ABAP on S4 HANA

ABAP in the Age of SAP S/4HANA: Evolution and Transformation

SAP S/4HANA, with its revolutionary in-memory HANA database technology and simplified data model, has fundamentally changed the landscape of business software. For ABAP, SAP’s time-tested business programming language, this transformation brings both exciting opportunities and necessary adaptations. Let’s delve into the world of ABAP on S/4HANA.

Compatibility and Optimization: Not a Complete Rewrite

One of the most essential points to understand is that migrating to S/4HANA doesn’t require throwing away your existing ABAP codebase. Much of your custom code will continue to function, but for optimal performance and to tap into S/4HANA’s innovations, you’ll need to ‘tune it up.’ SAP offers various tools for code remediation and compatibility checks to help you through this process.

Critical Changes in ABAP for S/4HANA

• Core Data Services (CDS Views): CDS Views form the backbone of data modeling in S/4HANA. They streamline how you define data structures and relationships, replacing some older database access techniques. ABAP developers must master CDS Views to effectively read, manipulate, and create data in the S/4HANA world.
• ABAP Managed Database Procedures (AMDP):  AMDPs allow you to write database procedures directly in ABAP, harnessing the power of the HANA database for speed-critical operations. This pushes certain types of data processing closer to where the data resides, offering potential performance advantages.
• Fiori UX: SAP’s modern user interface paradigm, Fiori, is the standard for S/4HANA applications. ABAP plays a role here through OData services to expose data to the Fiori front end and in custom Fiori app development using technologies like SAPUI5.

Embracing the New: Extensions, BAPIs, and More

• Developer Extensibility: This S/4HANA feature allows more controlled ways to extend SAP’s standard code. Think of it as designated spaces to insert your custom logic while keeping your updates less disruptive and simplifying future upgrades.
• BOPF (Business Object Processing Framework): OOP-fans, rejoice! BOPF, further enhanced in S/4HANA, offers a structured way to create and interact with business objects, supporting a more modular way of building your code.
• HANA-Optimized Code: ABAP has new syntax and features to exploit HANA’s processing power. Pushing calculations into the database layer becomes a critical strategy for blazing-fast applications.

The Learning Path: Where to Start

If you’re an ABAP developer embarking on the S/4HANA journey, here’s what to prioritize:

1. Get the Fundamentals: Take courses or explore SAP’s documentation on ABAP development for SAP S/4HANA. (https://training.sap.com/course/s4d400-introduction-to-abap-programming-on-sap-s4hana-classroom-022-g-en/)
2. Core Data Services Mastery: Invest time learning how to create and consume CDS Views.
3. ABAP Tools: Familiarize yourself with newer development environments, such as ABAP Development Tools (ADT) in Eclipse or the browser-based SAP Business Application Studio.
4. Best Practices: SAP has abundant documentation on ABAP optimization for S/4HANA. Study these guidelines rigorously.

The Future: ABAP Remains Relevant

While new languages and paradigms emerge, ABAP will hold its place in the SAP ecosystem. It’s a language tailored to the needs of business applications, especially in the S/4HANA era, where performance and integration are paramount. By embracing the advancements in ABAP on S/4HANA, experienced ABAP developers can become even more valuable in driving innovation within their organizations.