Web Dynpro

Web Dynpro (WD) is a technology that was introduced by SAP as part of the NetWeaver strategy. It is used to create web-based applications that work together with a SAP ERP and other systems.

General

There is a Java and an ABAP version of Web Dynpro. While the Java version has been available since the introduction of NetWeaver , the ABAP version has only been available since the beginning of 2006. SAP itself currently only uses the ABAP version of Web Dynpro for new developments. A discussion is underway among SAP experts as to when SAP will phase out the Java variant.

programming

The Web Dynpro programming is based on the MVC - design patterns .

Views contain the layout and the presentation of the data. A view is put together exclusively from ready-made elements, so that no knowledge of HTML is required. Each view has its own view controller.
Component controllers connect models with view controllers and control the application process.
Models are used to obtain data, e.g. B. from SAP R / 3 systems via adaptive RFC models or, for example, via web services . Models contain a model context that contains the data of the respective last model call.
Contexts are data stores assigned to each controller. The context of a view controller saves the data as long as the view is active (comparable to the request of a J2EE application), the component controller saves the data across all views as long as the application is running (comparable to the session ).
Mapping connects the data of the contexts and initiates an automatic data comparison at runtime.

Different views are now arranged in interaction on a window and the start view is marked. This is displayed first at runtime. The interaction of the user via control elements triggers events that address the methods in the controllers. In these methods, the developer now programs z. B. Model calls to obtain data from the back-end systems. By mapping the contexts, these are transported within the Web Dynpro application so that they can be displayed again in a view.

The ABAP version of Web Dynpro fits more seamlessly into the existing SAP system than the Java version that is created outside the SAP system in the NetWeaver Developer Studio (based on Eclipse Workbench ). There are also differences with regard to the existing UI elements : The ALV grid (ALV = ABAP List Viewer ) known from classic ABAP development is not (yet) available in the Java version. The wizards implemented in WD-ABAP that can be used to generate frequently used code segments are also missing . The Java version is more flexible in terms of the design of interface themes .

literature

Ganz, Gürtler, Lakner: Practical Guide Web Dynpro for Java. SAP Press, ISBN 3-89842-689-0
Ganz, Gürtler, Lakner: Maximizing Web Dynpro for Java. SAP Press, ISBN 1-59229-077-9
Chris Whealy: Inside Web Dynpro for Java. SAP Press, ISBN 1-59229-038-8
Kessler, Tillert, Dobrikov: Java programming with the SAP Web Application Server. SAP Press, ISBN 3-89842-317-4
Ulli Hoffmann: Practical Guide Web Dynpro for ABAP. SAP Press, ISBN 3-89842-690-4
Dominik Ofenloch, Roland Schwaiger: Getting Started with Web Dynpro ABAP SAP Press, ISBN 978-1-5922-9311-7
Dominik Ofenloch, Roland Schwaiger: Introduction to Web Dynpro ABAP SAP Press, ISBN 978-3-8362-1315-8
Roland Schwaiger, Dominik Ofenloch: Web Dynpro ABAP SAP Press, ISBN 978-3-8362-1522-0
Ulrich Gellert, Ana Daniela Cristea: Web Dynpro ABAP for Practitioners Springer, ISBN 978-3-6421-1384-0
Ulrich Gellert, Ana Daniela Cristea: Praxishandbuch Web Dynpro ABAP Xpert.Press, ISBN 978-3-6421-1386-4

swell

↑ Ingo Biermann: When is Web Dynpro Java finally dead?

Web links

Web Dynpro ABAP and Web Dynpro Java SAP Developer Network (SDN) with introductory and in-depth information, tutorials and wiki pages

[1] Ingo Biermann: When is Web Dynpro Java finally dead?