Skip to content

12-Develop-BTP-ABAP-RAP-Application.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
477 lines (352 loc) · 31.1 KB

12-Develop-BTP-ABAP-RAP-Application.md

File metadata and controls

477 lines (352 loc) · 31.1 KB

Developing BTP ABAP RAP Applications - Data Modeling and OData Service Generation

You can develop applications using SAP BTP ABAP in just a few steps. The high-level diagram below illustrates the end-to-end development process in SAP BTP ABAP environment using the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP). This process starts from defining the data model using CDS entities. It then moves through behavior and service exposure layers. Finally, it culminates in a SAP Fiori elements UI. This approach enables rapid, metadata-driven enterprise application development.

                                                      [Database]
                                                          ↓
                                                     [CDS Entity]
                                                          ↓
                                             [Behavior Definition + Class]
                                                          ↓
                                                 [Service Definition]
                                                          ↓
                                                  [OData V4 Binding]
                                                          ↓
                                                [SAP Fiori Elements UI]

To create an ABAP RAP application on SAP BTP, you need to create several artifacts to achieve development object creation. These include:

  1. Software Component

    • A software unit delivered and versioned by SAP or partners. It contains a collection of packages, classes, function modules, etc.
    • In SAP BTP ABAP environment, software components function similarly to reusable libraries, such as dependencies in abapGit. Examples include: SAP_APPL, S4CORE, and ZPARTNER_EXT.

  2. Package

    • A logical container used to organize development objects (CDS views, classes, services, etc.).
    • Helps with transport management and modular design.

  3. Database (DB) Tables

    • Physical tables in the ABAP Dictionary that persist data. In RAP or CAP, you define data models through CDS views that map to underlying tables.

    • Types of DB tables:

      o Transparent tables

      o Views and CDS views: These provide logical representations of DB tables.

  4. Source Code Library

    • Libraries that can be shared across packages or projects. They are collections of reusable ABAP code, such as:

      o Classes

      o Function groups

      o Interfaces

  5. Transactional UI Services

    • SAP Fiori apps or UI services that allow users to perform business transactions (create, update, delete). In RAP, they are created using service definitions and service bindings (OData V4).
    • It automatically supports: o Draft handling o Validation and determinations o Actions, such as approve or submit
    • It can be launched through: o SAP Fiori launchpad o SAP Build Work Zone o Integrated into SAP S/4HANA Fiori catalogs/groups

  6. Message Class

    • Used to define and manage standardized messages (errors, warnings, information). They are used in exception handling, UI messages, or API responses.

    • Example: ZMSG001, with entries like:

      o 001: Customer does not exist.

      o 002: Order has already been approved.

Let's look into it in detail:

Software Component Creation

A software component contains all coding and development objects for at least one application. It should be able to run independently. To create a software component, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to your SAP BTP subaccount where the ABAP instance is created.

  2. Select the ABAP Environment Service Instance name under Instances on the Instances and Subscriptions tab in your subaccount. The ABAP landscape opens in new tab.

  3. Search for the Manage Software Components app and choose Create.

  4. Enter the following sample information:

    • Namespace: Z
    • Name: PRA_MUSIC_FESTIVAL_MGR
    • Description: Music Festivals
    • Type: Development

  5. Choose Create. The software component is created and a page with it opens.

  6. Choose Clone. In the popup dialog, choose OK.

Software Component Availability in Eclipse ADT

After creating the software component, you create an ABAP Cloud project in Eclipse. Then, you onboard the software component in Eclipse ADT.

Creating ABAP Cloud Project

To create an ABAP Cloud project, follow the Create ABAP Cloud Project tutorial.

Once done, you include the software component into the project. Right-click on your project and choose Add package. Select the software component created above, for example ZPRA_MUSIC_FESTIVAL_MGR. The software component is present in your local system in ADT.

To create further artifacts, follow the sections below.

Package Creation

Before creating the DB table, you need to create a package that holds all the application metadata.

  1. In ADT, go to the Project Explorer, right-click on the ZPRA_MUSIC_FESTIVAL_MGR software component package and choose New > ABAP Package.

  2. Maintain the required information:

    • Name: ZPRA_MF_SERVICE
    • Description: Music Festivals - Data Models and Services

  3. Choose Next. The system asks for the application component. You can skip this if you don't know it.

  4. Choose Next. A dialog box requesting the transport request is displayed.

  • If there is an existing transport request, select that transport request and choose Finish.
  • If there is no existing transport request, choose Create New Request and enter a description, for example Music Festival Manager application, and choose Finish.

Database Table

In the SAP BTP ABAP Environment, a database table is a structured object used to store persistent data in the underlying SAP HANA database, similar to how tables work in traditional ABAP on-premise systems but with some modern cloud-specific approaches.

A database table requires that the attributes are defined in the table. Each attribute requires a type, such as data types or domains, based on the requirements. Let's first explore how to define these attributes, followed by the process of creating the database table.

Domains

In SAP BTP ABAP environment, a domain is a data type definition used in the ABAP Dictionary to define the technical attributes (such as data type, length, and value range) of a field that is reused across multiple data elements or tables.

Create a Domain

  1. Select the package where the domain needs to be created in, for example ZPRA_MF_SERVICE (expand the package you've just created to see ZPRA_MF_SERVICE).
  2. Right-click on the package and choose New > Other ABAP Repository Object.

  1. Search for Domain and select it. Choose Next.

  2. Enter the following information:

    • Name: ZPRA_MF_VISIT_STATUS_CODE
    • Description: Visitor status code value list

  3. Choose Next and select a transport request (either a new or an existing one).

  4. Choose Finish.

  5. Select the domain to enter the FIXED values below:

    Fixed Values Description
    B Booked
    C Canceled

  6. Additionally, set the Data Type as CHAR.

The ZPRA_MF_VISIT_STATUS_CODE domain is created and can be used in data elements. Similarly, you can create other domains for the entire application. Below is the list of the domains used in the Music Festival application:

Domain Type Length Description
ZPRA_MF_MUSIC_FEST_STATUS_CODE CHAR 1

Find the below FIXED values for the above ZPRA_MF_MUSIC_FEST_STATUS_CODE domain:

Fixed Values Description
I In-Preparation
P Published
C Canceled
F Fully Booked

Data Elements

In SAP BTP ABAP environment, a data element is a semantic layer of the data type definition in the ABAP Dictionary. It builds on top of a domain (or directly defines a type) and provides:

  • Meaningful descriptions (short, medium, long text labels)
  • Field labels for UI and metadata
  • Connection to domain (for technical details)

Creating Data Elements

  1. Select the package where the domain needs to be created, for example ZPRA_MF_SERVICE (expand the package you've just created to see ZPRA_MF_SERVICE).
  2. Right-click on Dictionary and choose New > Data Elements.
  3. Enter the following information:
    • Name: ZPRA_MF_DESCRIPTION
    • Description: Description
  4. Choose Next and select a transport request (either a new or an existing one).
  5. Choose Finish.
  6. Open the data element you've created and set the following values:

    • Category: Predefined Type

    • Data Type: String

    • Field Labels: Description

The ZPRA_MF_DESCRIPTION data element is created and can be used in DB tables. Similarly, you can create other data elements for the entire application. Below is the list of the data elements used in the Music Festival application:

Data Element Type Length Description
ZPRA_MF_CURRENCY_CODE CUKY 5 Currency
ZPRA_MF_DESCRIPTION String 512 Description
ZPRA_MF_EMAIL CHAR 255 Email
ZPRA_MF_FREE_VISITOR_SEATS INT4 10 Available Seats
ZPRA_MF_MAX_VISITORS_NUMBER INT4 10 Max Number of Visitors
ZPRA_MF_NAME CHAR 255 Name
ZPRA_MF_DATE_TIME UTCLONG 27 Event Date
ZPRA_MF_PRICE DEC 6,2 Price
ZPRA_MF_PROJ_NAME CHAR 30 Project Name
ZPRA_MF_TITLE CHAR 255 TITLE
ZPRA_MF_ARTIST_INDICATOR ABAP_BOOLEAN 1 Artist

Note: String vs. Character Data Types

When defining data elements in ABAP Dictionary, you can choose between STRING (variable-length) and CHAR (fixed-length) data types:

  • STRING: A variable-length character type stored as LOB (Large Object) in SAP HANA. Suitable for text fields where the length can vary significantly (for example, descriptions or notes). However, STRING fields have important limitations:

    • They cannot be used as key fields in database tables.
    • They cannot be used with CONTAINS search predicates in OData filter operations without a fuzzy search index.
    • They may cause runtime errors like: "feature not supported: CONTAINS predicates on LOB or BINARY column without fuzzy search index".

  • CHAR: A fixed-length character type with a defined maximum length (up to 1333 characters). Recommended for fields that:

    • Need to be used as keys or in WHERE clauses
    • Require filtering, sorting, or search operations in OData or SAP Fiori apps
    • Need better compatibility with database operations

When to use which:

Use Case Recommended Type
Name, title, email (searchable fields) CHAR
Long descriptions, notes, comments STRING
Key fields CHAR (STRING not allowed)
Fields used in OData $filter with contains() CHAR

Database Table Creation

You need to create a DB table to store the music festivals and visitor data. A music festival event entity defines general event data, such as the event date, time, event title, event description, visitor fee amount, etc. The visitor entity has details about visitors such as visitor name, email, etc.

Music Festival Table Creation

  1. Right-click on your ZPRA_MF_SERVICE ABAP package and choose New > Other ABAP Repository Object.

  2. Search for database table, select it, and choose Next.

  3. Maintain the required information and choose Next.

  • Name: ZPRA_MF_A_MF
  • Description: Music festivals data

  1. Select a transport request and choose Finish to create the DB table.

  2. Replace the default code with the attributes required for the business use case. For example, for a Music Festival app, the following details can be added:

    @EndUserText.label : 'Music festivals data'
@AbapCatalog.enhancement.category : #NOT_EXTENSIBLE
@AbapCatalog.tableCategory : #TRANSPARENT
@AbapCatalog.deliveryClass : #A
@AbapCatalog.dataMaintenance : #RESTRICTED
define table zpra_mf_a_mf {

   key client            : abap.clnt not null;
   key uuid              : sysuuid_x16 not null;
   title                 : zpra_mf_title;
   description           : zpra_mf_description;
   event_date_time       : zpra_mf_date_time;
   max_visitors_number   : zpra_mf_max_visitors_number;
   free_visitor_seats    : zpra_mf_free_visitor_seats;
   visitors_fee_amount   : zpra_mf_price;
   visitors_fee_currency : zpra_mf_currency_code;
   status                : zpra_mf_music_fest_status_code;
   created_by            : abp_creation_user;
   created_at            : abp_creation_utcl;
   last_changed_at       : abp_lastchange_utcl;
   local_last_changed_at : abp_lastchange_utcl;
   last_changed_by       : abp_lastchange_user;
   project_id            : abap.char(24);

}

  3. Save and activate the changes.

Visitor Table Creation

Similarly, a visitor table can be created following the steps provided for DB tables.

  1. Maintain the basic information:

    • Name: ZPRA_MF_A_VSTR
    • Description: Visitors data

  2. Reference for the same:

      @EndUserText.label : 'Visitors data'
  @AbapCatalog.enhancement.category : #NOT_EXTENSIBLE
  @AbapCatalog.tableCategory : #TRANSPARENT
  @AbapCatalog.deliveryClass : #A
  @AbapCatalog.dataMaintenance : #RESTRICTED
  define table zpra_mf_a_vstr {

     key client            : abap.clnt not null;
     key uuid              : sysuuid_x16 not null;
     name                  : zpra_mf_name;
     email                 : zpra_mf_email;
     created_by            : abp_creation_user;
     created_at            : abp_lastchange_utcl;
     last_changed_at       : abp_lastchange_utcl;
     last_changed_by       : abp_lastchange_user;
     local_last_changed_at : abp_lastchange_utcl;

  }

  3. Save and activate the changes.

Table for Maintaining Associations Between Entities

Multiple music festivals can have multiple visitors. To manage the n-n association between the two tables, a new table is created. This table holds the primary keys from both tables to establish the association reference.

This table is created as described for DB tables.

  1. Fill in the basic information:

    • Name: ZPRA_MF_A_VST
    • Description: Visits data

  2. Reference for the same:

    @EndUserText.label : 'Visits data'
@AbapCatalog.enhancement.category : #NOT_EXTENSIBLE
@AbapCatalog.tableCategory : #TRANSPARENT
@AbapCatalog.deliveryClass : #A
@AbapCatalog.dataMaintenance : #RESTRICTED
define table zpra_mf_a_vst {

  key client            : abap.clnt not null;
  key uuid              : sysuuid_x16 not null;
  parent_uuid           : sysuuid_x16;
  visitor_uuid          : sysuuid_x16;
  artist_indicator      : zpra_mf_artist_indicator;
  status                : zpra_mf_visit_status_code;
  local_last_changed_at : abp_lastchange_utcl;

}

  3. Save and activate the table.

The above table created has the references of both music festivals as well as visitors in the same association table. For more information on associations, see Association.

Source Code Library

You can implement an ABAP class for business logic for the entities created above.

  1. Right-click your ZPRA_MF_SERVICE ABAP package and select New > ABAP Class.

  2. Maintain the required information and choose Next.

  • Name: ZCL_XX
  • Description: Generate sample data
  1. Select a transport request and choose Finish to create the class.

The class serves multiple purposes across various utility tasks. It includes development, data manipulation, and preliminary calculations.

Transactional UI Services Generation

To visualize the application UI built on top of all configurations, you need to create certain artifacts. These artifacts control the behavior of the end-user application. You can define determinations, validations, actions, mandatory fields, and more for these artifacts using transactional services generation.

Additionally, you can create OData v4-based UI services with the built-in ADT generator. The generated business services are transactional, draft-enabled, and enriched with UI semantics for generating the SAP Fiori elements app.

  1. Right-click your ZPRA_MF_A_MF DB table and choose Generate ABAP Repository Objects.

  2. Select the ODATA UI service generator under ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model and choose Next.

  3. Select the package in which you want to generate the objects in (ZPRA_MF_SERVICE in this scenario) and choose Next.

  4. Maintain the required information on the Configure Generator dialog. For that, navigate through the wizard tree (Business Objects, Data Model, etc). Enter the artifact names provided in the table below, and choose Next.

    RAP Layer Artifacts Artifacts name
    General
    Referenced Object: ZPRA_MF_A_MF
    Project Name: PRA_MF_A_MF
    Business Object
    Data Model CDS Entity Name: ZPRA_MF_R_MusicFestival
    CDS Entity Name Alias: MusicFestivals
    Behavior Implementation Behavior Class: ZBP_PRA_MF_R_MUSICFESTIVAL
    Draft Table Name: ZPRA_MF_D_MF
    Service Projection Service Projection Entity CDS Entity Name: ZPRA_MF_C_MUSICFESTIVALTP
    Service Projection Behavior Behavior Implementation Class: ZBP_PRA_MF_C_MUSICFESTTP
    Business Service
    Service Definition Service Definition Name: ZPRA_MF_MUSICFESTIVAL
    Service Binding Service Binding Name: ZPRA_MF_UI_MUSICFESTIVAL_O4
    Binding Type: OData V4 - UI

    For more information on naming conventions, see Naming Conventions in the Virtual Data Model and Clean ABAP for development.

  5. Verify the maintained entries and choose Next to confirm.

  6. Select the transport request and choose Finish.

  7. Go to the Project Explorer and select the ZPRA_MF_SERVICE package. Refresh it by choosing F5, and check all generated ABAP repository objects.

  8. Repeat the steps for the ZPRA_MF_A_VSTR entity.

    In the table below are the naming conventions used for ZPRA_MF_A_VSTR entity:

RAP Layer Artifacts Artifacts name
General
Referenced Object: ZPRA_MF_A_VSTR
Project Name: ZPRA_MF_A_VSTR
Business Object
Data Model CDS Entity Name: ZPRA_MF_R_VISITOR
CDS Entity Name Alias: Visitors
Behavior Implementation Behavior Class: ZBP_PRA_MF_R_VISITOR
Draft Table Name: ZPRA_MF_D_VSTR
Service Projection Service Projection Entity CDS Entity Name: ZPRA_MF_C_VISITORTP
Service Projection Behavior Behavior Implementation Class: ZBP_PRA_MF_C_VISITORTP
Business Service
Service Definition Service Definition Name: ZPRA_MF_VISITOR
Service Binding Service Binding Name: ZPRA_MF_UI_VISITOR_O4
Binding Type: OData V4 - UI

You also need to create manual artifacts for the Visit entity. In the table below are the naming conventions used for the same:

Type Artifacts Artifacts name
Data Definition ZPRA_MF_I_Visit_Status_VH
ZPRA_MF_I_Visitor
ZPRA_MF_R_VISIT
ZPRA_MF_C_VISITTP
Calculation class Annotation Data Definition Adjustment needed to add calculated class in Data Definition ZPRA_MF_C_MusicFestivalTP
Calculation class Implementation Source Code Library zcl_pra_mf_calc_visit_elements
Behaviour definition Adjustment needed to add Visit in Music Behaviour definition ZPRA_MF_R_MusicFestival
Behaviour definition Draft table generation using Quick Assist view in ZPRA_MF_R_MusicFestival
Adjustments in Music Projection Behaviour View ZPRA_MF_C_MusicFestivalTP
Business Service
Service Definition Adjustment in Service Definition ZPRA_MF_MusicFestival
ZPRA_MF_VISITOR

For more information on the artifacts mentioned above, see Core Data Services.

Service Definition

A business service definition, often referred to as a service definition, describes which CDS entities of a data model are exposed to enable a specific business service, for example, music festival creation or publishing handling. It is an ABAP Repository object that describes the consumer-specific but protocol-agnostic perspective on a data model. It can directly access the standard ABAP Workbench functionality, such as transports, syntax checks, element information, and activation. For more information, see Service Definition.

Service Binding

The business service binding, often referred to as a service binding, is an ABAP Repository object used to bind a service definition to a client-server communication protocol such as OData. Like any other repository object, the service binding uses the proven infrastructure of the ABAP Workbench, including the transport functionality. For more information, see Service Binding.

Local Publishing and Testing

  1. Double-click on Service Binding and choose Publish.

    It will take some time to complete the publishing action.

  2. Once completed, select the entity set and choose Preview to view the UI and test the local changes.

  3. The app runs in Preview mode in a local system to test.

As the app runs locally, we can now proceed on how to Develop Business Logic.