New Book on Floorplan Manager

If you’re an ABAP developer looking for a comprehensive resource to help you learn how to develop web applications using FPM technology,  then perhaps you’ll indulge me as I offer a shameless plug for my new book: Floorplan Manager: The Comprehensive Guide.

Who Should Read this Book?

This book is geared towards seasoned ABAP developers who have at least some experience working with Web Dynpro ABAP (WDA) technology and are looking to transition their skills into the world of FPM development. Aside from the core WDA requirement, there is a general assumption that readers have a basic understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts. Other than that, we start from scratch with the basics of the FPM framework and work our way up from there.

Tour of the Book

Organizationally, this book is broken up into three parts as outlined below. The basic idea here is to break the content up such that novice developers can start from the beginning, more experienced FPM developers can pick up in Part 2, and so forth. We also think this approach lends itself well to coming back and using this book as a reference once you get on your feet.

Part 1: Getting Started

In this first part of the book, we’ll introduce the FPM framework and its core concepts. This foundation sets the stage for more advanced concepts    introduced later on in the book.

• Chapter 1, Introduction   
  • In this chapter, we introduce the FPM framework and identify some of the features that set it apart from other web development frameworks you      might have come into contact with outside of the SAP landscape (e.g. Jakarta Struts, Tiles, and so forth).
• Chapter2, Tutorial: Creating an FPM Application
  • Since the FPM is all about developing UIs, many of its core concepts are best explained by example. With that in mind, this chapter walks you through the development of a working FPM application so that you can see how the various framework elements come together in a real and tangible way. At this stage in the book, the goal is to simply see the big picture; we’ll fill in the details in the chapters to follow.
• Chapter 3, Floorplan Overview
  • In this chapter, we’ll take an in-depth look at the various floorplan types provided by the FPM framework. Here, we’ll observe the various floorplan page types, custom features, and so forth.
• Chapter 4, Working with the FPM Development Tools
  • This chapter concludes our introduction by showing you how to work with the editor tools used to develop FPM applications. Here, we’ll highlight differences between tool functionality in various SAP NetWeaver releases.

Part 2: Developing Application Content

In part two of the book, we’ll dig deeper into FPM application development concepts by looking at different ways to develop application content.

• Chapter 5, Freestyle UIBBs and the FPM Event Loop
  • This chapter introduces the UIBB concept and shows you how to create freestyle UIBBs using custom WDA components. During the course of this introduction, we’ll also introduce the FPM event loop which provides the necessary hooks for a given UIBB to be able to communicate with other UIBBs.
• Chapter 6, Generic and Reuse UIBBs
  • Having looked at the makeup of UIBBs in the previous chapter, this chapter picks up with the concept of Generic UIBBs (GUIBBs) and Reuse UIBBs (RUIBBs). Here, we’ll discover that SAP has provided some highly configurable UI components which can really speed up the UI development process.
• Chapter 7, Working with the Wire Model
  • In this chapter, we put the finishing touches on our UIBB discussion by showing you how to supply UIBB components with data using the wire model.

Part 3: Putting it all Together

In the final part of the book, we’ll look at FPM application development at the macro level, focusing on framework elements which influence behaviors at    the application level. Once these concepts are generally understood, we close by showing you how to enhance pre-existing FPM applications.

• Chapter 8, Influencing Application Behavior
  • In this chapter, we turn our attention towards those elements of the FPM framework which affect the overall application behavior. Specifically, we look at the notion of application controllers. We also look at a handful of APIs used to apply changes to floorplan layouts, etc.
• Chapter 9, Interactive Elements of the FPM
  • This chapter explores some of the various elements of the FPM framework which make FPM applications more interactive. Here we look at toolbars, dialog boxes, messaging, quick helps, and so forth.
• Chapter 10, Enhancement Concepts
  • In this final chapter, we look at some of the various options we have for enhancing pre-delivered FPM applications (such as the ones delivered by SAP). Here, we’ll learn how to enhance both the UI and the backend application logic.

Where Can I Find Out More About the Book?

If you are interested in learning more about the book and what it has to offer, you can check out the book’s companion site at http://www.bowdark.com/books.html. The book is available in print format and as an eBook. The eBook version is based on Amazon Kindle technology, but you don’t have to have a Kindle device to read it. Amazon provides a number of apps which allow you to read Kindle books on iPads, Android tablets, PCs, and so on. You can download the applications for free from your device’s app store or here. If you run into problems or have any further questions, please feel free to contact me directly. Enjoy.