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raeijpe
Contributor

Introduction

The Dutch XI Experts, a group of customer XI experts and colleague consultancy companies in the Netherlands have planned to write a series of blogs for the SDN community to share their knowledge.

When auditing XI projects, we discovered that a quite often XI consultants choose for tailor packages for standard SAP IDocs and Remote Function Modules (RFMs). We think that this is against general design principles of using software components in SAP XI, as every standard SAP IDoc and Remote Function Module already belongs to an existing Software Component Version. With this weblog we want to show you how to find the SAP Software Component Versions of standard SAP IDocs and Remote Function Modules.

Which packages are present in my SAP system?

The first step is how to discover software components and their release on your SAP system(s). You can find them in the Status Menu.

  • Start menu: System -> Status…
  • Push button “Component information”
  • See popup screen

The packages SAP_BASIS and SAP_ABA exist on every SAP ABAP core. In the example above you also see the SAP_APPL and SAP_HR packages that belong to a SAP ECC system. SAP APO, CRM, SRM and other SAP systems have their own Software Components. The PI* packages are plug-in packages for interaction with other SAP systems and the EA* Software Components are Enterprise Add-On packages. The (standard!) IDoc or RFM you want to use is likely to belong to one of those packages.

Within the System Landscape Directory you will find these packages in the Technical System Browser. See Installed Software Components link of the Installed Products of your technical system.

Note that (after installing support packages or so) you can automatically update the information in the SLD using transaction RZ70. See the picture below.


Determination of an IDoc Software Component Version

Getting more into detail, let us have a look at message type MATMAS as example:

  • Determine the Basic Type using transaction WE82

    In this case, we assume we use basic type MATMAS05
  • Start WE30 and enter the obect name (MATMAS05).
  • Goto -> Header Data
  • Now you’ll see the package name, in this case MGV
  • To find the component name, Start transaction SE80
  • Push button “Repository Browser”
  • Select “Package”

  • Fill MGV and click Display

  • Right-click on Node MGV
  • Select context menu: Display -> In Same Window

  • Now you see the Software Component, in this case SAP_APPL

Determination of a RFM Software Component Version

For Remote Function Modules it is even more simple. Just browse the attributes in the function builder:

  • Start transaction SE37
  • Fill Function Module: BAPI_MATERIAL_GET_DETAIL
  • Press button “Display”
  • Press tab “Attributes”
  • Double click on the package MGA

  • See the Software Component: SAP_APPL

XI Integration Builder

Now, let’s use those standard components within XI. First, we have to import the Software Component Version of the packages. Open the Integration Builder and import the component versions using the menu path beneath.


 

Next is to import the IDOC or RFC from this package into the Integration Builder.


 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Our advice is not to create your own Software Components for standard SAP IDocs and Remote Function Modlues, but to use the SAP Sofware Components instead. We have shown how you how to find and use standard SAP packages. Still, for customer built RFC and IDocs you need to create your own software components.

Coming next in the D-XIE soap:

XI Software Component Architecture Point-to-Point Scenario. Meet you next time in de D-XIE soap …

Other D-XIE soap

The D-XIE Soap part 1: basic principles with XI in the middle
The D-XIE Soap part 2: XI design decisions for synchronous or asynchronous messaging

 
Thanks to all D-XIE members, especial Alwin v.d. Put for helping me writing this weblog.
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