This document tries to answer the most important FAQs about the
ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse, the new Eclipse-based ABAP IDE. This is only a starting point, if you are interested in more specific topics please take a look at the or post your question there. For more information about how to use the ABAP development tools please take a look at the
Getting Started Guide and the
Quick Launch Sheet of ADT.
Frequently Asked Questions
General
Why did SAP choose the Eclipse platform to build a new ABAP IDE?
The open Eclipse platform offers first-class user experience, powerful platform capabilities, and a broad and vivid ecosystem contributing enhancements and extensions. Thus, SAP as
active contributor and strategic developer of the Eclipse foundation continously invests in harmonizing design-time and development tools on the Eclipse platform like the ABAP development tools or SAP HANA Studio to increase the developer productivity and enable specific cross-tool interactions.
What are the key benefits of the new ABAP IDE?
Besides the intrinsic benefits of the Eclipse platform the ABAP Development Tools offer failover-safe online development in multiple AS ABAP systems, advanced source code editing and refactoring support, powerful search and navigation capabilities, ideal support for task-oriented and test-driven development, and built-in extensibility by rich extension points (see below). For more information about ADT please refer to the
Getting Started Guide.
Is there an additional license fee for the ABAP development tools?
No, this is also covered by the standard SAP NetWeaver developer license.
Are the ABAP development tools for Eclipse open source software?
No. Because of legal obligations we are not allowed to publish the source code. Nevertheless, SAP already offers a software development kit for the ABAP development tools to allow the community or customers and partners to extend and enhance the IDE (see below).
Which is the lowest SAP NetWeaver release supported by the ABAP development tools?
Currently, ADT is compatible with AS ABAP of SAP NetWeaver 7.31/7.03 SP04 onwards. For more information please refer to
this blog post.
Which AS ABAP release is required for a specific ADT feature?
As some ADT features depend on the backend, you can check
this blog by Thomas Fiedler for more information about its availability in a specific AS ABAP release.
How SAP helps the SE80 users to transit to the ADT in a quick and easy way?
Check the blog about the
FAQ Guide for Smooth Transition from SE80 to ABAP in Eclipse.
Will SAP stop investing in the ABAP workbench (SE80) or even disable it?
SE80 is still supported but it is pure maintenance mode. That means that new features and editors will be exclusive available in the ABAP development tools in eclipse. A good example is CDS which is only available in ADT.
Can I use the ABAP development tools for Eclipse and the ABAP workbench (SE80) in parallel?
Yes, this is possible. Both IDEs share the same source code repository and locking mechanism.
Will there be an Web IDE for ABAP?
Up to now there are no plans to invest into an ABAP Web IDE. We are fully committed to Eclipse as the one and only IDE for ABAP.
Installation
Which operating systems are supported by the ABAP development tools?
Currently, the officially supported version runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
Which Eclipse versions are supported?
Eclipse provides every year in June a new major version. The ADT supports at anytime the latest Eclipse version and the version before. Older versions are not officially supported by ADT.
How can I install the ABAP development tools for eclipse?
The easiest way to install the ABAP development tools is via the SAP Tools Updatesite:
https://tools.hana.ondemand.com/#abap
Here you find the installation pre-requisites and the installation instructions.
What needs to be done on the ABAP backend?
In order to use the ABAP development tools you need some small adjustments on the ABAP server. Please find the information in this document:
Configuring the ABAP Back-end for ABAP Development Tools
Is there also a trial version of the ABAP development tools available?
Yes, there's already a trial version of the ABAP development tools as well as a compatible SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP backend available. For download links and more information please refer to
this document.
Core Concepts
What's the easiest way to get started with ABAP in Eclipse?
The easiest way to learn the handling and the basic features in eclipse is to use the
Feature Explorer and start with the beginners tour. Find the details in the blog
Get more out of ABAP in Eclipse with the Feature Explorer
What is the difference of an ABAP project in Eclipse compared to a standard project in Eclipse?
In ADT the project represents a pre-defined connection to an AS ABAP backend (server/client/user) as if you would connect to an AS ABAP backend using SAP GUI. Thus, you can develop and compare objects of different backend systems simultaneously. For more details how to organize your projects please refer to the ADT documentation.
Do I have to check in and check out my ABAP source code like in the Java Development Tools for Eclipse?
No, ADT is using the same online development model as the ABAP workbench with the well-known lifecycle management services of the AS ABAP (e.g. TMS).
Where are the form-based function and class builder?
Our user experience studies have shown that a powerful source code editor is much more efficient than editing fragmented sources in multiple forms. The new Outline View and the Quick Outline window complement the new source code editor by providing convenient navigation capabilities and a structured view on your source code.
I'm missing some important tools. Where are they?
Not every tool has been migrated to the Eclipse platform yet - for different reasons: Some will make their way into a future release of ABAP development tools, for others we are evaluating new concepts, that fit much better into SAP's platform strategy. In these cases you can use the tight SAP GUI integration for now which allows you to use existing transactions with context-aware navigation. For more information please refer to the documentation.
How can I debug my application in Eclipse?
If you update the kernel of your AS ABAP system to SAP Kernel 7.21 (or higher) you can already use the native debugger of the ABAP Development Tools. Alternatively, you have to use the GUI-based debugger.
As the open Eclipse platform offers first-class extension points, how about the extensibility of the ABAP development tools?
Yes, SAP is already offering a software development kit for the ABAP development tools. For more information please
download the SDK and
read this blog by Michael Schneider.
Can I develop classic dynpros within in eclipse?
Currently we have no plans to provide native dynpro development tools within eclipse. But you can use the integrated SAP GUI to run the standard workbench tools like screen painter or menu painter within eclipse.
How can I create exception classes with Eclipse?
In Eclipse we currently not support the wizard to generate exception IDs in the tool. Here you will see how you can use templates to do that job:
Creating Exception Classes using Code Templates
