The all-new 2nd Edition of this bestselling book covers ABAP development with SAP NetWeaver. Whether you are new to ABAP programming, an experienced developer, or a consultant or project team member: this in-depth reference provides you with comprehensive knowledge of all facets of ABAP technology.

Based on ABAP Objects, this 1000+ page book describes all concepts of modern ABAP up to Release 7.0 (including a "sneak preview" of Release 7.10). Brand new topics found in the new edition include SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP, Regular Expressions, Shared Objects, class-based exception handling, assertions, Web Dynpro for ABAP, Object Services, dynamic programming, interface technologies (RFC, ICF, XML), and test tools, among others. Procedural techniques are also covered where necessary.

Highlights

• SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP
• Development basics: ABAP Workbench, Object Navigator, Class Builder, etc.
• Basic elements of ABAP Objects
• Classic modularisation and program execution
• Avoiding errors and error handling
• GUI programming: dynpros, lists, selection screens, controls and Web Dynpro
• Persistent data: DB access, Object Services, file interface, data clusters
• Dynamic programming: field symbols, RTTS, dynamic tokens and procedure calls
• Data and communication interfaces: RFC, ICF, web services, XML

About the Author(s)

Dr. Horst Keller is a Knowledge Architect working in the SAP NetWeaver Foundation ABAP group at SAP in Walldorf, Germany. Here, he focuses on documentation and rollout of ABAP and ABAP Objects. As a Managing Principal, Sascha Krüger is responsible for Business Consulting in the area of EMEA and telecommunications, media and utilities industries.

Additional Resources

Table of Contents

Foreword ... 19

1. Introduction ... 23
... 1.1 What Is ABAP? ... 23
... 1.2 The Objective of This Book ... 40
... 1.3 How Can I Use This Book on a Practical Level? ... 48

2. A Practical Introduction to ABAP... 53
... 2.1 Functionality of the Sample Application ... 54
... 2.2 Getting Started with the ABAP Workbench ... 54
... 2.3 Packages ... 60
... 2.4 Database Tables ... 68
... 2.5 Creating an ABAP Program ... 82
... 2.6 Implementing the Auxiliary Program ... 91
... 2.7 User Dialog ... 99
... 2.8 Application Logic ... 110
... 2.9 Summary ... 135
... 2.10 Using the Keyword Documentation ... 136

3. Basic Principles of ABAP ... 141
... 3.1 ABAP and SAP NetWeaver ... 141
... 3.2 ABAP Program Organization and Properties ... 152
... 3.3 Source Code Organization ... 167
... 3.4 Software and Memory Organization of AS ABAP ... 171

4. Classes and Objects ... 177
... 4.1 Object Orientation ... 177
... 4.2 Object-Oriented Programming in ABAP ... 180
... 4.3 Classes ... 182
... 4.4 Attributes and Methods ... 191
... 4.5 Data Types as Components of Classes ... 200
... 4.6 Objects and Object References ... 202
... 4.7 Constructors ... 213
... 4.8 Local Declarations of a Class Pool ... 219
... 4.9 Using ABAP Objects on the AS ABAP ... 221
... 4.10 Summary and Perspective ... 224

5. Basic ABAP Language Elements ... 225
... 5.1 Data Types and Data Objects ... 225
... 5.2 Operations and Expressions ... 273
... 5.3 Control Structures ... 298
... 5.4 Processing Character and Byte Strings ... 303
... 5.5 Internal Tables ... 318

6. Advanced Concepts in ABAP Objects ... 341
... 6.1 Method Interfaces and Method Calls ... 345
... 6.2 Inheritance ... 359
... 6.3 Standalone Interfaces ... 381
... 6.4 Object References and Polymorphism ... 402
... 6.5 Events and Event Handling ... 422
... 6.6 Shared Objects ... 433

7. Classic ABAP - Events and Procedures ... 449
... 7.1 Event-Oriented Program Execution ... 451
... 7.2 Procedural Modularization ... 460

8. Error Handling ... 479
... 8.1 Robust Programs ... 479
... 8.2 Exception Handling ... 481
... 8.3 Assertions ... 509

9. GUI Programming with ABAP ... 513
... 9.1 General Dynpros ... 515
... 9.2 Selection Screens ... 615
... 9.3 Classical Lists ... 645
... 9.4 Messages ... 666
... 9.5 Web Dynpro ABAP ... 671

10. Working with Persistent Data ... 705
... 10.1 Database Accesses ... 706
... 10.2 Database Access with Object Services ... 756
... 10.3 File Interfaces ... 774
... 10.4 Data Clusters ... 784
... 10.5 Authorization Checks ... 789

11 Dynamic Programming ... 795
... 11.1 Field Symbols and Data References ... 796
... 11.2 Run Time Type Services (RTTS) ... 819
... 11.3 Dynamic Token Specifications ... 829
... 11.4 Dynamic Procedure Call ... 832
... 11.5 Program Generation ... 836

12. External Interfaces ... 841
... 12.1 Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication ... 842
... 12.2 Remote Function Call (RFC) ... 845
... 12.3 Internet Communication Framework (ICF) ... 877
... 12.4 ABAP Web Services ... 890
... 12.5 ABAP and XML ... 908

13. Testing and Analysis Tools ... 939
... 13.1 Static Testing Procedures ... 941
... 13.2 Program Analysis with the ABAP Debugger ... 950
... 13.3 Module Tests with ABAP Unit ... 961
... 13.4 ABAP Memory Inspector ... 971
... 13.5 ABAP Runtime Analysis ... 980
... 13.6 Additional Testing Tools ... 984

A. Appendix ... 991
... A.1 Overview of all ABAP Statements ... 991
... A.2 ABAP System Fields ... 1003
... A.3 ABAP Program Types ... 1008
... A.4 ABAP Naming Conventions ... 1009
... A.5 Selectors ... 1010
... A.6 Auxiliary Class for Simple Text Outputs ... 1011
... A.7 References on the Web ... 1014
... A.8 Installing and Using the SAP NetWeaver 2004s ABAP Trial Version ... 1014

The Authors ... 1017

Index ... 1021