BAPIs - are they useful?

[Former Member]

Howdy again partners,

Listen I've heard about these things called BAPIs and they seem really neat.

Now my question is this:

What are the bad points about using them?

There must be a catch! Rather than having to code lots of selects from different tables to get material details I could just use a bAPI which would be quicker and easier to code for.

Are BAPIs really slow?

Are they full of bugs!!!

Please do tell me - I'd be much obliged.

[Former Member]

BAPI's are useful in the following: Internet scenarios, XML interfaces, R/3 distributed systems (ALE), mass/initial data transfer, business workflow, capturing business logic in your own custom programs.

BAPI's are indeed remote enabled function modules and can be called just like any other RFC in your own programs. BAPI's, however, are also methods of business objects (thus the "B" in the name).

Consider the following: BAPI's should NOT be created for every function that may be useful to external programs (e.g. unit of measure conversion). BAPI's should only be created if there is a business object that has methods. If there is no business object, then a normal RFC should be used instead of creating a BAPI.

By the way, BAPI's do not use OO code. They do use an OO model, and the connectors make them look OO to the outside world by looking at the BOR (Business Object Repository) to see what methods are there. Currently, there does not appear to be any plans at SAP to make BAPI's use ABAP Objects; i.e. they will be using RFC's in the future too. If anyone has heard differently, please post a reply.

[ssimsekler]

Hi James

I remember I have read at some article (I do not remember whether it was an official SAP article) saying that SAP plans to implement OO perspective for BAPI coding. However, it seems this has no priority. Maybe they gave up.

*--Serdar

[RichHeilman]

BAPIs are nothing more than Remote Enabled Function Modules. These FMs contain the code to perform some business function.

Just because they are BAPIs

1) does not necessarily make them slow in performance, i believe that they actually perform better than a BDC.

2) does not mean they are full of bugs, in a lot of cases they are performing the same code that a dialog program performs without the screens. So if the BAPI is buggy, then probably so is it's dialog counterpart.

Hope this helps,

Rich Heilman

[ssimsekler]

Hi

The systematic, object-based (relation with Business Object Repository) approach containing business logic, makes BAPIs very useful entities.

And I agree with Rich about your questions.

*--Serdar