SAP S OF TWARE L OGISTICS
4.4 OTHER OBJECTS
Next to tables, ABAP programs and screens, a SAP system also has several other objects. Objects are managed through the Development Workbench and in particular the Object Browser under transaction SE80. These other objects are:
Search Helps and MatchCode Object – which is a special dictionary object for helping end users find certain documents in the system. SAP, however, has stopped using match codes in their applications. The new search facilities are based on “Search Helps” and the introduction of an external search and index tool called
T-Rex should eliminate the need for embedded search objects. Search Helps are objects that are connected to screen input fields and direct the end user to press F4.
This shows a small dialog box that offers the ability to enter the search criteria.
Figure 4.9: Search Helps are implemented as F4 in input fields.
The objects can be accessed through transaction SE11.
Data Model – Under transaction SD11 a case tool resides that offers the ability to create and edit data models according to the ERD-schema technique.
Figure 4.10: SAP graphics view of ERD data modeler. ©Copyright SAP AG.
Screen – All dialog screens in SAP are identified as objects. A screen is created or maintained through transaction SE51 (SAP Screen Painter). Each screen consists of one or more screen numbers, which are connected to each other using the screen flow. The ABAP coding is connected to screen numbers using PAI (Process After Input) and PBI (Process Before Input) modules. These modules are event-handlers written in ABAP and are triggered after a user response.
Figure 4.11: SAP Screen Painter. ©Copyright SAP AG.
Function Module – Is a piece of ABAP code that can be called from other programs by using the statement “CALL FUNCTION.” Function modules are created and maintained through transaction SE37 and contain various attributes.
The possible attributes are:
Normal Function module: Can be called with “CALL FUNCTION” statement
Remote Function module: This function can be called from within another system using “CALL FUNCTION … USING DESTINATION.”
Update Function module: This function code is executed by a UPD or UP2 process asynchronously. This option has four suboptions:
Start Immediately: Function module is directly executed
Start Immediately, No restore: Same as above, except for restart option
Start delayed: This is a so-called V2 update
Collective Run: This is a so-called V3 update
Menu – SAP offers a large number of menus, which can be created and maintained through transaction SE41 (SAP Menu Painter). The created menu items can be used to start certain ABAP programs and transactions.
Text Element – is an object that can be assigned to a location on a screen. By creating different translations for one text element, SAP offers the ability to make screen language independent. Text elements can be created and maintained using transaction SE32. The transaction SE63 is used for translations.
Message – are the text messages, which are shown at the bottom of the SAPGUI screen in case of an information notification, warning or error message.
All messages are grouped into “Message Classes” and can be maintained using transaction SE91. There are four types of messages:
Figure 4.12: SAP Menu Painter. ©Copyright SAP AG.
Information: Just to inform the user, such as “P.O. 354825 has been created.”
Warning: Just to inform the user of a “small” issue.
Error: To inform the user about a recoverable error. For example, a wrong data entry.
Abort: A serious error from which SAP cannot recover from. For example, a situation around an application or database server that is down.
BSP – Business Server Pages are SAP solution for server-side scripting. The BSP is a “dynamic” HTML extension that is using the “ABAP Personality” of the SAP Web Application Server 6.10 or higher. The following example displays five times the text “hello world” on the Web browser:
<%@page language=”abap”%>
<html>
<body>
<center>
<% do 5 times. %>
<font size=<%=sy-index%>>
Hello World! <br>
</font>
<% enddo. %>
</center>
</body>
</html>
The page is shown at http://<hostname>:8080/sap/bc/mypage, which is exported from the SAP system using transaction SICF to the ICMan (Internet Connection
Manager). The BSP pages are objects that are created and maintained through transaction SE80 – Object Browser. The page is written in HTML and all ABAP code is added using “<% %>” tags.
SAP also supports Java and Web DynPro for the server-side scripting and supports JavaScript for client-side scripting.
Web Dynpro - As of SAP NetWeaver 7.0, the ABAP language has been extended with Web Dynpro for ABAP. This extension fulfills the requirement to create screen-based, event-driven applications that ease the development cycle of user interfaces. The Web Dynpro technology is based on the screen painter with additional options and adopted from the Java community. The screens (type R3TR WDYN) are built using transaction SE80 → Object “Web dynpro” and interpreted by the Dynpro processor. The Web Dynpro for ABAP is based on the MVC (Model-View-Controller) development paradigm.
Figure 4.13: SAP Web Dynpro builder. ©Copyright SAP AG.
Once in Web Dynpro, a user screen is painted and ABAP coding can be generated or is added to the various screen elements. The “Web Dynpro for Java”
code is built using the SAP Development Studio, which is the IDE (Integrated Development Editor) for Java in SAP, where in ABAP the code is developed through the ABAP Workbench instead.