Java to SAP java development

[Former Member]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and newbie in SAP technology. I don't know if this is the right place to post this message since I'm a java programmer I thought people in this forum will be able to help me with my question.

I'm basically a java programmer with experience in EJB and Sun One portal development, I'm interested in SAP portal/java development but I have no experience in SAP so far. I want to get your opinion about what is the best way to start SAP Java programming.

Do I have to learn some SAP functional stuff?

Is there any better way to start SAP java programming?

If I see job advertisment for "SAP portal developer" do you think a person with good java programming skills with portal development knowledge without SAP knowledge will be suitable for the position?

I would appreciate if you post your replies based on your experience.

Thanks

Siva

[Former Member]

Hi Kris and Kalle, thanks very much for your time and sharing your experience. Your information is quite useful for me to start off with SAP Java development.

Thanks very much again.

[Former Member]

Hi Siva,

As a Generalisation:

From a Java point of view you can compare

pretty much SAP to for example Oracle RDBMS where you just need to remember that where in Oracle you talk about JDBC in SAP you talk about JCO.

A stored procedure in JDBC is a RFC Function in SAP.

The SAP portal development's Java part is actually a bit simplified from a number of other portals so with strong J2EE skills you pick up the details pretty fast.

If you need to work in SAP R/3 or alike then it is a completely different game, but purely interfacing with SAP using Java is not that difficult, in general.

Even though a number of companies think that you need to come into SAP Java development from a SAP background I personally think that a good SAP, but weak Java developer is a far worse choice than a Strong Java developer with limited SAP skills when doing SAP J2EE work.

The biggest problem is still how to find that first job where you can work with both worlds. Luckily SAP uses more and more J2EE components hence the odds should get better all the time to find some related work.

Good Luck with your SAP career!

Cheers,

Kalle

[Former Member]

Hi Siva,

A good way to get a basic knowledge about what Java is used for in SAP is to read the book "SAP Netweaver for Dummies". It is easy and fast to read.

I was in the same position as you 6 month ago, with good Java programming skills but no SAP knowledge and I now have the role of a Technical Consulting and dealing mostly with portal development of iViews.

Java is a big part of being a Portal Developer and SAP knowledge is hard to achieve as a private person, due to the price of the courses. So I think you could apply for the position and get the rest of the training from the company that offers the job.

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me on email if you have questions.

Best regards and Good luck.

Kris

kris.kegel@sap.com

Message was edited by: Kris Kegel

Message was edited by: Kris Kegel