What to download to start practice with ABAP?

1
votes

I have to implement bridge application that deals with SAP and write some function modules. I'll have serious SAP consultant that will guide me through data structure I need but how can I practice with ABAP at the moment? I'm so confused with variety of SAP products so I have several questions:

  • What shall I download and install to practice with ABAP
  • Are functional modules similar to Stored Procedures in RDBMS?
  • Is ABAP the only language to write SAP function modules?
  • May I install some trial SAP modules (SAP FI for instance), where can I find them?

Thank you in advance!

1
abap

1 Answers

3
votes

There is a SAP Netweaver Developer Edition available on the sap developer network. Netweaver is basically a java based web stack in front of the SAP ERP System. Depending on the SAP installation, you may not have Netweaver. If you have, you can either use java to create a web based component in Netweaver or use ABAP to create a RFC capable function module which you can then call either through one of the RFC connectors (java/.net) or by exposing it as a web service (transactions "sicf" and "soamanager" as a starting point).

Function modules are much more like web services, not stored procedures. Some of them expose structures of the data dictionary, some (mostly the recommended modules called BAPI) expose business objects.

SAP Modules like SAP_APPL (basically the ERP stack) or HR are available for SAP customers (you can create as many test and training systems as you want, as long as the users are the same as on the production systems), as a developer you will probably only get access to basic functionality.