Interface and Attributes of Business object

[Former Member]

Dear Experts,

Can anybody guide me purpose of Interface and attributes in Business objects(SWO1).

Also kindly guide what is difference between Interface and Method in business object.

(I already searched older posts but no luck)

Thanks,

Sanjay

[Laszlo_B]

Hello Sanjay,

business objects allow an object-oriented view of the BAPIs (Business Application Programming Interfaces).

For this reason, the BAPIs work the same way as Function Modules, and the Interfaces can be used to pass data, and Methods can be used to process the data.

Best regards,

Laszlo

[Former Member]

Hi Laszlo,

Thanks for kind reply.

However, purpose of interface and attribute is still not clear to me.

Also,whats difference between method and interface is still not clear.

I will be thankful for kindly guiding again.

[Laszlo_B]

Hello Sanjay,

it has been mentioned that you have checked several posts.

Can you describe what exactly is not clear about the two terms? E.g. the other posts have described these terms quite good yet something is still missing?

Best regards,

Laszlo

[Former Member]

Dear Laszlo,

Would you kindly copy paste post links that cover purpose , difference or similarity between interface and method of the same business object? Also what is attribute is still not clear.

Please answer above.

[Laszlo_B]

Hello Sanjay,

unfortunately you did not mention what exactly is confusing about the two terms - for this reason, here is the official description from SAP Business Objects - BAPI User Guide CA-BFA) - SAP Library :

"the interface layer separates a business object's data and the applications and technologies that are used to access it. To the outside, SAP business objects reveal only their interface, which consists of a set of clearly defined methods. Applications can only access the business object data through the object's methods.

An application program wanting to access an SAP business object and its data, only needs the information required to execute the methods. Therefore, application programmers can work with SAP business objects and call their methods without having to know anything about the object's underlying implementation details.

The set of methods associated with a business object represents the object's behavior. When a method is executed on a business object, the method can change the object's internal state, that is, the object's data.

For example, one method that you can use on the business object Employee is to "check for the employee's existence".

In an SAP System, all SAP business object types and their methods are defined and described in the Business Object Repository (BOR).

Methods: A method is an activity that can be performed on a business object and that provides access to the object data. A method is defined by a name and a set of parameters and exceptions that can or must be provided by the calling program in order to use the method. BAPIs are examples of such methods.

Attributes: An attribute describes a specific property of a business object. For example, Employee.Name is an attribute of the Employee object type."

Here is an example for the BAPI interface: Defining the Interface Structure of the BAPI .

Best regards,

Laszlo