Dear community, in my work as an ABAP coach, I frequently come into contact with different development teams. The ABAP expertise of each team can vary greatly.
Sometimes I hear the explanation for a lack of up-to-date ABAP expertise being that they only have an SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC), usually with Enhancement Package 8.
In fact, it cannot be denied that SAP ECC is not S/4HANA and therefore does not allow you to benefit from some very practical technologies. Nevertheless, there is a lot that can be achieved in SAP ECC that is either the same or better in S/4HANA. Let’s take a closer look.
ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse
As far as I can remember, the ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse (ADT) have been available since around 2012/2013. Even the latest version of ADT can be used with SAP ECC. The difference between working with the ABAP Workbench and ADT is like the difference between day and night. For me, the path to concentrating purely on the source code was liberating. The work is done primarily in a text editor rather than form-based with input fields. The support of Quick Fixes and modern ADT plugins like ABAP Cleaner also takes a lot of work off your hands. You should take advantage of these benefits sooner rather than later.
ABAP Objects
The object-oriented portion of the ABAP programming language has been available since the late 1990s. Object-oriented design based on classes and interfaces (less frequently events) can be fully implemented. Since object-oriented design is in stark contrast to procedural design, it’s never too early to start gaining experience.
Modern ABAP syntax
With SAP NetWeaver 7.40, along with a lot of syntax tweaks (syntactic sugar), other practical language elements came along. This might have been around 2013. Table expressions, string templates, inline declarations, and much more were introduced into ABAP syntax. It’s important to practice using these elements sensibly to ensure source code remains readable and understandable. The recommendations from CleanABAP help with this.
ABAP Unit
I’ve often pointed out the advantages of unit tests (see this blog). ABAP Unit has been available since around 2006. Unfortunately, the ABAP SQL/CDS Test Double Framework is missing in SAP ECC, which requires the use of fake classes. However, this allows for more creativity when designing testable classes (see dependency injection).
ABAP Test Cockpit
I can’t imagine my work without static code analysis using the ABAP Test Cockpit (ATC). It’s as if you could ask a colleague at any time, who would critically examine your code and provide many helpful suggestions. If you then combine the code revisions in the ADT with the Quick Fixes and, if you like, the ABAP Cleaner, you can even get help with the revisions. The ATC can even run unit tests directly.
ABAP Core Data Services
The ABAP Core Data Services Views (CDS Views) were introduced in 2015 or 2016. At least, those are the years I remember. While the Virtual Data Model and modern development artifacts like View Entities aren’t available in SAP ECC, database access in the sense of code pushdown can still be implemented very well, allowing for a wealth of experience.
SAP List Viewer with Integrated Data Access
When using CDS views, you should also consider setting aside the CL_SALV_TABLE class or other older list frameworks. CDS views can be used directly with the help of the CL_SALV_GUI_TABLE_IDA class, which is particularly noticeable in terms of performance.
Web Services as a provider and consumer
It actually doesn’t take much to consume a REST interface. Using the CL_HTTP_CLIENT class, you can retrieve data from other systems. In this context, you can also take a closer look at JSON and XML.
The SAP NetWeaver Gateway provides a REST interface with SAP ECC. This allows you to connect third-party systems to SAP ECC without the need for an SDK such as the SAP Java Connector.
SAP NetWeaver also supports SOAP. It has done so for many, many years.
Business Add-Ins
Business Add-Ins have been available as an enhancement technology for a long time and are therefore also present in SAP ECC. In the context of Business Add-Ins, you can also sharpen your understanding of object-oriented concepts.
Adobe Forms
There are quite a few forms technologies: SAPscript, Smart Forms, and Adobe Forms. These came out sometime in the 2000s. While the technology is quite old, it’s still just as relevant today, as there’s currently no official successor technology.
Summary
With SAP ECC, you can already familiarize yourself with many topics that have been further developed both professionally and technically with SAP S/4HANA. Therefore, I wouldn’t consider this a barrier to being able to familiarize yourself with newer topics. Just get started. After all, the show must go on.
Have fun
Michael