Creating ABAP in the time of the SAP Cloud Platform and SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Most of the Developers, around the world, have built and run ABAP code in the virtual world. Although ABAP is a new service out, it is quickly finding its place beside Node.js and Java.
Writing on the cloud is quite a different experience from on-prem ABAP for most developers. In the darkness, a Development team can use the latest SAP HANA or SAP BPC Services. SAP also operates the whole ABAP platform along with the HANA layer; this avoids all bottlenecks after an upgrade.
For a user, who is transitioning into SAP S/4 HANA cloud. ABAP PaaS is one of the most favorable opportunities, to move a business from premises extensions into the cloud. This will help stabilize and update custom code, and indirectly improves the skill set of the ABAP team.
Under situations where there is a requirement to stay on-site with the existing SAP ERP or SAP S/4 system, it is not essential to have a cloud ERP. ABAP PaaS is a viable option if the purpose is to create new and innovative decoupled extensions. Scenarios that run in the virtual world, use SAP cloud platform services, and exploit SAP HANA, irrespective of the language used to implement it. This can be carried out, without placing an undue load on the system. Usage of clean APIs and a decoupled approach completes the times of mods and extensions required for an ERP upgrade.
Although there is no sole reason to opt for ABAP while using Java or Node.js within SAP ERP cloud solutions, in truth, there is no real argument to push changes, if Node.js or Java are optimally used. However, the fact implies that core SAP is based on ABAP.
There is a large amount of ABAP knowledge out in the ether. There are also more extensions than you may think that is written in ABAP. This is where an ABAP PaaS comes in quite handy. When it comes down to performance, using ABAP apps with new ABAP extensions is probably not a bad idea.
The ABAP community still has quite an unfulfilled wishlist, but there is ample opportunity than ever for innovative developers to modernize ABAP. The community is open to ideas, and those who come up with the great ones will exercise a large amount of influence over the future of ABAP PaaS.
Interested developers should consider that ABAP is restrictive for a reason. The cloud has an entirely new suite of responsibilities for a developer, with all the top codes under the developer’s full prevue. Any provider must be able to exchange the platform and not change the code. For this reason, ABAP starts slow, exposing only RESTful services. Presently, SAP Gui won’t be supported, nor will direct access to the root system function as desired.
