The focal point of this guide is on Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP), a high-level programming language developed for the German company, SAP SE, a multinational software corporation.
ABAP was originally an abbreviation for Allgemeiner Berichts-Aufbereitungs-Prozessor, which is German for "generic report preparation processor." It was later renamed to the English, Advanced Business Application Programming, which retained the same acronym.
Along with Java, ABAP is still used by SAP SE as a programming language for the SAP NetWeaver Application Server, part of the SAP NetWeaver platform for building business applications.
ABAP is an application-specific language. All ABAP programs reside within the SAP database. ABAP programming requires the use of the ABAP Editor, which is part of the ABAP tools delivered with the SAP NetWeaver Application Server, AS ABAP, which is an application server with its own database, ABAP runtime environment, and ABAP development tools, including the ABAP Editor. The AS ABAP offers a development platform (virtual machine) that is independent of hardware, operating system, and database. No ABAP code can be developed outside of AS ABAP. The ABAP Editor is the tool used to view or edit existing code, as well as to create new code.
All SAP data exists in the context of a SAP system, which is where all SAP software runs. Installations of the Web Applications Server (landscapes) usually consists of one system for development, another for testing and quality assurance, and a third for production, although a landscape may also include separate systems for unit testing and pre-production testing.
The Web Application Server has three layers: a database layer, an application layer, and a presentation layer, which may run on the same machine or on different machines. Online access to ABAP application servers can be through a proprietary graphical interface (SAP GUI) or through a web browser.
SAP NetWeaver runs on Unix-based systems, Windows, i5/OS on IBM System i, and z/OS on IBM System z.
The usual way of executing ABAP code in the SAP system is through a transaction code. Transactions may be called through system-defined, user-specific, or role-based menus, which are started by entering the transaction code directly into a command field, present in every SAP screen.
An ABAP program is either an executable unit or a library, which provides reusable code to other programs but is not independently executable. There are two types of executable programs in ABAP: reports and module pools. Non-executable programs are INCLUDE modules, subroutine pools, function groups, object classes, interfaces, and type pools.
The ABAP Dictionary includes all of the metadata about the data in the SAP system, and is closely linked to the ABAP Workbench in that any reference to data is obtained from the dictionary. Developers use the ABAP Dictionary transactions to display and maintain this metadata.
The ABAP programming language support object-oriented programming through a feature known as ABAP Objects, which are fully compatible with the existing language.
Designed in 1983, the ABAP programming language is still in use, and in active development. Major implementations include SAP R/2, SAP R/3, and SAP S/4HANA.
Topics related to the ABAP programming language are the focus of this category, which may include sites dealing with the language itself, tutorials, guides, and other resources.
Recommended Resources
The educational platform of IT Labs, but not affiliated, sponsored, or approved by SAP AG, the ABAP Academy offers a free ABAP starter-kit online training course, which teaches practical programming in the ABAP language and administration skills in SAP. The ABAP Academy offers instructions and links for obtaining and installing the SAP system, teaches initial skills in ABAP, and offers resources for obtaining ABAP employment. Its teaching methodology is discussed.
https://abapacademy.com/
ABAP is an application-specific, fourth-generation programming language invented by SAP in the 1980s, designed as a report programming language for the SAP R/2, the platforms that several large corporations used to build mainframe business applications for financial accounting, material management, human resources, supply chain logistics, and manufacturing processes. The tutorial focuses on design patterns, presenting problems, solutions, and examples.
https://www.abaptutorial.com/
Guru99: SAP ABAP Programming Tutorials
Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) is the default programming language for SAP applications. Assuming some familiarity with SAP GUI, the tutorial includes an introduction to ABAP datatypes, operators, and editor, the data dictionary, modularization, Open SQL and Native SQL in SAP ABAP, the internal table, table control with examples, report programming, dialog programming, subscreens, process on value and process on help, and so on. A SAP beginner course is also available.
https://www.guru99.com/abap-tutorial.html
Covering the entire SAP system, the resources presented here include an ABAP tutorial, the SAP data dictionary, ABAP syntax, ABAP source codes and code optimization, a SAP ALV tutorial, SAP ABAP objects tutorial, and tutorials for SAPSCRIPTS, SAP ALE, SAP EDI, SAP BAPI, and SAP IDOC, and others, as well as an overview of SAP companies, employment information, and tutorials covering SAP NetWeaver, BASIS, and SAP HANA. A keyword search is included.
https://sapbrainsonline.com/
SAP Community: ABAP Development
Set up for the purpose of learning, sharing, getting help, and keeping ABAP skills up to date, the site, sponsored by SAP, includes a guide to getting started with ABAP development, links to free trial versions, as well as a developer edition, an ABAP development wiki, and information about ABAP connectivity, extensibility, testing and analysis, and the SAP cloud platform ABAP environment, as well as several other topics related to the language, blog posts, and links to other resources.
https://community.sap.com/topics/abap
Under the imprint of SAP Press, Rheinwerk Publishing specializes in the publication of educational books and e-books for the SAP community, including those covering the ABAP programming language, which, along with Java, is one of the two languages used in the SAP NetWeaver Application Server, part of the SAP NetWeaver platform. Book synopses and prices are published to the site and may be purchased individually or accessed through a subscription.
https://www.sap-press.com/
The SAP Tutorial features a beginner ABAP tutorial, as well as a guide to other aspects of the SAP system and ABAP programming, such as ABAP performance tuning, the SAP ABAP dictionary, SAP ABAP general, SAP Business Partner, SAP FI/CO, SAP HR, SAP MM/WM, SAP SD, Smartforms, ABAP HR, ABAP Web Dynpro, SAP ABAP enhancement, SAP BASIS, SAP BW/BIBO, SAP HANA, SAP Interface, SAP PP/QM, and SAP Workflow, sorted by categories.
https://www.saptutorial.org/
The online tutorial covers the basics of the ABAP programming language, including ABAP data types and constants, variables, system variables, basic operations, control statements, loops, and string operations, as well as an ABAP data dictionary, Open SQL, ABAP internal tables, messages, modularization, and ALV reports. Readers are prompted to ask questions not covered in the tutorial or to submit tips or other comments. Links to other resources are included.
http://www.saphub.com/abap-tutorial/
The site features guides on various processes or the use of the SAP ABAP programming language, the majority of them by Matthias Caesar. Topics include making hard-coded text in SAP ABAP translatable, simple one-click translation with STH SAP Translation Hub, exporting translation settings, SAPGUI for Windows, SAP SRM workflows, deleting the language load, and the translation relevance of packages in SAP, and others, as well as books available for purchase online.
http://www.se63.info/
By definition, SAP ABAP is a programming language for developing applications for SAP systems. The language runs in a SAP ABAP runtime environment and is used to develop reports, module pool programming, interfaces, forms, data conversions, and user exists and BADI. Tutorials on various aspects of SAP ABAP programming are put forth, from an overview of the language, and training tutorials for beginners, to those for more advanced programmers.
https://www.stechies.com/abap/
