A simple overview on SAP

Netweaver Gateway
SAP NetWeaver Gateway is a technology that provides a simple way to connect devices, environments
and platforms to SAP software based on market standards. The framework enables development of
innovative people centric solutions bringing the power of SAP business software into new experiences
such as social and collaboration environments, mobile and tablet devices and rich internet applications.

In simple words Netweaver Gateway is a set of ABAP add-ons to your existing SAP ERP system that
provides easy access to your business information in a simple, people-centric manner and lowers the
data consumption barrier to the point that no prior knowledge of an SAP system's internal workings is
required.
The Gateway provides an API that is designed to function as easytouse, well defined that gives
access to the rich wealth of business data and functionality in your SAP systems.

1.1 The software offers the following capabilities:

OPEN - Any Device, Any Experience, Any Platform
PEOPLE - Optimized for user interaction scenarios
TIMELESS - Non disruptive, any SAP Business Suite version
DEVELOPERS - Simple APIs, no SAP knowledge, any tool
STANDARDS - Based on REST, ATOM/OData

1.2.1 What is REST & OData?

REST: Representational State Transfer is a style of software architecture for distributed systems such as
the World Wide Web. REST has increasingly displaced other design models such as SOAP and WSDL
due to its simpler style. REST uses the standard GET, PUT, POST & DELETE methods and other existing
features of the HTTP protocol. Key goals of REST include Scalability of component interactions,
Generality of interfaces, Independent deployment of components, Intermediary components to reduce
latency, enforce security and encapsulate legacy systems.
OData: The Open Data Protocol is an open web protocol for querying and updating data. The protocol
allows for a consumer to query a datasource over the HTTP protocol and get the result back in formats
like Atom, JSON or plain XML, including pagination, ordering or filtering of the data.

Open Data Protocol (OData) is a data access protocol initially defined by Microsoft. Versions 1.0,
2.0, and 3.0 are released under the Microsoft Open Specification Promise. Version 4.0 is being
standardized at OASIS,[1] and was released in March 2014. [2]

The protocol was designed to provide standard CRUD access to a data source via a website. It is
similar to JDBC and ODBC although OData is not limited to SQL databases.
OData is built on the AtomPub protocol and JSON where the Atom structure is the envelope that
contains the data returned from each OData request. An OData request uses theREST model for all
requests. Each REST command is a POST, GET, PUT, PATCH, or DELETE http request (mapping to
CRUD) where the specifics of the command are in the URL.

GET: Get a collection of entities (as a feed document) or a single entity(as an entry
document).

POST: Create a new entity from an entry document.

PUT: Update an existing entity with an entry document.

PATCH: Update an existing entity with a partial entry document.

DELETE: Remove an entity.

Any platform that provides support for HTTP and XML is enough to form HTTP requests to interact
with AtomPub. The OData specification defines how AtomPub is used to standardize a typed,
resource-oriented CRUD interface for manipulating data sources.

2.0 Accessing SAP Business Data using Open Source tools

Consumption of data through the SAP NetWeaver Gateway interface requires nothing more than the
ability to make an HTTP(S) request. It does not require the use of any SAP proprietary software or
protocols. Consumption of data through the SAP NetWeaver Gateway interface does not impose any
requirement on the application developer to be able to write software in ABAP, or even to have any
understanding of the internal workings of an SAP system.
Using the commonly available development tools such as Microsofts .Net or Apples XCode, or Open
Source languages such as Ruby or PHP, we can easily create user interfaces for SAP business data and
functionality by consuming the OData messages coming out of an SAP NetWeaver Gateway server. In
order to make the OData consumption process even easier, SAP delivers several versions of the
Gateway Consumption Tool. This tool can currently be used by either Visual Studio 2010 or XCode and
generates an OData proxy object. In addition to this, it can also generate a basic application that wraps
the generated proxy object.
Microsofts OData protocol is based on the Atom Publishing Protocol which in turn, is based on the Atom
Syndication Format. SAP has used the standard extensibility features found in OData to provide its own
annotations. The combination of ODatas data format and the SAP Annotations make SAP business
information both self-describing and human readable. These two factors alone lower the barrier for
consuming SAP business data and functionality to the point that no specialist knowledge of an SAP

system is required before such data can be incorporated into a useful business application running on
some external device.
3.0 Focusing area of the SAP NetWeaver Gateway
The whole focus of the SAP NetWeaver Gateway interface is the REST enablement of SAP business
data and functionality, thereby making it easy for non-SAP applications to consume. These could be:

Any external business application. E.G. Microsoft Office applications via a .Net (or even VBA)
interface
Desktop machines using Web-based applications running PHP or Java or Ruby, etc.
Native applications on mobile devices E.G. iPad/iPhone or an Android device or a Blackberry.
Embedded devices such as manufacturing robots or route planning software in Satellite
Navigation systems.
Any other business scenario you can think of involving some programmable device that can
speak HTTP(S).
The SAP NetWeaver Gateway interface can be used to supply the SAP Business Data to any
programmable device that can speak HTTP(S). In providing this capability, it hides the complexities that
exist within your system landscape by making use of:

Protocol Adaptation: OData becomes the only communication protocol needed for you to supply or
consume SAP Business Data to or from your SAP systems.

Service Adaptation: Different types and versions of SAP systems now appear as a single, integrated
repository of business information.

4.0 Development Process

SAP NetWeaver Gateway software is loaded with various Service Provisioning tools, which generates the
necessary source code to jump-start the development of your external business applications. These tools
can be used in conjunction with widely used Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) such as
Eclipse, Visual Studio 2010 and XCode. Integrated development environment plugins are available for
Visual Studio, xCode & Eclipse, so Developers require no SAP Knowledge.
SAP NetWeaver Gateway creates new Gateway objects from existing BAPI, RFC & ABAP Dynpro
screens. Tools are available like RFC generators, BOR generators and Screen generators which generate
new Gateway objects from existing BAPIs, RFCs or Dynpros. We can also build custom Gateway object
using Gateway Add-On which provides you with the OData Channel. This is a set of ABAP classes and
interfaces that can be used to develop your own Gateway Model Objects within your backend SAP
system. These are then registered with your SAP NetWeaver Gateway system in order to make them
accessible to the outside world as RESTful services.

The steps in development process can be easily understandable from the below image and table.

Step 1 (Gateway) (SAP Side)

Step 2 (Consumer IDE) (Eg.

Visual studio, Eclipse)

Pick a Dynpro, a BAPI or existing Gateway Model.

Create a Data Source Model through the Gateway Design

Create Proxy Classes using

Time.
Plug-ins.
Create a simplified Model and the Adaptation Logic in the
Create a consumer application.
Gateway Design Time.
5.0 Conclusion

SAP NetWeaver Gateway is not designed to be a channel for the type of

transactional applications used by Power Users, neither is it designed to replace
existing middleware like SAP NetWeaver PI. In addition to this, SAP NetWeaver
Gateway applications are not designed to target A2A or B2B scenarios. Instead, SAP
NetWeaver Gateway is the door through which the mass consumption of SAP
business data and functionality is made possible. The target audience for SAP
NetWeaver Gateway applications is a group known as Occasional Platform Users
(OPU). These are people who need ad hoc access to SAP data and functionality in an
easy-to-consume manner.