LUW

[Former Member]

What is LUW?

[Sm1tje]

Logical Unit of Work.

[Former Member]

LUW:

The R/3 system is multi user system and many users access the same information at the same time, which is mainly DATA. Consider the case where one user is modifying a record, and second user is trying to delete the same record. If the second user is successful in deleting the record then the first user will face problem for modifying the record that is already deleted. The avoid such situation, R/3 system has provided Logical Unit of Work, which is defined as a locking mechanism to protect transaction integrity. Of course, there are other measures, which ensures data integrity like check table i.e. foreign key relationship. Within SAP system there are three types of transaction and may be distinguished as:

• Database transaction known as LUW. It can be defined as a period in which operation requested must be performed as a unit, i.e. all or nothing operation. At the end of LUW, either of the database changes are committed or rolled back.

• Update transaction or SAP LUW. One SAP LUW can have several databases LUW. So a set of a database is either committed or rolled back. The special ABAP/4 command COMMIT WORK, marks the end of a SAP LUW.

• ABAP/4 transaction. Is made up of a set of related task combined under one transaction code. ABAP/4 transactions are for programming environment, in which ABAP/4 transaction functions like one complete object containing screens, menus and transaction codes.

R/3 system has provided in built locking mechanism, which defines the Logical Unit of Work. Also user can set his own locking mechanism. The LUW starts when a lock entry in the system table is created, and it ends when the lock is released.

To provide the user the facility to communicate with the table in order to modify or delete or insert data, R/3 has provided tool called SCREEN PAINTER. This tool allows you to design screen, process screen through program and update the database table. SAP has provided one and only one way to update the database table, i.e. transaction. Though you can update database table by using open SQL statement through program, SAP usually doesn’t recommend this kind of updating. Many standard transactions are available to update standard table but if the need arises, the developer should be able to develop new transaction, which allows the updating of database tables. This can be achieved by using various components of screen painter.

SAP LUW

The Open SQL statements INSERT, UPDATE, MODIFY, and DELETE allow you to program database changes that extend over several dialog steps. Even if you have not explicitly programmed a database commit, the implicit database commit that occurs after a screen has been processed concludes the database LUW. The following diagram shows the individual database LUWs in a typical screen sequence:

Under this procedure, you cannot roll back the database changes from previous dialog steps. It is therefore only suitable for programs in which there is no logical relationship between the individual dialog steps.

However, the database changes in individual dialog steps normally depend on those in other dialog steps, and must therefore all be executed or rolled back together. These dependent database changes form logical units, and can be grouped into a single database LUW using the bundling techniques listed below.

A logical unit consisting of dialog steps, whose changes are written to the database in a single database LUW is called an SAP LUW. Unlike a database LUW, an SAP LUW can span several dialog steps, and be executed using a series of different work processes. If an SAP LUW contains database changes, you should either write all of them or none at all to the database. To ensure that this happens, you must include a database commit when your transaction has ended successfully, and a database rollback in case the program detects an error. However, since database changes from a database LUW cannot be reversed in a subsequent database LUW, you must make all of the database changes for the SAP LUW in a single database LUW. To maintain data integrity, you must bundle all of you database changes in the final database LUW of the SAP LUW. The following diagram illustrates this principle:

The bundling technique for database changes within an SAP LUW ensures that you can still reverse them. It also means that you can distribute a transaction across more than one work process, and even across more than one SAP system.