By using SAP’s ABAP programming language, large companies can customize their SAP ERP systems. SAP’s financial accounting, materials management, asset management, and all other modules can be customized with ABAP. Both ABAP and Java are supported by SAP’s development platform. In accordance with the SAP, the full form of ABAP is Advanced Business Application.
SAP ABAP can be used to Implement What?
At the beginning of its usage, SAP ABAP was used for developing new applications, statements, functions, and updating existing program components. Here it is also talked about the SAP standard. The language scope of this standard, despite its wide variety of versions and numerous industry solutions, is not typically sufficient for companies to meet their individual requirements. In order to close the gap, external and internal SAP programmers help by using SAP ABAP to assist in developing the solutions for it. Solutions help in solving many problems easily.
Not only does this include the system basis, but the whole range of SAP modules, including human resources, finance, logistics, production, sales and purchasing. Therefore, it is very useful.
Below are some instances where ABAP can be used-
- There is the opportunity to develop your own database tables.
- You can do programming of individual user interfaces.
- You can develop your own transactions
- ABAP could assist in designing the reports
- It generates the specific results
- It can create new processes and instructions
What are the Technical Features of SAP ABAP?
If the comparison is made between the syntax of SAP ABAP and the programming language COBOL, then it is very similar. It was developed back in the 1950s, but the use of the language is still prevalent. The common business-oriented language that is COBOL is a natural language. The language is specifically used in commercial applications. Now the situation is the same with SAP ABAP. SAP ABAP is called the fourth generation language that is 4GL language.
Only programming language aids in generating the codes quickly and there are just a few lines of code because the programming language is designed in such a way. If you want to process a large amount of data within commercial applications, then SAP ABAP is ideal for it. Make use of this ideal way to make it work efficiently.
What is the SAP ABAP Programming Process like?
New programs are generated with SAP ABAP through several steps:
- First, you need to do programming in the development environment.
- After that, the changed objects need to be transported into a consolidated or tested environment.
- In the production system, one needs to test, release and transport.
- With SAP the programmers get the development environment in order to write source code in ABAP.
- With the ABAP workbench, existing programs are presented in several forms such as tree structures and are all organized in accordance with their content.
Looking from the technical point of view, then data and code are entirely and strictly different/ separate in SAP ABAP. It is possible to define globally valid tables and data types in the Data Dictionary, which also stores documentation for data types in addition to the technical properties of the program.
This distinguishes SAP’s ABAP programming from the use of other languages, where applications are typically stored in separate files.
In the ABAP workbench tools, you can find the code available with the source code within the database. Also, the same exists as a generated code which is represented in the binary form (Java bytecode).
It is important to know that the SAP is executable all the time and therefore there is no development of source code in the production system.
Transport requests are therefore necessary in order to import new programs from the development environment into subsequent systems. Also, you can define the exact time of the transports. Usually this transport takes place on non-working days or at night more specifically for extensive changes.
