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Whether you‘re new to SAP or an experienced user looking to expand your skills, you‘ve likely come across the term "ABAP" before. But what exactly is ABAP and why does it matter?
In this comprehensive beginner‘s guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know about ABAP, including:
- What is ABAP?
- Brief history and evolution
- Core capabilities and features
- ABAP workbench overview
- ABAP programming basics
- Use cases and business examples
- How ABAP fits into SAP ecosystems
- ABAP vs other languages like Java
Let‘s start at the very beginning – what exactly is ABAP?
What is ABAP? Definition and Meaning
ABAP stands for Advanced Business Application Programming. It is a high-level programming language that was specifically created for developing business applications within SAP software environments.
Some key facts about ABAP:
- Created and maintained by SAP
- 4th generation language (4GL)
- Runs on SAP NetWeaver Application Server
- Used for building applications in SAP ERP, S/4HANA, etc.
- Enables customization of business logic and processes
- Procedural and object-oriented capabilities
- Over 2+ million ABAP developers globally
While those are the cold hard facts, what does this actually mean?
In simple terms, ABAP is the underlying coding language used by developers to customize and enhance SAP software functionality for enterprises. It allows creation of custom reports, interfaces, workflows and more within SAP systems like SAP ERP and S/4HANA.
Let‘s say Company XYZ uses SAP to run their human resource operations. They can hire an ABAP developer to tweak the HR software for their specific compliance policies, integrate with an external payroll provider, customize employee reports, and handle complex business logic. This is done using ABAP.
Now that you understand the basic definition of ABAP, let’s briefly recap how this language originated and evolved over 30+ years at SAP.
History and Evolution of ABAP
ABAP has an over 30 year long history spanning many major releases:
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1980s – SAP develops ABAP as an easy-to-learn programming language for customizing early versions of SAP applications.
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1992 – Client/Server architecture allows ABAP to customize this more distributed, flexible system beyond just mainframes.
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1999 – SAP introduces ABAP Objects, bringing key object-oriented concepts like inheritance to the language.
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2006 – A major release adds the "switch" framework, allowing greater code modularity.
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2012 – "Table Expressions" functionality is added for easier SQL.
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2017 – "Virtual Sort" for internal tables boosts performance.
Recent – Active feature development continues by SAP with 2-3 major ABAP releases per year.
As you can see, ABAP capabilities have grown tremendously from its origins in the 1980s to become an incredibly full-featured development platform utilized by enterprises globally.
Now that we have some history down, what are some of the key capabilities and features that make ABAP such a powerful tool?
Key Capabilities and Technical Features
ABAP provides a very robust toolset for business application development:
Simple and Accessible Language
- Easy for programmers to learn quickly
- Very readable code with sentence-like structure
- Supports procedural and object-oriented styles
Comprehensive Customization
- Build customized reports, dashboards, workflows
- User-defined fields, tables, data types
- Extend functionality in existing SAP modules
Enterprise Integration
- Integrate internal and external systems
- Leverage interfaces like BAPIs, IDocs
- End-to-end testing tools
Database and Data Caching
- Advanced mechanisms for managing large data sets
- Complex SQL access and analysis capabilities
- Smart buffering improves performance
Intuitive User Experience
- Create custom dialogs, screens, UI components
- MVC framework support
- Drag-and-drop design editor
These built-in capabilities span everything from custom logic to UI design. But ABAP isn’t just abstract features – it serves some very tangible real-world purposes.
Use Cases and Business Examples
We’ve talked generally about what ABAP can do, but what are some concrete examples of it in practice?
Here are just a few ways companies leverage ABAP customization:
Reporting – create custom sales reports, inventory KPI dashboards, employee analysis etc. tailored to the organization.
Fig 2. Sample interactive ABAP report output
Workflow – optimize approvals, automate processes like invoice handling to suit their preferences.
Custom Transactions – develop simple screens, tools for business-specific needs not covered by standard SAP.
Enhancements – augment existing functionality, enrich standard reports, transactions with custom fields and logic.
Integrations – connect SAP ERP with external systems like CRMs, 3PL transportation etc. via APIs and middleware.
Software Extensions – build custom lightweight apps on SAP Business Technology Platform leveraging ABAP.
The use cases are endless, but it boils down to tailored optimization of business processes powered by internal IT departments and SI partners.
Now that you understand key capabilities…
ABAP Programming Model and Syntax Basics
On a more technical level, let’s briefly look at some ABAP programming basics…
ABAP leverages a variety of familiar data types:
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Numeric – integers, decimals
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Character – strings, text
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Date/Time
Code structure organizes into modular procedurals and object-oriented classes/methods:
REPORT sales_report.
START-OF-SELECTION.
PERFORM get_sales_data.
LOOP AT sales_data INTO data.
PERFORM display_result USING data.
ENDLOOP.
*Method Definitions
METHOD get_sales_data.
"SQL select code goes here ..
ENDMETHOD.
METHOD display_result.
WRITE / sy-vline.
WRITE: / data-name, data-revenue.
ENDMETHOD.This example illustrates key concepts like modular procedures, accessing datasets, and outputting results.
Built-in statements like CHECK, RAISE EXCEPTION, TRY CATCH handle common code logic and errors.
Overall, the syntax allows developers to leverage both procedural and object-oriented styles.
Now that you understand ABAP programming model, next let’s explore the tools that bring this all together…
ABAP Workbench
The ABAP Workbench serves as the integrated development environment or IDE for creating ABAP applications. It contains different tools for building various components.
Fig 3. – ABAP Workbench code editor
Some major parts:
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ABAP Editor – where developers write and modify ABAP code. Provides syntax checks, shortcuts, version control integrations, etc.
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Data Dictionary – central metadata repository containing definitions of database tables, structures, hierarchical data model.
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Object Navigator – displays hierarchical structure of development objects like classes, programs, packages to enable organization and navigation while coding.
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SAP GUI Tools – Screen Painter, Menu Painter create UX layer and dialogs.
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Transport Tools – manage software change control, system promotions.
Built on the SAP NetWeaver platform, the Workbench provides a very robust environment for sizable ABAP projects from design through deployment.
Now that you understand the ABAP workbench and programming model at a high level let’s examine how Java fits into the picture…
SAP ABAP vs. Java
Besides ABAP, Java is another popular language integrated across SAP platforms. But what are the key differences and when is each used?
| SAP ABAP | Java |
|---|---|
| Used for core business applications like SAP ERP, S/4HANA. Customizes business logic. | Leveraged for middleware like SAP Integration Suite, gateway APIs, microservices. |
| 2+ million developers. Stable and consistent for mission-critical deployments. | Enterprise adoption growing steadily. Integrates well with open source code. |
| Excellent for complex transactional processing, batch jobs. | Faster iterative style well suited for newer web/mobile applications. |
The main takeaway is that the two languages have evolved to fill complementary roles:
ABAP excels at customizing business-critical backend processes trusted by enterprises.
Java shines for lightweight extensions, modern UX, leveraging broader open ecosystem.
In summary:
- ABAP – Customizing core business apps – SAP ERP, S/4HANA, BW. Transactions, batch.
- Java – Microservices, cloud extensions, gateway APIs. Faster iterations.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
We‘ve covered a lot of ground explaining everything you need to know to get started with understanding ABAP. Let‘s recap:
- ABAP is the coding language for customizing SAP software functionality.
- It offers comprehensive capability spanning UX, logic, data, integration.
- Millions of developers leverage ABAP globally across industries.
- The ABAP Workbench provides the integrated IDE.
- Coexists alongside Java for differentiated roles.
Hopefully this guide served as a comprehensive yet understandable introduction to the world of ABAP for an SAP beginner. Understanding what ABAP is and the problems it solves is the first step on the journey to mastering SAP custom development!