SAP SAP ABAP Flashcards

24 sample cards from the SAP ABAP deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. Name two development artifacts that can ONLY be developed in ADT (Eclipse), not in the classic SAP GUI Workbench.

   Core Data Services (CDS) views/entities and ABAP Restful Application Programming (RAP) objects. Other ADT-centric artifacts include behavior definitions, access controls, and service definitions/bindings used in modern ABAP on SAP HANA / S/4HANA and BTP.

2. What is Open SQL (ABAP SQL) and what advantage does it give over Native SQL?

   Open SQL (now ABAP SQL) is a unified subset of SQL embedded in ABAP that works identically across all database systems SAP supports. It is database-independent, integrates with the ABAP Dictionary, and uses SAP buffering, so the same code runs on any DB platform without change.

3. What are the main Open SQL (ABAP SQL) statements?

   SELECT (read), INSERT (add rows), UPDATE (change rows), MODIFY (insert-or-update), and DELETE (remove rows). SELECT supports INTO/APPENDING internal tables, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, aggregate functions, and the SINGLE / UP TO n ROWS additions.

4. What is Native SQL in ABAP, how is it delimited, and what are its trade-offs?

   Native SQL sends database-specific SQL statements directly to the DB, written between EXEC SQL. ... ENDEXEC. (or via ADBC classes). It allows DB-specific features but is database-dependent, bypasses the ABAP Dictionary and SAP buffer, does not check syntax against DDIC, and reduces portability.

5. What is the difference between SELECT SINGLE and SELECT ... UP TO 1 ROWS in ABAP SQL?

   SELECT SINGLE reads exactly one row identified by (ideally) the full primary key and does not sort. SELECT ... UP TO 1 ROWS returns the first row of a (possibly ordered) result set and can be combined with ORDER BY to get, e.g., the max/min record. SINGLE requires key uniqueness for a deterministic result.

6. In ABAP SQL, what does an INNER JOIN versus a LEFT OUTER JOIN return?

   INNER JOIN returns only rows where the join condition matches in both tables. LEFT OUTER JOIN returns all rows of the left table plus matching right-table columns, filling non-matching right columns with null/initial values. This controls whether unmatched left rows are kept.

7. What is the fundamental difference between User Exits, BAdIs, and the Enhancement Framework in terms of enhancement technology generation?

   They are successive generations of SAP enhancement technology: 1) User Exits/Customer Exits (oldest, procedural, predefined by SAP), 2) BAdIs (Business Add-Ins, object-oriented, multiple implementations), 3) Enhancement Framework (newest, explicit and implicit enhancement points/sections, source-code and BAdI enhancements unified).

8. What is a User Exit in ABAP, and how does it differ from a Customer Exit?

   A User Exit is an enhancement realized as an empty subroutine (FORM) within SAP standard programs (common in SD), which the customer fills with code. A Customer Exit (managed via SMOD/CMOD) is a more structured SAP-provided exit implemented as a function-module exit, menu exit, or screen exit, activated through a project.

9. What transactions are used to manage classic Customer Exits (SAP enhancements)?

   SMOD is used to view/display available SAP enhancements (collections of exits). CMOD is used to create a customer project, assign enhancements to it, implement the exits (function-module/menu/screen), and activate the project.

10. What is a BAdI (Business Add-In) and what is its key advantage over classic Customer Exits?

    A BAdI is an object-oriented enhancement based on interfaces, allowing customers to implement predefined methods. Its key advantage is support for multiple, independent implementations (including filter-dependent ones), and it fits the OO model—unlike single-use classic exits.

11. What is the difference between a Classic BAdI and a Kernel-Based (new) BAdI?

    Classic BAdIs (transaction SE18/SE19) predate the Enhancement Framework and use a manager class. Kernel-based (new) BAdIs are part of the Enhancement Framework, are called with GET BADI and CALL BADI statements, offer better performance, support default/fallback implementations, and are integrated with enhancement spots.

12. What ABAP statements are used to call a kernel-based (new) BAdI?

    GET BADI creates a BAdI handle (reference) for the enhancement spot, then CALL BADI handle->method( ) invokes the implementation(s). Filters can be passed in GET BADI to select the appropriate filter-dependent implementation.

13. What is the SAP Enhancement Framework, and what are implicit versus explicit enhancement options?

    The Enhancement Framework is the unified technology for enhancing SAP repository objects without modification. Explicit enhancements are predefined points/sections placed by SAP (ENHANCEMENT-POINT, ENHANCEMENT-SECTION) that developers fill. Implicit enhancement points exist automatically at standard positions (e.g., end of a FORM/method, end of a structure) where custom code can be inserted.

14. What is the difference between an enhancement point and an enhancement section in the ABAP Enhancement Framework?

    At an ENHANCEMENT-POINT, the custom (enhancement implementation) code is executed IN ADDITION to the original code. At an ENHANCEMENT-SECTION, the enhancement implementation's code REPLACES the enclosed original code when active. Both are explicit, SAP-defined options.

15. What is an Enhancement Spot and Enhancement Implementation in the Enhancement Framework?

    An Enhancement Spot is a container that manages enhancement options (declaring where enhancements are possible, e.g., BAdI definitions or enhancement points). An Enhancement Implementation contains the actual customer code that fills those options. Composite spots/implementations can group several together.

16. What is SAP Web Dynpro ABAP?

    Web Dynpro ABAP is SAP's standard web-based UI programming model/technology for developing browser-based business applications on the ABAP application server. It follows a model-driven, declarative approach with a clear separation of UI (view) and logic, running the runtime on the ABAP stack.

17. What architectural pattern does Web Dynpro ABAP follow, and what are its three main parts?

    Web Dynpro follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern. The three parts are the Model (business data/logic, often via BAPIs/function modules), the View (UI layout of screen elements), and the Controller (handles events and data flow between view and model).

18. What is a Context in Web Dynpro ABAP?

    The Context is a hierarchical, tree-like data storage structure within a controller (component or view controller) consisting of nodes and attributes. It holds the data used by the UI; UI elements bind to context attributes, and data is transported between the view and model through context mapping and binding.

19. In Web Dynpro ABAP, what is the difference between context mapping and data binding?

    Data binding connects UI elements in a view to attributes in that view's context node (driving what is displayed/entered). Context mapping links a view/component controller context node to a node in another (usually the component) controller, sharing data across controllers so multiple views can access the same data.

20. What is a Web Dynpro Component and what does a Window contain?

    A Web Dynpro Component is the central, reusable development unit bundling views, windows, controllers, and context. A Window is a container that embeds one or more views and defines the navigation (plugs) between them, representing what is displayed to the user at runtime.

21. What are inbound and outbound plugs in Web Dynpro ABAP navigation?

    Plugs define navigation between views within a window. An outbound plug is triggered (fired) by a view to leave it; it is wired to an inbound plug of the target view, which is entered when navigation occurs. The navigation link connects an outbound plug to an inbound plug.

22. What are the main phases of the Web Dynpro ABAP phase model (processing cycle)?

    For each request the runtime executes roughly: handle the incoming request/event, transport data from the view into the context, run event handler methods (application logic), then the wdDoModifyView/rendering phase transports context data back to the view and generates the HTML response sent to the browser.

23. What is the ABAP system field sy-subrc and what does the value 0 typically indicate?

    sy-subrc is a system return-code field set after many ABAP statements (SELECT, READ TABLE, function calls, etc.). A value of 0 conventionally indicates the operation was successful (row found, call succeeded); a non-zero value indicates an error or 'not found' condition. Always check it immediately after the relevant statement.

24. What is a LUW (Logical Unit of Work) in SAP and how does it relate to COMMIT WORK / ROLLBACK WORK?

    A LUW is an inseparable sequence of database operations that must be executed entirely or not at all (atomicity). COMMIT WORK makes all changes since the last commit permanent and ends the LUW; ROLLBACK WORK undoes all changes since the last commit. SAP distinguishes the database LUW from the SAP LUW (which can span dialog steps via update function modules).

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