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Mastering SAP ABAP
Mastering SAP ABAP

Mastering SAP ABAP: A complete guide to developing fast, durable, and maintainable ABAP programs in SAP

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Profile Icon Philipp Deth Profile Icon Paweł Grześkowiak Profile Icon Wojciech Ćwik Profile Icon Wojciech Ciesielski
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$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3 (1 Ratings)
Paperback May 2019 548 pages 1st Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Philipp Deth Profile Icon Paweł Grześkowiak Profile Icon Wojciech Ćwik Profile Icon Wojciech Ciesielski
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$19.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3 (1 Ratings)
Paperback May 2019 548 pages 1st Edition
eBook
$17.99 $26.99
Paperback
$38.99
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Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
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Mastering SAP ABAP

The Basic Structure of ABAP

This chapter will provide you with a quick introduction into the world of modern systems applications products (SAP) systems, along with a basic outline of the advanced business application programming (ABAP) language. We will take a look at legacy syntax figures and their counterparts, which are often used in modern ABAP systems.

In this chapter, we will explain basic data structures, the principles of data manipulation, and also typical hardware and software features of SAP systems. This knowledge is necessary for navigating the SAP system and creating applications.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

  • The Data Dictionary
  • Domains
  • Data elements
  • Structures
  • Table types

Technical requirements

The Data Dictionary

The Data Dictionary is a set of information describing the objects of a database and the relationship between its elements.


The Data Dictionary is used to control access to and manipulation of the database.

The Data Dictionary includes a domain, Types (StRUCTURES, DATA TYPE, and TABLE TYPE), tables, views, search helps, and lock objects.

The following diagram explains the division of objects in a Data Dictionary:

To create an object for the Data Dictionary, we need to use the SE11 transaction. The transaction code is usually only a few characters long and guides you directly to the screen of the task that the user wants to perform. This screen is shown in the following screenshot:

Domains

A domain...

Databases

In most cases, business processes in the SAP system are based on recorded data. For this purpose, a model based on relational data is used. A database table is, therefore, an object for storing data. It offers many possibilities to support the work of a programmer.

Creating a table is as simple as it is in the other objects of the dictionary. The user starts this process in the SE11 transaction—they select the Database table checkbox and enter a name (which must start with the character Z or Y), as shown in the following screenshot:

Then, they need to click on the Create button. The SAP system will take the user to a screen where they can choose some options. A short description should be entered as it is an obligatory field. The screen the user will see is as follows:

As we can see, there are two fields to fill in at this stage. The first one (Delivery...

Data declaration

After learning about the objects in the Data Dictionary, we can start talking about the syntax declaration in ABAP. The easiest way to declare variables is as follows:

data: lv_first_variable TYPE c. 

Variables are named data objects that are used to store values within the allotted memory area of a program. It is good practice to properly name local variables. It is assumed that the first two characters in the variable name determine its use. The first letter indicates whether the variable is global or local. If the local variable starts with l, then in the case of global variables, g is the first letter. The second character determines what type the object is:

  • Variable: v
  • Line: s
  • Internal table: t

Each variable must have a type that describes what is stored inside. A variable may have the following types:

  • Elementary types
  • References
  • User-defined types...

Summary

This chapter described everything you need to know about when you work with the SAP system. It is worth you understanding this chapter because it is the introduction to the modern SAP system. The information in this chapter teaches you about the use of explicit techniques when working with the system dictionary.

The ABAP Dictionary contains information about all the metadata in the SAP system. The ABAP Dictionary is a very important part of the SAP system, and understanding it is necessary for fast and efficient programming. This issue is very extensive and, in most programming cases, you need to use the ABAP Dictionary. 

In the next chapter, we will talk about database access in ABAP.

Questions 

The following questions will allow you to consolidate the information contained in this chapter:

  1. What characters must the names of the objects in the ABAP Dictionary begin with?
  2. What is a field symbol?
  3. What are the elementary types in the SAP system?
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Key benefits

  • Become adept at building interfaces and explore ABAP tools and techniques
  • Discover the modern functionalities available in the latest version of ABAP
  • Learn the process of creating stunning HTML5 applications using SAPUI5

Description

Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) is an established and complex programming language in the IT industry. This book is designed to help you use the latest ABAP techniques and apply legacy constructions using practical examples. You'll start with a quick refresher on language and database concepts, followed by agile techniques for adding custom code to a modern ABAP system. After this, you will get up to speed with the complete ABAP toolset for importing data to and from different environments. Next, you'll learn how to print forms and work with the different ABAP tools for Extensible Markup Language (XML) manipulation. While covering further chapters, you'll gain insights into building stunning UI5 interfaces, in addition to learning how to develop simple apps using the Business Object Processing Framework (BOPF). You will also pick up the technique of handling exceptions and performing testing in ABAP. In the concluding chapters, you can look forward to grasping various techniques for optimizing the performance of programs using a variety of performance analysis tools. By the end of this book, you will have the expertise you need to confidently build maintainable programs in Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP).

Who is this book for?

This book is for developers who want to learn and use ABAP skills to become an industry expert. Familiarity with object-oriented programming concepts is expected.

What you will learn

  • Create stable and error-free ABAP programs
  • Leverage new ABAP concepts including object-oriented programming(OOP) and Model-View-Controller (MVC)
  • Learn to add custom code to your existing SAP program
  • Speed up your ABAP programs by spotting bottlenecks
  • Understand techniques such as performance tuning and optimization
  • Develop modern and beautiful user interfaces (UIs) in an ABAP environment
  • Build multiple classes with any nesting level

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : May 31, 2019
Length: 548 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787288942
Vendor :
SAP
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

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Product Details

Publication date : May 31, 2019
Length: 548 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787288942
Vendor :
SAP
Category :
Languages :
Tools :

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Frequently bought together


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Total $ 132.97
SAP ABAP Advanced Cookbook
$54.99
SAP Business Intelligence Quick Start Guide
$38.99
Mastering SAP ABAP
$38.99
Total $ 132.97 Stars icon

Table of Contents

18 Chapters
Creating Custom Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The Basic Structure of ABAP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Database Access in ABAP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Import and Export to Document Formats Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Exposing Data to Print Forms Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
ABAP and XML Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building User Interfaces Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Stunning UI5 Interfaces Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Business Object Processing Framework Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Modification and Customization Techniques Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Handling Exceptions in ABAP Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Testing ABAP programs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Advanced Techniques in ABAP Objects Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Integrating SAP with Third-Party Systems Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The Background Processing of ABAP Programs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Performance and Optimization of ABAP Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Assessments Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Another Book You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Idiot Sep 19, 2021
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On the positive side the book is very direct with none of the usual waffle you get in many technical books. Hence you can make progress quickly. This though makes the book a very stilted read with frequent need to groan out loud. E.g. "Creating a domain is very quick and easy. We don't need specialist knowledge." I am a Darlek!This also leads to telling you v, s and t are variable types, and then on the next line defines types of variable as elementary, references, user defined etc. So is a variable type v, s or t or not?It also has the following classic:Type STRING: Like type CType XSTRING: Like type XC is defined earlier but X isn't leaving you searching back to where X might be defined only to find the author has plain forgotten to mention what X is. They also have a chapter called "Database Access in ABAP" which dives straight into your boring old SELECT COL1 FROM TAB1, but totally omits to tell you how connect to the database or what tool to use to connect with!Despite having to decipher much of the book I will skim read as it does contain much that is worth knowing and is one of those books which forces you work things out for yourselves. I find the lack of articulation is appalling but strangely does make you focus on the facts.
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