Mastering SAP is a wrap for 2021, and it was a great experience. It started for me by attending Thomas Jung ‘s session.
Source: SAP
Where it fits in modern structure, applications
Expand technical knowledge
Look at SAP technologies
As move to S/4HANA
Source: SAP
Andre Fischer is pictured above
15 years ago, the thought was Java was to replace ABAP
Product is still being developed on ABAP platform, which has evolved
Backward compatibility is reason it is not dead
Source: SAP
Programs that ran 25 years ago may still run today (Unicode changes)
Strength and weakness of ABAP ecosystems
Great for customers/partners – invest in intellectual property
Long lifespan
Long stability
Down side, may lead to ABAP developers becoming stagnant
May not bring innovation; look to SAP
Topic of extensibility
Old days focus on bubble on the left
New Z program, class, new ALV, new program within S/4HANA
See opportunity to do extensions in cloud, using BTP, formerly known as SAP Cloud Platform
Opportunity to do extensions in different way, side by side extensions
Find API’s to expose from S/4HANA, call separately from S/4HANA
Freedom to upgrade extensions at a faster pace than update S/4HANA
Better security with separation
Better speed to update S/4HANA by keeping core clean
Right side has new topics – data science, process innovation, don’t have in ABAP runtime
Event mesh, alternative run times to ABAP, bring innovation from open source world and IT industry, additional tools, standard functionality to broaden technology landscape
Source: SAP
Do not have to abandon ABAP skill set
Can do it in the cloud
Will feel different; need to find the API’s
Survive upgrades better
Always on latest version with ABAP in cloud (4 times a year)
On premise gets only 1 release a year
SAP takes care of upgrade in cloud
Tuning, monitoring is taken care of by SAP for you
Source: SAP
Before, Gateway, expose Odata services, annotations in CDS, decoupled from Gateway, different frameworks, provide one new end to end programming model – Fiori apps, do it in a single programming model, used at SAP
Replaced Gateway functionality
Used CDS as definition and model, annotations
Service enablement
Bring latest functionality, draft support, latest Fiori annotation support in single programming model
S/4HANA 1909 has unmanaged model
S/4HANA 2020 – use RAP for new Fiori model and retrofit basic Gateway services to RAP
Coding exits for ABAP logic
Source: SAP
SAPLink, ABAGGit, open up ABAP ecosystem to exchange ideas and innovation
Take ideas of open source of problems being shared by the community
Growing community
ABAP in VS Code, not something SAP does, offering syntax highlighting in VS Code, an example that the community is doing
Check the ABAPGit site, where the community is exchanging ideas and technological solutions
Source: SAP
Whole other technology in addition to ABAP run time
Cloud Foundry, Kyma, allowing multiple languages
Choice of programming models
Other is SAP CAP, similar in scope to RAP, both accomplish many of the same things, using a different underlying technology – node.js or Java – deploy to Cloud Foundry or Kyma Kubernetes
Source: SAP
Above shows a screen shot from SAP TechEd Developer Keynote
Typical development team – long time ABAP developer, brought ABAP skillset
Another developer transitioned to CAPM
Third developer – cloud native developer
Extend sales order process by combining CAPM, Google Go, and ABAP RAP to extend business objects, using Fiori interface, using message bus (BTP Event Mesh, new name) – technology layer
Deployed to ABAP run time, S/4HANA system backend, deployed to Kubernetes (Kyma run time)
Source: SAP
Full lifecycle management
Best practices
Golden path, but not lock into single technology
Plug open sources
Open architecturally
Source: SAP
Full development experience
Similar scope to RAP
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I’m glad I was able to attend this session live; it helped put in perspective where ABAP fits.
