Day two, and I went to the first session determined to find out what CAF (Composite Application Framework) really is. In a nutshell, what I saw in the presentation is that it is tied almost exclusively to the Web Dynpro application building framework. You develop a bunch of UI Components, and then SAP has embraced the "Re-mix" culture of gluing them together to produce new end-user applications.
Feedback Session
Even though this session was not scheduled, and was added in at the last minute, it showed that SAP is changing its attitudes (positively) in how it deals with outside contributors. A good idea all round. Topics discussed:
SAPedia - a wiki for SDN
User profile extensions - SDN member business cards
Enhanced contributor profiles - showing who are the big contributors in a given problem space
Code examples repository - don't let SAP and solution knowlede slip away to sites like Code Zoo
SDN member ratings - not sure that I like this, as one mans solutions is not necessarily anothers...
Impressions
Overall - SDN Meets Labs, was a great experience - a good chance to get away, and spend time exchanging ideas, and getting to know new people who live in the world that is SAP. The organisation was good, and it is hard to ramp up the atmosphere in such a short time, as it only lasted a day and half. One thing that I would like to see more of next time, is more access to developers representing the different development teams, whether it be the Kernel team, or the Web Dynpro hackers
