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Last edit: January 12, 2023

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Introduction

The ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (short: RAP) offers developers an efficient way to build enterprise-ready, SAP HANA-optimized, OData-based Fiori UI services and Web APIs in the cloud as well as on-premise. It is the evolutionary successor to the ABAP Programming Model for SAP Fiori.

The ABAP RESTful Programming Model is generally available in the SAP BTP ABAP Environment, and now also in SAP S/4HANA starting with the edition 1909. The feature scope in SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) ABAP Environment – formerly known as SAP Cloud Platform ABAP environment – is enhanced on a quarterly basis on defined dates, while new capabilities are delivered in SAP S/4HANA on a yearly basis with new on-premise editions.

The greenfield development of OData-based services – i.e., starting from scratch – is supported with the so-called managed implementation type, whereas the brownfield development – i.e., based on existing code – is supported with the so-called unmanaged implementation type.

The key players in the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model are:

ABAP Developments Tools in Eclipse	Languages: ABAP and CDS	Powerful frameworks

The ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model comes with a set of development guides and best practices to facilitate the developer onboarding. The best practices are provided in the form of ready-to-use examples delivered with the ABAP Flight Reference Scenario (refer to the appropriate section below).

Availability:

• SAP BTP ABAP Environment
• SAP S/4HANA 1909 and higher

Roadmap:

• Check the ABAP Platform Roadmap

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Official Documentation

This section provides links to the existing official documentation for the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP) available in the SAP Help Portal.

For SAP BTP ABAP Environment

• RAP – Developer Guide
• RAP – ABAP Keyword Documentation
• RAP – What’s New?
• Analytical Data Modeling & Live Data Connection to SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC)
• Accessing ABAP-managed Data from External ODBC-based Clients
• Various ABAP Development User Guides (e.g. ADT, CDS, etc.)

For SAP S/4HANA 1909 and higher

• RAP – Developer Guide (latest)
• RAP – ABAP Keyword Documentation (latest)
• RAP – What’s New?

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You can watch the replays of ABAP webcasts (incl. RAP) at SAP’s Devtoberfest in 2022

You can watch the replays of interesting Developer Discussions on ABAP in 2021:
(1) ABAP – Past, Present & Future, (2) RAP – What’s in it for you?, (3) Embedded Steampunk, and (4) Guidance for developing RAP applications in ABAP.

Watch the videos embedded below to get an overview of the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP). Different system demonstrations on the greenfield development with the managed BO implementation are shown.

SAP’s Devtoberfest in 2022 (1), virtual event	Developer Extensibility and Business Events with RAP on SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP’s Devtoberfest in 2022 (2), virtual event	Dealing with Legacy Code and Transactional Consistency in RAP
DT106@SAP TechEd 2021, virtual event Access the presentation | FAQ	Extend SAP S/4HANA Cloud on Stack with RAP
DEV260@SAP Community Post-SAP TechEd 2020 series in 2021, virtual event Access the Exercises	Build SAP Fiori Apps with RAP
DEV102@SAP TechEd 2020, virtual event Access the presentation	Major Updates on RAP
CAA103@SAP TechEd 2019, Las Vegas Access the presentation	Get the Big Picture of RAP

Further Recordings:

In the following videos, different system demonstrations on the greenfield application development with the managed runtime implementation type are shown.

SAP TechEd 2019, Las Vegas	CAA103 – Get the Big Picture of the ABAP RESTful Programming Model
SAP TechEd 2019, Barcelona	CAA103 – Get the Big Picture of the ABAP RESTful Programming Model

In the following videos, different system demonstrations on the brownfield application development with the unmanaged runtime implementation type are shown.

SAP TechEd 2018	CNA215 – Get the Big Picture of the ABAP RESTful Programming Model
SAP TechEd 2018	CNA216 – Technical Deep Dive into the ABAP RESTful Programming Model

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ABAP Flight Reference Scenario

The ABAP Flight Reference Scenario is a new data model intended for demo purposes and use in training courses – mainly in the context of the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP). It is a reloaded and adapted version of the well-known SAP NetWeaver Flight data model.

The ABAP Flight Reference Scenario offers several examples that can serve as reference implementations of the various capabilities provided by the RAP. It is not an integral part of the ABAP platform, but SAP – i.e. the ABAP Platform team –  makes it available and provides updates on GitHub. Therefore, it must be imported into the relevant ABAP systems before use.

The ABAP Flight Reference Scenario is available by default and ready for use on the free SAP BTP ABAP Environment trial.

Learn more – SAP BTP ABAP Environment:

• ABAP Flight Reference Scenario – Description (SAP Help Portal)
• ABAP Flight Reference Scenario for ABAP PaaS – Download (GitHub)

Learn more – SAP S/4HANA 1909 and later:

• ABAP Flight Reference Scenario – Description (SAP Help Portal)
• ABAP Flight Reference Scenario for ABAP 7.54 and higher – Download (GitHub)

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Tutorials for SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) ABAP Environment

Get hands-on experience with the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model in the cloud.

The majority of the following How-To-tutorials are based on the ABAP Flight Reference Scenario described in the previous section. Therefore, it must have been previously imported into your ABAP system.

SAP BTP ABAP Environment is also know as Steampunk.

Prerequisites:

• Latest version of ABAP Development Tools (ADT) for Eclipse is installed.
  If not available on your device, then follow this tutorial: Install ADT.
• Access to an SAP BTP ABAP Environment system.
  If not yet available, then onboard to the free SAP BTP ABAP Environment Trial. 

Tutorials from the SAP Developer Center (Entry Point)

Access the available tutorial groups and missions.

1. Building a transactional Fiori app using the unmanaged runtime implementation
2. Building a transactional Fiori app using the managed runtime implementation
3. Service Consumption Model: Connect Two Instances of SAP BTP ABAP Environment
4. Developing analytical queries and consuming them on SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC)

Development Guides from the SAP documentation (Entry Point)

1. Downloading the ABAP Flight Reference Scenario* (cloud flavor)
2. Developing read-only list reporting Apps
3. Developing unmanaged transactional apps using existing application logic
4. Developing managed transactional apps
5. Developing transaction apps with draft capabilities
6. Developing transactional apps with multi-inline-edit capabilities
7. Developing a Web API
8. Developing a UI service with access to a remote service

Hands-On Workshops

Following workshop exercises are available on GitHub

1. Hands-on Workshop DEV260 – Build SAP Fiori apps with RAP
2. Hands-on Workshop RAP400 – Writing unit tests for apps built with RAP
3. Hands-on Workshop RAP500 – Developing for Analytics with RAP on Steampunk

(* The ABAP Flight Reference Scenario is already available on the free SAP BTP ABAP Environment trial.)

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Tutorials for SAP S/4HANA 1909 and later

Get hands-on experience with the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model in SAP S/4HANA.

The current on-premise feature scope covers only the brownfield development with the unmanaged implementation type. New capabilities will be provided with future SAP S/4HANA editions.*

The majority of the following How-To-tutorials are based on the ABAP Flight Reference Scenario described in the previous section. Therefore, it must have been previously imported into your ABAP system.

Prerequisites:

• Latest version of ABAP Development Tools (ADT) for Eclipse is installed.
  If not yet available on your device, then follow this tutorial: Install ADT.
• Access to an SAP S/4HANA system, edition 1909 or higher 

Tutorials from the SAP Developer Center (Entry Point)

Access the available tutorial groups.

1. Building a transactional Fiori app using the unmanaged runtime implementation
2. Building a transactional Fiori app using the managed runtime implementation

Development Guides from the SAP documentation (Entry Point)

1. Downloading the ABAP Flight Reference Scenario (on-premise flavor)
2. Developing an OData service for simple list reporting
3. Developing read-only list reporting apps
4. Developing new managed transactional apps (managed impl.)
5. Developing new transaction apps with draft capabilities (managed impl.)
6. Developing new unmanaged transactional apps based on existing application logic (unmanaged impl.)
7. Developing a Web API

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Courses

SAP Training and Certification opportunities

• Go to training.sap.com and search – e.g., HA400, S4D400, S4D430, and S4D437

openSAP Courses on RAP

• Direct access: Building Apps with the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model
• Related course landing page in the SAP Community (link collection)

Other related openSAP Courses

• Writing Testable Code for ABAP
• SAP Fiori Overview: Design, Develop and Deploy
• Developing and Extending SAP Fiori elements Apps

 

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Recommendations

Find some recommendations on when to use the different RAP implementation types in the blog Modernization with the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP).

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Particular Topics

Find information on some particular topics around RAP.

• Conversion Exits and the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP)
• Using BAPIs in RAP
• ABAP Cloud development model for building cloud-ready and upgrade-safe apps
• SAP Fiori elements Feature Showcase App for RAP (using CDS annotations)

 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions around RAP and other related topics.

• FAQ – RAP
• FAQ – ABAP Development Tools (ADT) for Eclipse
• FAQ – Smooth transition from SE80 to ADT
• FAQ – SAP TechEd 2021 session DT106 – Extend SAP S4HANA on Stack with RAP
• FAQ – ABAP Language Versions

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Further Resources

This section provides useful links to related resources and learning materials to deepen your knowledge.

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* This is the current state of planning which may change at any time without further notice from SAP. Find more information in the ABAP Platform Roadmap. 

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Last edit: January 2023