What does ABAP mean in SAP? Introduction to ERP application
Introduction
In this post, we are going to briefly introduce the ABAP programming language with a small insight into ERP applications and SAP. Please keep in mind that this is a very straightforward and simple explanation of ERP, SAP, and ABAP.
Happy reading!
Table of content
What is ERP software?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an enterprise application to manage the business processes of the organization. A Business process is defined as a set of activities executed in a pre-defined sequence by stakeholders to achieve the stated business goal. The objective of an ERP application is to automate as many processes as possible in the enterprise. ERP application allows for integrating the process and storing the information in a single suite.
ERP is a business application to manage core processes of an enterprise such as Record to Report, Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, Forecast to Stock, Acquire to Hire, and Hire to Retire. All these processes are integrated across multiple functions.
Many software companies build and sell ERP Systems. One of the leading providers of ERP applications is SAP.
What is SAP?
SAP is the world's largest provider of Enterprise Application Software (EAS). SAP SE is founded in Weinheim, Germany in 1972. SAP stands for Systems, Applications & Products in Data processing. It has the broadest portfolio of modular and suite applications, available on-premise, in cloud, and hybrid. SAP applications include packaged solutions for 25+ industries.
SAP products are continuously evolving as per market changes. Sometimes, new products are introduced or new features are introduced to existing products. At times, older products are retired and replaced by new products. It publishes roadmaps based on Industry, Products, and Solutions. SAP Roadmaps are published every quarter which include recent innovations, upcoming innovations, and planned innovations.
What is ABAP in SAP?
ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming) is the name of SAP's proprietary, fourth-generation programming language. It was specifically developed to enable bulk data processing in SAP business applications. ABAP is a multi-paradigm programming language, which means that programmers can use procedural, object-oriented, and other programming principles. Although it is SAP's primary programming language, programs written in ABAP can interact with programs based on other programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, and SAPUI5.
All SAP solutions from R/1 to SAP S/4HANA can be customized using ABAP code. While some solutions such as SAP Business One, SAP Ariba, and acquired products such as SAP Concur and SAP SuccessFactors operate predominantly in other languages, ABAP will continue to play a role when these solutions are connected to a central ABAP-based SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA system. There are half a dozen basic tools that developers can use when working with ABAP code. They are in the development environment called ABAP Workbench. This environment includes a set of necessary development tools, the most commonly used of which are accessible through the Object Navigator. You can access the Object Navigator using t-code SE80.
Conclusion
Now you have a very brief understanding of ERP applications, their components, SAP, and its programming language ABAP. However, SAP is a very vast topic and requires your continuous effort if you are interested in it. To work as an ABAP developer you need to keep up with the world of SAP that is continuously expanding with new technology and products.
See you again!