SAP Solutions use different types of runtime technology.
Many SAP systems are based on SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP (AS ABAP), like SAP ECC, SAP CRM, SAP SCM etc., some SAP systems are based on SAP NetWeaver Application Server Java (AS Java), like SAP NetWeaver Portal, SAP NetWeaver Process Integration, SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment etc. and some solutions not based on SAP NetWeaver Application Server, like SAP Business One, SAP Streamwork (offered as Software as a service - SaaS), SAP Crystal Solution, SAP HANA and many more.
Note: Some SAP systems are based on AS ABAP + Java, for example the SAP Solution Manager.
Depending on what they are used for, these different system types use rather different user interfaces.
The following list names some frequently used access technologies, which end users of these system (so not “technicians”) use frequently.
TADM10_1 Lesson: Navigation in SAP Systems
Examples of Different Access Technologies SAP Product Typical Access Technology SAP ERP (with SAP
ECC)
SAP GUI for Windows (GUI = Graphical User Interface) or SAP GUI for HTML
SAP NetWeaver BI Browser-based interface (different browsers possible) SAP Business
ByDesign
Browser-based interface (different browsers possible), Software offered as a service (SaaS)
SAP Business All-in-One
SAP NetWeaver Business Client
Note: In this course we will focus on SAP NetWeaver and its technology.
Please note that the above list does not cover all SAP products are and that not all possible (!) access technologies are listed in all cases. For example, an SAP ECC system can also be accessed by browser or using the SAP GUI for Java; SAP NetWeaver BI is also accessible by SAP GUI for Windows and so on.
The following display will be limited to the most popular access technology, the SAP GUI.
The presentation interface, SAP GUI (Graphical User Interface) enables the user to interact with SAP systems based on AS ABAP.
SAP GUI implements the graphical user interface using the functions provided by the relevant presentation environment. SAP GUI is based on the Windows Style Guide and is available for several platforms, providing the same functions for each.
There are different variants of SAP GUI, which can all be operated in the same way, irrespective of the underlying platform.
The following types of SAP GUI are available:
• SAP GUI for the Windows environment
• SAP GUI for the Java environment
• SAP GUI for HTML
Note: In the above list, the official terms of the SAP GUI are used; these are only available in English. Colloquially, the following terms are used synonymously (in the same order): SAP GUI for Windows, SAP GUI for Java or Java GUI and Web GUI. Please note that these are not the “official SAP terms” but are used frequently nonetheless.
Unit 2: Navigation TADM10_1
Caution: The above variants of the SAP GUI are suitable only for working with SAP systems based on AS ABAP. SAP GUI for Java offers no access to SAP systems based on AS Java, its name refers to its implementation technology: SAP GUI for Java has been implemented in Java and can therefore be used on front ends not running a Windows operation system (e.g. Mac OS X or Linux).
SAP applications based on AS Java are accessed using a browser.
SAP GUI for the Windows environment (abbreviated to SAP GUI for Windows) is the SAP GUI implementation in a Microsoft Windows environment. SAP GUI for Windows is written in C or C++, runs on Windows-based platforms, and supports all transactions in an SAP system.
The data flow between the presentation layer and the application layer does not consist of prepared screens, but rather of logical, compact information about control elements and user input (DIAG protocol). The volume of data transferred for each screen change is generally a few KB. You can therefore also easily connect presentation servers over WANs.
SAP GUI for the Java Environment (abbreviated to: SAP GUI for Java) is written in Java and is the platform-independent implementation of SAP GUI. Like SAP GUI for the Windows environment, this GUI also uses the DIAG protocol, so the volume of data transferred for each screen change is also generally only a few KB and you can easily connect presentation servers over WANs.
You can either install SAP GUI on the front end, or alternatively you can install it on a terminal server and access it using terminal clients.
SAP GUI for HTML requires the SAP Internet Transaction Server (ITS) that is part of AS ABAP on the server side and a Web browser on the client side. The SAP ITS provides the services needed for creating responses (within the SAP system) in HTML format. Those responses are transferred to the Web Server or Web Client outside the SAP system, using the Internet Communication Manager of the AS ABAP.
The primary advantage of the SAP GUI for HTML is the simpler installation on the front-end; a browser installation suffices.
The following figure shows the various alternatives and the flow of communication with the ABAP dispatcher / Internet Communication Manager (ICM).
TADM10_1 Lesson: Navigation in SAP Systems
Figure 13: Flavors of SAP GUI
Note: You can find further information on the various SAP GUI alternatives in the following SAP Notes:
• SAP Note 66971: Supported SAP GUI platforms
• SAP Note 314568: SAP GUI for HTML functionality / Limitations / Sp. Behaviour
• SAP Note 146505: SAP GUI for the Java environment (Platform Independent GUI)
• SAP Note 138869: SAP GUI on Windows Terminal Server (WTS)