* *
SAP
products viz. Business Intelligence (SAP BW), Customer Relationship Management
(SAP CRM), Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM), Business Objects (SAP BO),
SAP Portal (ESS/MSS) and others were either already web based or later made web
enabled. Many times, ECC customers are faced with a common question - How to
access SAP anytime anywhere from a browser, without installing anything on the
workstation? ITS, BSP, Webdynpros, Web
service etc are some of the options SAP Netweaver provides as a development
technology and runtime environment for SAP applications, either standard or
custom, so that they can be accessed via a browser.
In this
blog, I provide the basic understanding on the various options available for
web enabling SAP i.e. how to work in SAP using a browser, instead of
conventional SAPGUI. The contents of this blog are based upon my understanding
and experience, and are written keeping in mind web enabling the classic R/3
package of SAP, better known as SAP ECC.
Options for
web enabling are:
----
1. ITS – Internet Transaction Server2. BSP – Business Server Pages3. ABAP Webdynpro4. Java Webdynpro*5. ASP/JSP/.NET /Pearl/Other Web development
technology*
6. Creating a web service inside SAP----
Let us
briefly try to understand the six options:
----
1. ITS:----
</p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>Internet Transaction Server (ITS) is a standard
feature available in SAP ECC where we can login to SAP using a browser,
instead of SAPGUI. The look and feel of the screens is almost the same as
in SAPGUI, the only difference is that the screen contents are visible in
a browser. There is no additional development required for this. There are
few basis settings to be done in transaction SICF which will enable this
functionality.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>*<Pros>
*</li>
<li>No additional development is required. Almost all
standard transactions and reports can be displayed in a browser.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><Cons>- The look of the screens is same as SAPGUI,
however the feel is different; the ease of operations is more in SAPGUI as
compared to working in the browser.
----
2. BSP: ----
</p>
<ul>
<li>Just like one can develop web pages in ASP, JSP,
.NET etc, similarly SAP has provided its own technology called Business Server
Pages (BSP). This technology is already contained in standard ECC server.
We can develop web pages containing HTML tags and ABAP syntax inside it,
much similar to the server page technology. These pages can be then
accessed using a browser. However for standard transactions like creating
purchase order, creating goods receipt, posting FI document etc, there are
no standard BSPs available. Hence new BSP pages need to be developed for
those transactions and any business functionality which is required to be
web enabled. We can develop BSP using transaction code SE80. </li>
</ul>
<p>* *</p>
<ul>
<li>*<Pros>
*</li>
<li>BSP is very much similar to the conventional
server page technology, so anybody familiar with little ABAP and
HTML/ASP/JSP can quickly develop BSP applications.</li>
<li>As compared to screens rendered via ITS, BSP
screen elements are more user friendly and have the standard web look and
feel.</li>
<li>It is light weight and consumes less network
bandwidth as compared to ITS technology.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><Cons>
- There are no BSP pages/applications available for
SAP standard functionality. So, additional development and testing efforts
are required for each functionality we require to web enable.
----
3. ABAP Webdynpro:----
</p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>This is SAP’s proprietary technology and is
contained in standard ECC server. Applications and web pages can be built
using ABAP webdynpro. It is based on MVC framework (Model View
Controller). We can develop ABAP Webdynpros using transaction code SE80.
We can use standard ABAP syntax inside the logic of webdynpro. As compared
to screens rendered via ITS, Abap Webdynpro screen elements are more user
friendly and have the standard web look and feel. Except for standard
SAPGUI, no separate installation is required on front-end for development.
* *</li>
</ul>
<p>* *</p>
<ul>
<li>*<Pros>
*</li>
<li>Since ABAP Webdynpro is MVC based, they are more
preferred and recommended over BSP.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><Cons>
- There are no standard ABAP Webdynpros available
for SAP standard functionality. So, additional development and testing
efforts are required for each functionality we require to web enable.
- Comparatively BSPs are light weight when it comes
to network traffic and performance.
----
4. Java Webdynpro:----
</p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>This is the JAVA flavor of the MVC based
webdynpro technology. For this there are two things which are a must. The
SAP server should have JAVA stack and the front-end workstation should have
installation of NWDS (Netweaver Developer Studio) for development
purpose. Compared to ABAP
webydnpro, we cannot use any abap coding inside java webdynpro. It means
that we cannot fetch data from a database table using a simple select
query. So we need to use / create a function module in SAP which is RFC
enabled. So for every small functionality which may involve either getting
information from SAP tables or storing some information in SAP tables, we
need to have a RFC enabled function module, either standard of a custom
developed. For calling this function module from Java we need to write
special syntax. Another option is using web service. We can use / create a
web service in ECC (web service wrapper over RFC enabled function module)
and the web service can be called from Java webdynpro. Calling a web
service has different syntax in Java. Here again additional development
efforts are required for any functionality which we need to web enable.</li>
</ul>
<p>* *</p>
<ul>
<li>*<Pros>
*</li>
<li>This technology is Java based, and hence the
preferred choice of many.</li>
<li>Webdynpro for Java is a better choice as compared
to Abap Webdynpro when it comes to robust and scalable applications.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><Cons>
- Compared to BSP and Abap Webdynpro, separate
installation of NWDS is required on the front-end to develop JAVA
Webdynpro.
- Since we cannot use ABAP syntax/logic inside the
Java Webdynpro, we necessarily have to create or use a RFC enabled
function module in SAP, and call it from inside the Java Webdynpro. Hence
this adds to the development efforts.
- The Java team and ABAP team need to fix on the
design/interface/RFCs and may need to frequently co-ordinate in case there
are any changes.
- Promote to Production is integrated with SAP’s
transport management system in case of BSP and ABAP Webdynpro. However for
JAVA Webdynpro a separate installation and setup of NWDI (Netweaver
Development Infrastructure) is required.
- There are no standard JAVA Webdynpro applications
available, hence development efforts are required for any standard
functionality which we require to web enable.
----
*5. ASP/JSP/.NET /Pearl/Other Web development
technology*
----
</p>
<ul>
<li>We also have the option of using ASP/JSP and
other web development technology. However in such cases efforts are
required on both the sides i.e. Non-SAP and SAP. If we are developing a
web page in ASP, then the screen elements would be developed in ASP but
the actual functionality of getting data from SAP or saving data in SAP
needs to be developed inside SAP in the form of RFC enabled function
module or a web service. This function module or web service would then be
called from inside the ASP page.</li>
</ul>
<p>* *</p>
<ul>
<li>*<Pros>
*</li>
<li>In terms of performance, technologies viz.
ASP/JSP/Pearl are faster and consume less network bandwidth.</li>
<li>Skillset for these technologies is comparatively
easily available hence the cost of development is also lowered.</li>
<li>The look and feel of the web screens is more
simpler, light weight and user friendly, as compared to the sophisticated
screen elements of ABAP and Java Webdynpro.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li><Cons>
- Since we cannot use ABAP syntax/logic inside the
Java Webdynpro, we necessarily have to create or use a RFC enabled
function module in SAP, and call it from inside the Java Webdynpro. Hence
this adds to the development efforts.
- The ASP/JSP team and ABAP team need to fix on the
design/interface/RFCs and may need to frequently co-ordinate in case there
are any changes.
- Promote to Production for the front-end i.e.
ASP/JSP is not integrated with SAP, and hence needs to be separately taken
care of, in synchronization with the transport of ABAP objects.
----
6. Creating a web service inside SAP:----
</p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>The last option is where there is no user screen
but some legacy application needs to connect to SAP and get some
information e.g. Accounts Payable – List of Invoices due for payment. In
such cases we can use/develop a web service inside SAP so that the legacy
application can call this web service and get the required information. </li>
</ul>
<p>* *</p>
<ul>
<li>*<Pros>
*</li>
<li>This is the de-facto standard for interfacing
technology over the web.</li>
<li>The connecting application can be built on any
technology - .Net/Java/etc. Since the interfacing is via a Web Service,
the technology does not matter.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>* *</p>
<p>So far we
have discussed in brief all the available six choices. Knowing all this a
question comes to our mind - which option should be used? Well this depends
upon the requirement. In my next blog we would consider a practical scenario
and evaluate the pros and cons of the above six options and be able to come to
a conclusion. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>* *</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Amit
Mittal.</p>
