dictionary definitions. For example, as a programmer, you can double-click on the name of a dictionary object in your program code, and the system will take you directly to the definition of that object in the ABAP/4 Dictionary.

When a dictionary object is changed, a program that references the changed object will automatically reference the new version the next time the program runs. Because ABAP is interpreted, it is not necessary to recompile programs that reference changed dictionary objects.

ABAP Syntax

The syntax of the ABAP programming language consists of the following elements:

Statements

An ABAP program consists of individual ABAP statements. Each statement begins with a keyword and ends with a period.

"Hello World" PROGRAM

WRITE 'Hello World'.

This example contains two statements, one on each line. The keywords are PROGRAM and WRITE. The program displays a list on the screen. In this case, the list consists of the line "My First Program".

The keyword determines the category of the statement. For an overview of the different categories, refer to ABAP Statements.

Formatting ABAP Statements

-

-

---

ABAP has no format restrictions. You can enter statements in any format, so a statement can be indented, you can write several statements on one line, or spread a single statement over several lines.

You must separate words within a statement with at least one space. The system also interprets the end of line marker as a space.

The program fragment

PROGRAM TEST.

WRITE 'This is a statement'.

could also be written as follows:

PROGRAM TEST. WRITE 'This is a statement'.

or as follows:

PROGRAM

TEST.

WRITE

'This is a statement'.

Use this free formatting to make your programs easier to understand.

Special Case: Text Literals

Text literals are sequences of alphanumeric characters in the program code that are enclosed in quotation marks. If a text literal in an ABAP statement extends across more than one line, the following difficulties can occur:

All spaces between the quotation marks are interpreted as belonging to the text literal. Letters in text literals in a line that is not concluded with quotation marks are interpreted by the editor as uppercase. If you want to enter text literals that do not fit into a single line, you can use the ‘&’ character to combine a succession of text literals into a single one.

The program fragment

PROGRAM TEST.

WRITE 'This

is

a statement'.

inserts all spaces between the quotation marks into the literal, and converts the letters to uppercase.

This program fragment

PROGRAM TEST.

WRITE 'This' &

' is ' &

'a statement'.

combines three text literals into one.

Chained Statements

The ABAP programming language allows you to concatenate consecutive statements with an identical first part into a chain statement.

To concatenate a sequence of separate statements, write the identical part only once and place a colon ( after it. After the colon, write the remaining parts of the individual statements, separating them with commas. Ensure that you place a period (.) after the last part to inform the system where the chain ends.

Statement sequence:

WRITE SPFLI-CITYFROM.

WRITE SPFLI-CITYTO.

WRITE SPFLI-AIRPTO.

Chain statement:

WRITE: SPFLI-CITYFROM, SPFLI-CITYTO, SPFLI-AIRPTO.

In the chain, a colon separates the beginning of the statement from the variable parts. After the colon or commas, you can insert any number of spaces.

You could, for example, write the same statement like this:

WRITE: SPFLI-CITYFROM,

SPFLI-CITYTO,

SPFLI-AIRPTO.

In a chain statement, the first part (before the colon) is not limited to the keyword of the statements.

Statement sequence:

SUM = SUM + 1.

SUM = SUM + 2.

SUM = SUM + 3.

SUM = SUM + 4.

Chain statement:

SUM = SUM + : 1, 2, 3, 4.

Comments

Comments are texts that you can write between the statements of your ABAP program to explain their purpose to a reader. Comments are distinguished by the preceding signs * (at the beginning of a line) and " (at any position in a line). If you want the entire line to be a comment, enter an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the line. The system then ignores the entire line when it generates the program. If you want part of a line to be a comment, enter a double quotation mark (") before the comment. The system interprets comments indicated by double quotation marks as spaces.

************************************************

• PROGRAM SAPMTEST *

• WRITTEN BY KARL BYTE, 06/27/1995 *

• LAST CHANGED BY RITA DIGIT, 10/01/1995 *

• TASK: DEMONSTRATION *

************************************************

PROGRAM SAPMTEST.

************************************************

• DECLARATIONS *

************************************************

DATA: FLAG " GLOBAL FLAG

NUMBER TYPE I " COUNTER

......

************************************************

• PROCESSING BLOCKS *

************************************************

******************************************************

*******************************

Advantages of ABAP over Contemporary languages

*******************************

*******************************************************

ABAP OBJECTS

Object orientation in ABAP is an extension of the ABAP language that makes available the advantages of object-oriented programming, such as encapsulation, interfaces, and inheritance. This helps to simplify applications and make them more controllable.

ABAP Objects is fully compatible with the existing language, so you can use existing statements and modularization units in programs that use ABAP Objects, and can also use ABAP Objects in existing ABAP programs.

ABAP Statements – an Overview

The first element of an ABAP statement is the ABAP keyword. This determines the category of the statement. The different statement categories are as follows:

Declarative Statements

These statements define data types or declare data objects which are used by the other statements in a program or routine. The collected declarative statements in a program or routine make up its declaration part.

Examples of declarative keywords:

TYPES, DATA, TABLES

Modularization Statements

These statements define the processing blocks in an ABAP program.

The modularization keywords can be further divided into:

· Defining keywords

You use statements containing these keywords to define subroutines, function modules, dialog modules and methods. You conclude these processing blocks using the END statements.

Examples of definitive keywords:

METHOD ... ENDMETHOD, FUNCTION ... ENDFUNCTION, MODULE ... ENDMODULE.

· Event keywords

You use statements containing these keywords to define event blocks. There are no special statements to conclude processing blocks - they end when the next processing block is introduced.

Examples of event key words:

AT SELECTION SCREEN, START-OF-SELECTION, AT USER-COMMAND

Control Statements

You use these statements to control the flow of an ABAP program within a processing block according to certain conditions.

Examples of control keywords:

IF, WHILE, CASE

Call Statements

You use these statements to call processing blocks that you have already defined using modularization statements. The blocks you call can either be in the same ABAP program or in a different program.

Examples of call keywords:

CALL METHOD, CALL TRANSACTION, SUBMIT, LEAVE TO

Operational Statements These keywords process the data that you have defined using declarative statements.

Examples of operational keywords:

MOVE, ADD

Unique Concept of Internal Table in ABAP

Internal tables provide a means of taking data from a fixed structure and storing it in working memory in ABAP. The data is stored line by line in memory, and each line has the same structure. In ABAP, internal tables fulfill the function of arrays. Since they are dynamic data objects, they save the programmer the task of dynamic memory management in his or her programs. You should use internal tables whenever you want to process a dataset with a fixed structure within a program. A particularly important use for internal tables is for storing and formatting data from a database table within a program. They are also a good way of including very complicated data structures in an ABAP program.

Like all elements in the ABAP type concept, internal tables can exist both as data types and as data objects A data type is the abstract description of an internal table, either in a program or centrally in the ABAP Dictionary, that you use to create a concrete data object. The data type is also an attribute of an existing data object.

Internal Tables as Data Types

Internal tables and structures are the two structured data types in ABAP. The data type of an internal table is fully specified by its line type, key, and table type.

Line type

The line type of an internal table can be any data type. The data type of an internal table is normally a structure. Each component of the structure is a column in the internal table. However, the line type may also be elementary or another internal table.

Key

The key identifies table rows. There are two kinds of key for internal tables - the standard key and a user-defined key. You can specify whether the key should be UNIQUE or NON-UNIQUE. Internal tables with a unique key cannot contain duplicate entries. The uniqueness depends on the table access method.

If a table has a structured line type, its default key consists of all of its non-numerical columns that are not references or themselves internal tables. If a table has an elementary line type, the default key is the entire line. The default key of an internal table whose line type is an internal table, the default key is empty.

The user-defined key can contain any columns of the internal table that are not references or themselves internal tables. Internal tables with a user-defined key are called key tables. When you define the key, the sequence of the key fields is significant. You should remember this, for example, if you intend to sort the table according to the key.

Table type

The table type determines how ABAP will access individual table entries. Internal tables can be divided into three types:

Standard tables have an internal linear index. From a particular size upwards, the indexes of internal tables are administered as trees. In this case, the index administration overhead increases in logarithmic and not linear relation to the number of lines. The system can access records either by using the table index or the key. The response time for key access is proportional to the number of entries in the table. The key of a standard table is always non-unique. You cannot specify a unique key. This means that standard tables can always be filled very quickly, since the system does not have to check whether there are already existing entries.

Sorted tables are always saved sorted by the key. They also have an internal index. The system can access records either by using the table index or the key. The response time for key access is logarithmically proportional to the number of table entries, since the system uses a binary search. The key of a sorted table can be either unique or non-unique. When you define the table, you must specify whether the key is to be unique or not. Standard tables and sorted tables are known generically as index tables.

Hashed tables have no linear index. You can only access a hashed table using its key. The response time is independent of the number of table entries, and is constant, since the system access the table entries using a hash algorithm. The key of a hashed table must be unique. When you define the table, you must specify the key as UNIQUE.

Generic Internal Tables

Unlike other local data types in programs, you do not have to specify the data type of an internal table fully. Instead, you can specify a generic construction, that is, the key or key and line type of an internal table data type may remain unspecified. You can use generic internal tables to specify the types of field symbols and the interface parameters of procedures . You cannot use them to declare data objects.

Internal Tables as Dynamic Data Objects

Data objects that are defined either with the data type of an internal table, or directly as an internal table, are always fully defined in respect of their line type, key and access method. However, the number of lines is not fixed. Thus internal tables are dynamic data objects, since they can contain any number of lines of a particular type. The only restriction on the number of lines an internal table may contain are the limits of your system installation. The maximum memory that can be occupied by an internal table (including its internal administration) is 2 gigabytes. A more realistic figure is up to 500 megabytes. An additional restriction for hashed tables is that they may not contain more than 2 million entries. The line types of internal tables can be any ABAP data types - elementary, structured, or internal tables. The individual lines of an internal table are called table lines or table entries. Each component of a structured line is called a column in the internal table.

Choosing a Table Type

The table type (and particularly the access method) that you will use depends on how the typical internal table operations will be most frequently executed.

Standard tables

This is the most appropriate type if you are going to address the individual table entries using the index. Index access is the quickest possible access. You should fill a standard table by appending lines (ABAP APPEND statement), and read, modify and delete entries by specifying the index (INDEX option with the relevant ABAP command). The access time for a standard table increases in a linear relationship with the number of table entries. If you need key access, standard tables are particularly useful if you can fill and process the table in separate steps. For example, you could fill the table by appending entries, and then sort it. If you use the binary search option with key access, the response time is logarithmically proportional to the number of table entries.

Sorted tables

This is the most appropriate type if you need a table which is sorted as you fill it. You fill sorted tables using the INSERT statement. Entries are inserted according to the sort sequence defined through the table key. Any illegal entries are recognized as soon as you try to add them to the table. The response time for key access is logarithmically proportional to the number of table entries, since the system always uses a binary search. Sorted tables are particularly useful for partially sequential processing in a LOOP if you specify the beginning of the table key in the WHERE condition.

Hashed tables

This is the most appropriate type for any table where the main operation is key access. You cannot access a hashed table using its index. The response time for key access remains constant, regardless of the number of table entries. Like database tables, hashed tables always have a unique key. Hashed tables are useful if you want to construct and use an internal table which resembles a database table or for processing large amounts of data.

Advanced Topics

Batch Input: Concepts

Processing Sessions

The above figure shows how a batch input session works.A batch input session is a set of one or more calls to transactions along with the data to be processed by the transactions. The system normally executes the transactions in a session non-interactively, allowing rapid entry of bulk data into an R/3 System.

A session records transactions and data in a special format that can be interpreted by the R/3 System. When the System reads a session, it uses the data in the session to simulate on-line entry of transactions and data. The System can call transactions and enter data using most of the facilities that are available to interactive users.

For example, the data that a session enters into transaction screens is subject to the same consistency checking as in normal interactive operation. Further, batch input sessions are subject to the user-based authorization checking that is performed by the system.

Advantages of ABAP over Contemporary languages

ABAP Objects offers a number of advantages, even if you want to continue using procedural programming. If you want to use new ABAP features, you have to use object-oriented interfaces anyway.

Sharing Data: With ABAP shared objects, you can aggregate data once at a central location and the different users and programs can then access this data without the need for copying.

Exception Handling: With the class-based exception concept of ABAP, you can define a special control flow for a specific error situation and provide the user with information about the error.

Developing Persistency: For permanent storage of data in ABAP, you use relational database tables by means of database-independent Open SQL, which is integrated in ABAP. However, you can also store selected objects transparently or access the integrated database or other databases using proprietary SQL.

Connectivity and Interoperability: The Exchange Infrastructure and Web services are the means by which developers can implement a service-oriented architecture. With Web services, you can provide and consume services independently of implementation or protocol. Furthermore, you can do so within NetWeaver and in the communication with other systems. With the features of the Exchange Infrastructure, you can enable, manage, and adapt integration scenarios between systems.

Making Enhancements: With the Enhancement Framework, you can enhance programs, function modules, and global classes without modification as well as replace existing code. The Switch Framework enables you activate only specific development objects or enhancements in a system.

Considerable Aspects

It follows a list of aspects to be considered during development. The list of course is not complete.

Dynpro persistence

When implementing dynpros one has to care for himself to read out and persist the necessary fields. Recently it happened to me that I forgot to include a field into the UPDATE-clause which is an error not so easy to uncover if you have other problems to be solved in the same package. Here, tool-support or built-in mechanisms would help.

The developer could help himself out by creating something like a document containing a cookbook or guide in which parts of a dynpro logic one has to care about persistence. With that at hand, it would be quite easy finding those bugs in short time. Maybe a report scanning for the definition of the dynpro fields to be persisted could scan the code automatically, too.

Memory Cache

It should be common-sense that avoiding select-statements onto the database helps reducing the server load. For that the programmer either can resort to function modules if available. This maybe is the case for important tables. Or the programmer needs to implement his own logic using internal tables. Here, the standard software package could provide the developer with a tool or a mechanism auto-generating memory cached tables resp. function modules implementing this.

Sometimes buffering of database tables could be used, if applicable. But that would require an effort in customizing the system and could drain down system performance overall, especially if a table is involved that has a central role.

Interfaces

It should be noticed that some function modules available have an incomplete interface. That means, the interface does not include all parameters evaluated by the logic of the function module. For example, global variables from within the function group could be read out, which cannot be influenced by the general caller. Or memory parameters are used internally to feed the logic with further information.

One workaround here would be copying the relevant parts of the logic to a newly created function module and then adapt it to the own context. This sometimes is possible, maybe if the copied code is not too lengthy and only a few or no calls to other logic is part of it.

A modification of the SAP code could be considered, if the modification itself is unavoidable (or another solution would be not justifiable by estimated effort to spend on it) and if the location of the modification seems quite safe against future upgrades or hot fixes. The latter is something that could be evaluated by contacting the SAP hotline or working with OSS message (searching thru existing one, perhaps open a new one).

Example

'From SAP NetWeaver:'

*----

-

---

• set an exclusive lock at level object-type & object-id

*----

-

---

IF NOT lf_bapi_error = true.

IF ( NOT istourhd-doc_type IS INITIAL ) AND

( NOT istourhd-doc_id IS INITIAL )

CALL FUNCTION 'ENQUEUE_/DSD/E_HH_RAREF'

EXPORTING

obj_typ = istourhd-doc_type

obj_id = istourhd-doc_id

EXCEPTIONS

foreign_lock = 1

system_failure = 2

OTHERS = 3.

IF sy-subrc <> 0.

• terminate processing...

lf_bapi_error = true.—

• ...and add message to return table

PERFORM set_msg_to_bapiret2

USING sy-msgid gc_abort sy-msgno

sy-msgv1 sy-msgv2 sy-msgv3 sy-msgv4

gc_istourhd gc_enqueue_refdoc space

CHANGING lt_return.

ENDIF.

ENDIF.

ENDIF. " bapi error

Example Report(Type - ALV(Advanced List Viewer))

REPORT Z_ALV_SIMPLE_EXAMPLE_WITH_ITAB .

************************************************************************

*Simple example to use ALV and to define the ALV data in an internal

*table

************************************************************************

*data definition

tables:

marav. "Table MARA and table MAKT

*----

---

*

• Data to be displayed in ALV

• Using the following syntax, REUSE_ALV_FIELDCATALOG_MERGE can auto-

• matically determine the fieldstructure from this source program

Data:

begin of imat occurs 100,

matnr like marav-matnr, "Material number

maktx like marav-maktx, "Material short text

matkl like marav-matkl, "Material group (so you can test to make

" intermediate sums)

ntgew like marav-ntgew, "Net weight, numeric field (so you can test to

"make sums)

gewei like marav-gewei, "weight unit (just to be complete)

end of imat.

*----

---

*

• Other data needed

• field to store report name

data i_repid like sy-repid.

• field to check table length

data i_lines like sy-tabix.

*----

---

*

• Data for ALV display

TYPE-POOLS: SLIS.

data int_fcat type SLIS_T_FIELDCAT_ALV.

*----

---

*

select-options:

s_matnr for marav-matnr matchcode object MAT1.

*----

---

*

start-of-selection.

• read data into table imat

select * from marav

into corresponding fields of table imat

where

matnr in s_matnr.

• Check if material was found

clear i_lines.

describe table imat lines i_lines.

if i_lines lt 1.

• Using hardcoded write here for easy upload

write: /

'No materials found.'.

exit.

endif.

end-of-selection.

• To use ALV, we need a DDIC-structure or a thing called Fieldcatalogue.

• The fieldcatalouge can be generated by FUNCTION

• 'REUSE_ALV_FIELDCATALOG_MERGE' from an internal table from any

• report source, including this report.

*----

---

*

• Store report name

i_repid = sy-repid.

• Create Fieldcatalogue from internal table

CALL FUNCTION 'REUSE_ALV_FIELDCATALOG_MERGE'

EXPORTING

I_PROGRAM_NAME = i_repid

I_INTERNAL_TABNAME = 'IMAT' "capital letters!

I_INCLNAME = i_repid

CHANGING

CT_FIELDCAT = int_fcat

EXCEPTIONS

INCONSISTENT_INTERFACE = 1

PROGRAM_ERROR = 2

OTHERS = 3.

*explanations:

• I_PROGRAM_NAME is the program which calls this function

*

• I_INTERNAL_TABNAME is the name of the internal table which you want

• to display in ALV

*

• I_INCLNAME is the ABAP-source where the internal table is defined

• (DATA....)

• CT_FIELDCAT contains the Fieldcatalouge that we need later for

• ALV display

IF SY-SUBRC <> 0.

write: /

'Returncode',

sy-subrc,

'from FUNCTION REUSE_ALV_FIELDCATALOG_MERGE'.

ENDIF.

*This was the fieldcatlogue

*----

---

*

*

• Call for ALV list display

CALL FUNCTION 'REUSE_ALV_LIST_DISPLAY'

EXPORTING

I_CALLBACK_PROGRAM = i_repid

IT_FIELDCAT = int_fcat

TABLES

T_OUTTAB = imat

EXCEPTIONS

PROGRAM_ERROR = 1

OTHERS = 2.

*explanations:

• I_CALLBACK_PROGRAM is the program which calls this function

*

• IT_FIELDCAT (just made by REUSE_ALV_FIELDCATALOG_MERGE) contains

• now the data definition needed for display

*

• I_SAVE allows the user to save his own layouts

*

• T_OUTTAB contains the data to be displayed in ALV

IF SY-SUBRC <> 0.
write: /
'Returncode',
sy-subrc,
'from FUNCTION REUSE_ALV_LIST_DISPLAY'.
ENDIF.

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Regards

Anji

[Former Member]

Why ABAP/4 Queries?

Many times a need arises for SAP Users and Functional Consultants to generate quick reports without getting any ABAP coding done – time taken to complete the coding in development, transport and test it in QA system and then transport to production – is sometimes too long. In such cases, ABAP/4 query is a tool provided by SAP for generating these kind of reports.

This document aims at explaining the concept of ABAP/4 query in a simple and straight forward manner. The reader of this document should have a moderate knowledge of ABAP concepts and authorizations for understanding the concept of ABAP query.

Type of Report Desired

Before starting to write an ABAP query, its advisable to decide the type of report that the user wants. ABAP query provides the following type of reports:

Basic List Simple report

Statistics Report containing statistical functions like Average &Percentage

Ranked List Report written for analytical purpose

Read This Nugget

The output is always seen in the order of Basic List, then Statistics and then Ranked List if any. One ABAP query can have one basic list, maximum of 9 statistics and maximum of 9 ranked lists.

In a nutshell, an ABAP/4 query can be designed in four steps

Creation of a user group

Creation of functional area

Assignment of user group to functional area

Creation of the query based on functional area

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Abhay.

[Former Member]

ABAP/4

ABAP/4 is the language created by SAP AG for implementation and customization of their R/3 system.

The rough English translation of the acronym would be A Business Application Programming language, version 4.

It is a block-structured language that seems to me to most resemble a cross between Oracle's PL/SQL and IBM's PL/I.

It contains a moderately rich set of data structures; integers, "packed" BCD numbers, character strings, dates, times, ...

Some reasonable modularization tools handling both subroutines that are localized (called a FORM), and globally defined encapsulated functions (called FUNCTION MODULES).

A somewhat weak set of SQL operators; a select statement is represented by a loop structure, where operations are placed within the loop. e.g. A typical selection would look like:

select * from mytable where key like '25%'.

write: / mytable-key, mytable-value.

perform do_something using mytable-value.

endselect.

The operators are somewhat "weak" in that they cannot be directly composed to generate such things as inner or outer joins; one would instead nest select "loops" one within another.

ABAP/4 contains some highly report-oriented event-driven control structures. For instance, events can be defined for:

INITIALIZATION.

START-OF-SELECTION.

END-OF-SELECTION.

AT NEW-PAGE.

AT END-OF-PAGE.

Reports can be defined with drill-down capabilities, where by "double-clicking" on a line on a report, the program may be requested to display a "subreport," or perhaps to run an independent report or transaction.

There are also events defined to automate access to "logical databases," that is, to selectively walk down a hierarchy tree defined for a set of related tables. This can be used to provide (without programmer intervention) additional selection and sort criteria as parameters to reports.

ABAP/4 is a byte-compiled language. The virtual machine is fairly well hidden from view, but core dumps can be examined, and appear to resemble IBM 370 assembly language.

Operations that work on tables will have to access the database server; for efficiency's sake, there is the notion of an "Internal Table," which is an array structure that is stored "locally" on the application server . Using internal tables decreases both the load on the network and on the database server, and is highly encouraged, at least for moderate quantities of data.

Some additional "little languages" are used to link ABAP/4 code to screen definitions and screen control code to help define online transactions.

Jointly with the "screen control" language, ABAP/4 is used to implement substantially all of the visible R/3 system functionality. The R/3 "kernel" represents some (albeit fairly large) programs written in C that interpret ABAP/4 bytecode. There is so much infrastructure built up around this that most users and indeed many developers are probably not aware of where or what the kernel is.

Introduction to ABAP/4 Programming for SAP, Revised and Expanded Edition

Advanced ABAP Programming for SAP

It's not a tremendously "advanced" guide; it would be more accurate to characterize it as an "intermediate" guide. But as a successor to an "introduction" book, they presumably had to call it "Advanced."

SAPscript

The ever-nasty way of generating sophisticated typeset report output on R/3 systems

SAPscript Made Easy 4.6

I'm not sure it makes sense to consider that it can be "made easy," but this is pretty definitive documentation from SAP...

An Introduction to German for ABAP/4 Programmers

ABAP/4 programming language overview

Amazon present ABAP/4:Programming the SAP R/3 System

Diego Menese's Batch Input Generator 1.0

I wrote this program that automatically writes ABAP code for Batch Input Processing (using or not Call Transaction, and reading files from server or client, and also reading from external tables).

It can capture transaction specification from SM35-generated-programs, and it's very simple to use.

Here is a sample that opens an Excel spreadsheet from SAPGUI...

REPORT ZKOBI1 .

INCLUDE OLE2INCL.

*declaration of variants

DATA EXCEL TYPE OLE2_OBJECT.

DATA WORKBOOK TYPE OLE2_OBJECT.

DATA: H_SHEET TYPE OLE2_OBJECT , H_SHEET1 TYPE OLE2_OBJECT ,

H_SHEET2 TYPE OLE2_OBJECT.

• opening the excel application

CREATE OBJECT EXCEL 'Excel.Application'.

SET PROPERTY OF EXCEL 'Visible' = 1.

• opening the desired excel woorkbook

CALL METHOD OF EXCEL 'Workbooks' = WORKBOOK.

CALL METHOD OF WORKBOOK 'Open'

EXPORTING #1 = 'H:\COMP\KOBIZ\DOCUMENT\PRICELIST-TEST-1.0.XLS'.

GET PROPERTY OF EXCEL 'ACTIVECELL' = H_SHEET1.

SET PROPERTY OF H_SHEET1 'VALUE' = SEL_FILE.

• activating an excel macro

CALL METHOD OF EXCEL 'RUN'

EXPORTING #1 = 'OPEN1'.

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Abhay.

[Former Member]

If you feel that the infoermation what we are giving to u is useful.

Then request you to rewards Point to us.

Thanks .....

Abhay.