In my previous blog I described some of the new user experience development options from SAP. These include:
- Screen Personas
- Fiori
- SAPUI5
- Workforce Performance Builder
The world has changed and a rich and simple user experience is the new standard for enterprise applications. Why is there such a big focus on enhancing the user experience? The user experience has big impact on business value. Its benefits include an increase user productivity, an increase in user adoption, a decrease in user errors and a decrease in training costs.
SAP is not only delivering new applications in SAPUI5 but it also renewing existing desktop applications as simplified SAPUI5 applications. SAP is also enabling customers to simplify and develop their own applications with SAPUI5.
A common question asked is regarding the future of existing SAP technology such as ABAP web dynpro and the Netweaver Portal now that we have SAPUI5 and Fiori? Will these technologies be still be developed? SAPUI5 and Fiori applications are designed to deliver rich, simple, and easy to use applications but there is still a need for complex applications for specialists. SAP will continue to provide and develop these complex applications with ABAP web dynpro and floor plan manager. The Netweaver Portal with release 7.4 has been enhanced with a launchpad for Fiori, SAPUI5 and mobile applications.
What is the technology behind SAPUI5? The foundations of SAPUI5 include HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and jQuery. SAPUI5 contains a library of controls which are used to render user interface elements in HTML. The advantage of these controls is that the creation of complex elements such has tables, charts and graphs can be created with a few simple commands. The control library doesn't only contain complex controls though as there are controls for almost any item such as labels and input fields as well. The technology is also open so that customers can create their own controls to render HTML elements or extend existing controls to add their own customizations.
You might be wondering how Fiori fits into the user experience picture. Most Fiori applications are delivered by SAP using SAPUI5 technology but Fiori is more than just SAPUI5. Fiori follows a design principle. The applications must be:
- role based and perform a single task
- adaptive to run on any device
- use the 1-1-3 scenario with 1 user, 1 task and 3 screens
- coherent to give all applications a similar look and feel
- of instant value with a low barrier to adoption
When building SAPUI5 applications you have a choice of development tools. You can use Eclipse or you can use the SAP cloud based Web IDE. If you choose eclipse you can download either release 4.4 (Luna) or 4.5 (Mars) from http://www.eclipse.org. Once Eclipse is installed you will need to install the SAPUI5 plug in from SAP. This can be done in eclipse by choosing the Help menu and choosing Install New Updates. You then enter the URI http://tools.hana.ondemand.com/luna or http://tools.hana.ondemand.com/mars depending upon your release. You will see a list of plugins and you would choose the SAPUI5 development plugin.
Development in the cloud based Web IDE requires no software installation. You will need to register for a developer account at https://account/hanatrial.ondemand.com. There is no fee or license required for developers to use the Web IDE to build their applications. A big advantage of Web IDE over eclipse is that SAP has created many templates and example applications that can be used as starting points for your application development. These include basic SAPUI5 applications, master detail applications, sales applications and so on. Through these templates and example applications Web IDE allows for the rapid development of applications. Web IDE also speeds development with features such as code completion, API reference support, integration with the Fiori Launchpad, Git and the SAP ABAP repository. It is also possible to test your application with mock data so you can run your application without a connection to your data source.
Once the application is built you have a couple of deployment options for your SAPUI5 application. You can deploy the application the Hana Cloud Platform or you can deploy the application to your ABAP development system. If you deploy your application to your ABAP system the SAPUI5 application will be listed as BSP. This application can then be transported like any other ABAP objects to your QAS and Production systems.
SAP has delivered over 600 applications in Fiori and most of these applications are built with SAPUI5. You can also expect more and more applications to be delivered in the future. To empower your users with a rich, simplified user experience look no further than SAPUI5.
SAP Education offers training in SAPUI5 with the following courses: SAPX01, SAPX04, SAPX08 and SAPX12. For course details visit the SAPUI5 curriculum web page at: https://training.sap.com/us/en/curriculum/sapui5-sap-sapui5-g-en/?url_id=text-us-instr-scn-blog-2016
