Introduction to SAP & ABAP

SAP SE (founded 1972 in Walldorf, Germany) builds enterprise software — above all ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems that run finance, logistics, sales, procurement, manufacturing, and HR for a large share of the world's biggest companies.

1.1 What is SAP?

SAP SE (founded 1972 in Walldorf, Germany) builds enterprise software — above all ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems that run finance, logistics, sales, procurement, manufacturing, and HR for a large share of the world's biggest companies. The business logic of these systems is written mostly in ABAP.

1.2 What is ABAP?

ABAP (originally *Allgemeiner Berichts-Aufbereitungs-Prozessor*, "general report preparation processor", today *Advanced Business Application Programming*) is SAP's proprietary, high-level, strongly typed language. Key characteristics:

Database-centric: SQL is part of the language (ABAP SQL), checked at compile time against the ABAP Dictionary.

Runs on the ABAP application server (AS ABAP), not natively on the OS; programs are stored in the database and compiled to a bytecode-like load.

Multi-paradigm: procedural (reports, function modules) and object-oriented (ABAP Objects, since 1999/4.6).

Built-in internationalization, transport system, authorization, and locking concepts.

Business types: packed decimals (p), dates (d), times (t), currency/quantity references.

Backward compatible: 1990s code still runs next to 2025 syntax.

1.3 History

R/1 — real-time financial accounting on mainframes R/2 — mainframe, two-tier; ABAP appears as a report language

R/3 — client/server, three-tier (presentation, application, database); ABAP/4 ABAP Objects (release 4.6)

SAP NetWeaver 2004 — AS ABAP + AS Java, web services SAP ECC 6.0 (ERP Central Component) — the long-lived classic ERP SAP HANA in-memory database

NetWeaver 7.40 — expressions, inline declarations, constructor operators, CDS views (7.40 SP05+)

SAP S/4HANA (HANA-only ERP), NetWeaver 7.50 ABAP Platform 1709 (first decoupled S/4HANA ABAP platform), CDS-based BOPF programming model

SAP Cloud Platform ABAP Environment ("Steampunk") — ABAP in the cloud

RAP (ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model) generally available

SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) rebrand; BTP ABAP Environment

ABAP Cloud development model; Embedded Steampunk in S/4HANA Cloud and S/4HANA 2022

S/4HANA 2023/2025 releases, ABAP Cloud as the recommended model, "clean core" strategy, AI assistance (Joule for developers / ABAP AI)

ECC 6.0 mainstream maintenance ends end of 2027 (extended optional maintenance to 2030), so migration to S/4HANA is a central topic in today's SAP market.

1.4 Flavors of ABAP today

Classic ABAP / Standard ABAP ECC, S/4HANA on-premise / private cloud Full language, all SAP objects usable ABAP Cloud

BTP ABAP Environment, S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, and (optionally) on-premise S/4HANA

Restricted language version ("ABAP for Cloud Development"), only released APIs, RAP/CDS based Embedded Steampunk ABAP Cloud model *inside* S/4HANA

Same as ABAP Cloud, side by side with classic code Key user extensibility S/4HANA web apps

Restricted "ABAP for Key Users" in custom logic apps

1.5 What ABAP developers build

Reports and analytics, interfaces (IDoc, RFC, OData, REST, SOAP), enhancements to SAP standard processes, forms (invoices, delivery notes), Fiori app back ends (RAP/OData), data migrations and conversions, workflows, and batch jobs. The classic shorthand is RICEFW: Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, Enhancements, Forms, Workflow.