Why you should upgrade PI/PO to 7.5

[Former Member]

Hi all,

This post is probably not going highlight much that you didn't already know. But since I have been coding some java mapping in the past couple of days, I have had opportunity to take a closer look at the latest Netweaver Developer Studio (NWCESP07P0), which also gave me the answer to a very relevant question: Why upgrade PI/PO to 7.5?

Well, one simple answer is: JAVA 8! But to make it more specific, NWDS is a good place to do that.

First…. Damn, it look’s good starting up!! Yeah, sing along folks: We’re on the hiiiiighway to.. oh, never mind.



But there is more to it than that. Like, it is Eclipse NEON. That brings NWDS very very close to being 100% up to date with latest Eclipse release. It also brings NWDS up to date with most other SAP tools, which also rely on Eclipse. It had long been a pain to developers that we had to keep a long list of different Eclipse versions on our pc’s, just in order to support developments in SAP's various tools. This was not just a pain for the developer, but it also meant that the options for aligning and creating synergy in the developed solutions was somewhat compromised.

In 7.5 we can both access our ESR and create integration Iflows in the same Eclipse as we can use for all the other SAP tools below.



Source: https://tools.hana.ondemand.com/#hci

 

Ok, so now I can open my eclipse and switch between...

Doing my basic java stuff:



while still having full access to the PI ESR:



make Webdynpro developments – which can easily use services from the ESR as basis for processing:



work on an Android APP, where I consume a standard SAP enterprise service, which might have been enhanced in PI with some custom elements:



or go to BPM builds, and create an orchestration for my android app:



or to HCI builds, where I might also want to consume the same PI enhanced SAP enterprise service as used by my Adroid app.



 

And I haven’t even started on SAP Gateway, or BRM, or portal views, etc. And those tools are now also available from the same NEON installation. I know I know, this is not news to most of you, but it is just so great to finally see, that I had to share the good story again.

Conclusions. Sure, this might look like just a SAP developer’s dream. And ok, there are still minor downsides, like no update site, meaning that you have to do a full update of all additional tools with each release. BUT the news is still good. Because this could also constitute the foundation on which an enterprise using SAP can ensure that all future builds are linked together through synergy and shared objects, thereby becoming more transparent and consolidated. Services will be, and are already, used in many, many places. And yes, I do believe the future of the PI ESR (while being just one of many components in the PO) should be to serve as a single point of truth/reference/definition/documentation for all enterprise services – regardless of whether those services are used in portals, HCI, backend ERP systems, BPMs, your phones, or PI integrations. And now, finally, this is actually possible to ensure..... without getting lost in Eclipses 🙂

Have a good one everybody, Emil