If xApps are about next practices in business, xApps development is about next practices in development of business applications. xApps development leverages the composite application framework(CAF) to enable weaving together of applications, a la Carte. The CAF in turn leverages the different components of NetWeaver platform, the Java stack of the Web Application server in particular.
So what are the next practices in development of business applications? I will try to give a brief overview of these, details with code samples can be substance for future blogs.
- Model driven and pattern based: as stated in my previous post, xApps development is all out models and patterns.
- Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): CAF offers a layered approach to application development. By decoupling different layers of a application it enables easy development of composite enterprise services. As enterprises struggle to find a way to leverage their existing IT infrastructure, xApps development shows the way.
- Application Lifecycle Management: a robust application framework offers not only an ability to model and develop applications but also a infrastructure for its lifecyle maintenance. xApps developments seamless integration with Design Time Repository(DTR - a source code management system from SAP), Central Build Server (CBS) and Change Management System (CMS), enable this.
- On Demand Computing: web application server provides an extensive infrastructure for monitoring and management of applications. Supportability features including API's for logging and exception are part of it. xApps development leverage this to enable on demand computing.
Hopefully this short overview has excited you to jump into xApps development, as this is where a lot of action in the future will be. While the road from 'next practices' to 'best practices' will be a challenging one, xApps development raises the bar for ease of application development. It surely is no silver bullet but makes the transition into service oriented world a 'mission possible'.
