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  • Objects in ABAP

    Preface – This post is part of the Object Oriented ABAP series.

    Introduction

    Objects in ABAP are special variables that have distinct characteristics and behaviors in general terms known as attributes and methods. The attributes define the state of an object and a method defines the behavior or actions performed by the object.

    An object has three main characteristics-

    • State – State defines the set of attributes and its values.
    • Identity – Each object has a unique identity.
    • Behaviour – Behaviour defines the actions performed.

    The two objects may have the same state or behaviour but their identity is always unique. The identity of object sustains till its lifetime.

    For example, a student has attributes like student name (first name, last name), student id, date of birth, address and behaviour would be the change in its attributes. The two students may have the same attributes and behaviour but they are not identical. Their identity is unique and will never change throughout their lifetime.

    Objects interact with each other by sending messages.

    Definition

    An object is the instance of the class. It is a special variable that has distinct characteristics and behaviours.

    ABAP Objects creation

    Object creation includes two steps. They are as follows:

    • Creating reference variable to class.

    DATA : <object_name> TYPE REF TO <class_name>.

    • Creating an object from the reference variable.

    CREATE OBJECT : <object_name>.

    Example

    Let’s jot down an example.

    ****class definition****

CLASS zdemo DEFINITION.

                PUBLIC SECTION.

                                 METHOD : zdemo_method.

END CLASS.

****class implementation****

CLASS zdemo IMPLEMENTATION.

                METHOD zdemo_method.

                                WRITE : “ABAP Object”

                END METHOD.

END CLASS.

****creating class object****

START-OF-SELECTION.

DATA : object_demo TYPE REF TO zdemo.                                             “Creating reference variable”

CREATE OBJECT object_demo.                                                                   “Creating object”

CALL METHOD : object_demo->zdemo.

    Objects in ABAP

    In the example, zdemo_method is the method defined in the public section of definition part of the class zdemo. The implementation part of the method is provided in the class implementation. Firstly, we have created the reference variable object_demo to the class and then created an object object_demo from the reference variable. The object_demo->zdemo calls of the method zdemo_method and executes the code inside the method.

  • Migration from SAPscript to Smart Forms

    Preface – This post is part of the ABAP Beginner series.

    Introduction

    SAP Smart Forms is a tool to create and maintain forms for mass printing and sending documents for important business processes. If an existing SAPscript form is available in the system, it can be migrated to SAP Smart Forms.  The SAPscript can be migrated individually or any number of SAPscript can be migrated in one go. In this article we will discuss the steps involved in the Migration from SAPscript to Smart Forms.

    Migration of a SAPscript

    Step 1: Enter SMARTFORMS in the common field. Enter the Smart Forms name in the form name.

    Open Smart Forms Transaction
    Open Smart Forms Transaction

    Step 2: From menu bar, choose Utilities -> Migration ->Import SAPscript  Form.

    Migration from SAPscript to Smart Forms

    Step 3: A popup will appear. Enter the name of the SAPscript which has to be migrated. Also, provide language in the language field.

    Import Smart Scripts
    Import Smart Scripts

    Note: If the SAPscript is not available in the selected language, a popup will appear with a list of all languages that are available on the form. Select one of the existing languages.

    Select a Language
    Select a Language

    Step 4: Press Enter. It opens the SAP Form Builder screen in change mode.

    Step 5: Now, change the layout and logic of the form. And Click on the Activate button to activate the Smart Forms.

    Mass migration of the SAPscript

    Step 1: Enter SE38 in the common field and execute the SF_MIGRATE report.

    Step 2: Enter the names and language of the SAPscript form and Execute. The system creates the corresponding Smart Forms with the name of the SAPscript with an extension  _SF.

    Step 3: To modify the Smart Forms, go to transaction SMARTFORMS and enter the name of the Smart Forms. Modify and click on the Activate button to activate it.

  • SAP Smart Forms Builder

    Preface – This post is part of the ABAP Beginner series.

    In the previous tutorial, we have learned about the basics of SAP Smart Forms. Let’s learn about the screen and windows in SAP Smart Forms Builder.

    Introduction

    SAP Smart Forms provides a graphical user interface that allows us to create and maintain the layout and the form logic of the form. The graphical user interface is known as the SAP Form Builder.

    The SAP Form Builder is divided into three sections:

    SAP Smart Forms Builder
    SAP Smart Forms Builder
    1. Navigation Window: It consists of nodes and sub-nodes, which contain all the elements like windows, texts, etc. It shows the hierarchical structure of the Smart Forms and maintains the form logic. It has 2 root nodes by default for every Smart Forms:
    • General setting’s node to maintain Form Attributes, Form Interface, and Global Definitions. The Global Definitions contain the data that are available throughout the Smart Forms and the Form Interface contains the data which will be passed to the Smart Forms from the calling ABAP program.
    • Pages and Windows to create pages of the form, position elements on the pages, and determine the flow of the process of the elements.

     

    1. Maintenance Window: It is used to maintain the attributes of all the elements in the navigation tree nodes. In this window, depending on the node type, additional graphical tools are integrated.
    • PC Editor for the text nodes.
    • Table Painter for tables and template nodes.

     

    1. Form Painter: It is used to design the layout of the page of the Smart Forms. It allows us to add Windows and graphics, determine their position and size. It can be displayed or suppressed by selecting Form Painter on/off.

     

    Features

    1.      Navigation

    If a node is selected in the Navigation Window, the system displays the corresponding maintenance screen and highlights the corresponding window in the Form Painter.

    Also, on selecting a window in Form Painter, the system highlights the corresponding node in the tree and displays the corresponding maintenance screen for the selected window.

    2.      Updating the form

    Some settings such as height, width, etc. that are done graphically in the Form Painter are automatically copied to the maintenance screen. However, if the attributes are changed in the maintenance screen, it reflects the Navigation screen and Form Painter only after RETURN is pressed.

    3.      Service function

    The Form Builder provides the following service functions:

    • It has a field list that contains all fields of the Smart Forms.
    • It has an error list.
    • It allows us to undo/redo the changes to the form description.
    • It allows uploading and downloading the form locally.
    • It allows returning to the last active version of the form.

  • How to build Smart Forms in SAP ABAP

    Preface – This post is part of the ABAP Beginner series.

    Introduction

    As we have already basics of the SAP Smart Forms, in this article we will learn to build Smart Forms in SAP ABAP to print a simple text.

    Steps to build Smart Forms in SAP ABAP

    Step 1: SMARTFORMS is the t-code for Smart Forms. Enter SMARTFORMS in the common field.

    SMARTFORMS
    SMARTFORMS Transaction

    Step 2: Enter a form name and click on Create button.

    Create button for Smart Forms
    Create Smart Forms

    Step 3:  Enter a short description of the Smart Forms.

    Short Description for Smart Forms
    Short Description for Smart Forms

    Step 4: To create a text, expand the node “Pages and Windows”, then “New Page”. Right-click on “Main Window”, then click on Create -> Text.

    Smart Forms Main Window
    Smart Forms Main Window

    Step 5: Give a name and description of this text. And enter the text which has to be printed.

    Text in Smart Forms
    Text in Smart Forms

    Step 6: Save and activate the Smart Forms.

    Step 7: To find the function module that got generated upon activation of the Smart Forms Click on Environment -> Function Module.

    Find Function Module of Smart Forms
    Find Function Module of Smart Forms

    A pop-up with the name of the function module will appear.

    Step 8: Copy the function module name and open t-code SE38 and enter the function module name.

    Function Module for Smart Forms
    Function Module for Smart Forms

    Step 9: Execute the function module.

    Execute Smart Forms Function Module
    Execute Smart Forms Function Module

    Step 10: Since there are no parameters to pass, click on Execute.

    Print preview of Smart Forms
    Print preview of Smart Forms

  • How to Transport Standard Text in SAP

    Preface – This post is part of the ABAP Beginner series.

    Introduction

    When a standard text is created or modified using SO10, unlike any other objects it doesn’t ask for any transport number. The standard text is manually assigned the transport request to migrate it from one system to another. In this article we will explain how to Transport Standard Text in SAP.

    Steps to Transport Standard Text in SAP

    Steps to assign standard text to the transport request:

    Step 1: Enter SA38 in the common field and execute RSTXTRAN report.

    SA38

    Step 2: Enter the task number of the transport request in the Name of correction field.

    RSTXTRAN report

    Step 3: Enter Text key-ID and Text key-language of the standard text which has to be assigned to the transport request.

    Enter Text

    Step 4: A screen with a list of texts will appear. Deselect all Objects and select the standard text which has to be assigned to the transport request. Press enter.

    Deselect all Objects

    Step 5: Press enter. Selected objects will be shown.

    Selected objects

    Step 6: Click on Trsfr. Text to corr. Button.

    Click on Trsfr

    Step 7:  A pop-up will appear. Click on yes.

    pop-up

    Step 8: Once confirmed, below screen will appear showing the selected standard text has been assigned to a Transport request.

    selected standard text

  • SAP Standard Text (SO10): Create, Edit & Read with ABAP

    Preface – This post is part of the ABAP Beginner series.

    Introduction

    SAP Standard text is an object that holds some reusable text. If the texts are used more than once, those can be entered as standard text. This is globally stored and can be included in scripts, Smart Forms, or ABAP programs. Usually, standard texts are created for printing documents or inserting content of the body.

    SAP Standard Text Formatting

    There are different formatting options available in the text editor. Let’s check them out.

    1. * Default Paragraph: It is a default format for the text.
    2. B Paragraph, Justified: The paragraph is justified.
    3. C Centered: It aligns the paragraph to the center.
    4. L   Paragraph, Left Aligned: It aligns the paragraph to left.
    5. Space   Continuous Text: When two or more lines are needed in the paragraph, space can be specified to make it continuous text in the editor.
    6. =     Extended Line: It appends the next line only at the output.
    7. (      Raw line: It is used to apply the same format to the next paragraph as the previous one.
    8. /      Line Feed: It displays the text in the next line, same as the write statement is used to print in the next line.
    9. /=    Line Feed and Extended Line: It displays the content of the current line in the next line.
    10. /(     Line Feed and Raw Line: It displays the preceding line at the next line and uses the format of the previous paragraph.
    11. /:     Command Line: These lines are not interpreted and the contents of the line are converted to caps. The command line must be a single line.
    12. /*    Comment Line: It is used to write comments. These lines are neither be executed nor interpreted.

    Steps to create a Standard Text

    Step 1:  SO10 is the transaction code to create a standard text. Enter SO10 in the common field.

    Transaction code SO10

    Step 2: Enter a name for the standard text in Text Name field and click on the Create button.

    Create Standard Text

    Step 3: Enter text in Standard text Editor.

    There are different text editors. To change the editor, click on GOTO and select Change Editor.

    Standard text Editor

    Step 4: Click on the Save button.

     

    Steps to include Standard text in Smart Forms:

    Step 1: SMARTFORMS is the t-code for Smart Forms. Enter SMARTFORMS in the common field.

    SAP Smart Forms

    Step 2: Enter a form name and click on Create button.

    Create Smart Forms

    Step 3: Expand the Pages and Windows node and create a Text node.

    Expand Smart Forms

    Step 4: Change the Text type to Include Text.

    Change Text Type

    Step 5: A “Change Text node” pop will appear. Click on Yes.

    Change Text node

    Step 6: Enter Standard text name, Text object, Text ID, and Language.

    Enter Standard text

    Step 7: Check and activate the Smart Forms.

  • Difference between SAP Smart Forms and SAP Script

    Preface – This post is part of the Differences in ABAP for Interviews series.

    Before discussing the difference between SAP Smart Forms and SAP Script, let’s have a short introduction of the two.

    SAP Smart Forms

    SAP Smart Forms is a tool to create and maintain forms for mass printing and sending documents. This tool is also used for developing PDF files, e-mails, and documents. It provides an interface to build and maintain the layout and logic for the form. It does not require any programming knowledge to modify the forms. It means the forms can be configured using simple graphical tools effortlessly.

    SAP Script

    SAP Script is a text processing system owned by SAP. It is used to generate formatted documents and to print for external purposes. It uses pre-formatted forms to print pre-formatted texts which are not possible with normal ABAP code. It is client dependent, i.e. if it created in client 100, it is not visible to other clients.

    SAP Smart Forms was introduced in 1998 to overcome the limitations of SAP Scripts and is superseded by Interactive Forms by Adobe since release 6.40.

    Difference between SAP Smart Forms and SAP Script

    Now, let’s have a look at their difference.

    SAP  Smart Forms SAP Script
    It is client independent It is client dependent.
    T-code is SMARTFORMS. T-code is SE71.
    It can be created without the main window. Main window is compulsory.
    Programming knowledge is not necessary. Programming knowledge is necessary.
    Texts support various colors. Only black and white color are allowed.
    Labels can not be created. Labels can be created.
    Multiple page format is available. Only single page format is available.
    Routines can be written. Routines cannot be written.
    Background logo cannot be printed. Background logo can be printed.
    Text can be printed in multiple character format. Text can be printed in only two character formats.
    A function module is generated when it is activated. No function module is generated when it is activated.
    Once control is transferred to the function module, it never comes back. It supports the repeated transfer of control.
    It cannot be downloaded/uploaded to the local disk. It can be downloaded/uploaded to the local disk.

  • What is SAP Smart Forms

    Preface – This post is part of the ABAP Beginner series.

    Introduction

    SAP Smart Forms is a tool to create and maintain forms for mass printing and sending documents. This tool is also used for developing PDF files, e-mails, and documents. It provides an interface to build and maintain the layout and logic for the form. It does not require any programming knowledge to modify the forms. It means the forms can be configured using simple graphical tools effortlessly.

    The data is retrieved from static and dynamic tables. The table heading and the subtotal is specified by the triggered event and the data is sorted before the final output is printed. It also allows to incorporate graphics that can be displayed either as the background or as a part of the form. The background graphics can be suppressed while taking the printout of the form.

    SAP Smart Forms was introduced in 1998 to overcome the limitations of SAP Scripts and is superseded by Interactive Forms by Adobe since release 6.40. To know the differences between SAP Smart Forms and SAP Script, click here.

    SMARTFORMS is the transaction used to design the smart form layout.

     

    Architecture of SAP Smart Forms

    The architecture of the SAP Smart Forms separates application data retrieval from the actual definition of the form.

    Smart Forms

    The following components are used:

    1. Form Layout: Define the positions of elements on the page
    2. Form Logic: To read data from the database, to define conditions, and to control the process flow of the form output.
    3. Individual element: Elements can be Text, Table, Graphics, Address, etc.
    4. Form Interface: To transfer the data to form definition.

     

    Advantages of SAP Smart Forms

    • It does not require any programming language.
    • It is configured using graphical tools.
    • When the Smart Forms is activated, a function module is generated and when called by the ABAP program, the module interface is used to transfer the data as per the form description.
    • Data is retrieved from the static and dynamic table.
    • Texts, images, tables, barcodes can be embedded.
    • Importing parameters have to be defined to send the data to be printed.
    • It can be easily modified using Drag & Drop and Cut & Paste, without writing changing the codes.
    • Output can be in the form of Fax, Print, email, or HTML/XML format to a web browser.
    • Using generated XML output, Web Publishing is possible.

  • Difference between Object-Oriented ABAP and Function module

    Preface – This post is part of the Differences in ABAP for Interviews series.

    Before discussing the difference between Object-Oriented ABAP and Function module, let’s have a short introduction of the two.

    Object-Oriented ABAP

    Object-Oriented ABAP or OOABAP is the object-oriented extension of ABAP, which mainly focuses on the classes and object rather than the code flow. An object-oriented approach enables programmers to think like they are working with real-life entities.

    The Object-Oriented concept of ABAP mainly revolves around the classes and objects, which are the basic elements of OOABAP. A class is like a blueprint of an object or a template that binds similar kinds of data. It defines the characteristics of an object. An object is a working entity of a class. Each object is unique at its own, meaning with unique identity and attributes. Attributes define the state of an object whereas the behavior of an object refers to the changes that occur in its attributes over some time.

    The three pillars of OOABAP are:

    Encapsulation: It is a concept of preventing the data from being arbitrarily accessed by some other outside interference or protects the data from being misused.

    Polymorphism: It allows overwriting some functionality.

    Inheritance: It allows a sub class or a child class to inherit the properties from a parent class.

    Function module

    The classical approach where the ABAP program consists of program blocks and is executed sequentially is known as the Procedural Programming model. Function modules are one of the techniques that separate the functionality of the program into independent, interchangeable modules, such that each contains everything necessary to execute only one aspect of the desired functionality.

    This technique improves the readability and maintainability of ABAP programs as well as incorporates the reusability of functions.

    Difference between Object-Oriented ABAP and Function module

    Now, let’s have a look at their difference.

    OOPS Function Module
    It is object-oriented. It is procedural oriented.
    It uses objects and classes. It contains a block of code for a specific functionality
    It is a bottom-up approach. It is a top-down approach.
    Inheritance is possible. Inheritance is not possible.
    Polymorphism is possible. Polymorphism is not possible.
    Have access specifiers: Private, public, and Protected. Does not have any access specifier.

  • Class Constructor in a Class

    Preface – This post is part of the Object Oriented ABAP series.

    Introduction

    We have understood about constructors in our previous article, a constructor is a special method that is invoked automatically at the time object is created or instantiated. It has two types: Instance Constructor and Static Constructor. The static constructor also called as class constructor is invoked whenever there is first call to the class whether it is through an instance or class.

    The class constructor has some special properties like,

    • Each class has a single static constructor.
    • The class constructor is called exactly once for each class.
    • The method don’t have importing/ exporting parameters and cannot raise exception.

    The class constructor can also be used to set default values for global attributes irrespective of the instance or methods. Also, while declaring the class constructor one must keep in mind that the name of the constructor must be CLASS_CONSTRUCTOR and declared using the statement CLASS-METHODS in the declaration part of the class.

    Definition

    A class constructor is a method which is automatically invoked whenever the first call to the class is made, it may be through an instance or class.

    Example

    Let us look into an example:

    **** Class Definition****

    CLASS  ZCL_DEMO DEFINITION.

    PUBLIC SECTION.

    METHODS:  CONSTRUCTOR.                                                         “Instance Constructor”

    CLASS-METHODS: CLASS_CONSTRUCTOR.                              “Static Constructor”

    END CLASS.

    ****Class Implementation****

    CLASS  ZCL_DEMO IMPLEMENTATION.

    METHOD CONSTRUCTOR.

    WRITE: “Instance Constructor is initiated”.

    END METHOD.

    METHOD CLASS_CONSTRUCTOR.

    LV_DATE = SY-DATUM.                                                                  “Changing the value of attribute”

    END METHOD.

    END CLASS.

    START-OF-SELECTION.

    DATA: LO_DEMO TYPE REF TO ZCL_DEMO.

    **Class object creation**

    CREATE OBJECT LO_DEMO.

    **Whenever the first call to class is made CLASS_CONSTRUCTOR  is triggered

    WRITE: “INSTANTIATING CLASS CONSTRUCTOR”, ZCL_DEMO=>LV_DATE.

     

    A commonly asked question is that whether we can redefine the constructors? So, it is a big NO as the redefinition of constructors are not allowed and the program will fall into error “Constructor may not be over-defined”.