Product Information
SAP ABAP Platform 1909, Developer Edition: No Longer Available
Update, 13th October, 2022
Dear all,
As previously indicated (see below, 18th January, 2022), product and delivery standards at SAP have evolved.
In the case of SAP ABAP Platform, Developer Edition on Docker, it has become apparent that the resources required to comply with SAP standards for products and for continuous delivery have increased considerably.
For this reason, it is no longer possible for our small team to provide the ABAP Developer Edition on Docker for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, these standards apply to all locally installed delivery formats.
We apologise for the inconvenience of previous months. At this point, we would like to thank all of you who were with us and who contributed so much to this project.
Ralf Henning, Project lead ABAP Developer Editions
Julie Plummer.
Update, 18th January, 2022: ABAP on Docker
Hi again, everyone. Update from the Project Lead, Ralf Henning:
„All SAP products need to keep pace with evolving standards, such as security and legal. Demo products like the developer edition are no exception.
For this reason, we are enhancing the checks that we perform before release, as a precautionary measure.
The bad news is that this will take time.
The good news is that, firstly, the product will be more robust, and secondly, we are working full steam on version 2020.
Again, we are very sorry for the inconvenience; we really want to get this product out as soon as we can.”
Ralf Henning
Project lead ABAP Developer Editions
Introduction
ABAP Platform 1909 At A Glance
The ABAP Platform on SAP HANA 2.0 provides a great platform for trying out the ABAP language and toolset. It is extensively pre-configured with Fiori launchpad, SAP Cloud Connector, SAP Java Virtual Machine, pre-configured backend /frontend connections, roles, and sample applications.
This solution is intended for two groups of developers:
- Non-ABAP developers, who are interested in learning more about the ABAP language and development tools
- ABAP developers, who are interested in learning about version 7.54
Additional products and material: SAPGUI for Windows / SAPGUI for Java, Readme, miniSAP License
All available in SAP Developers Trials and Downloads .
SAP Cloud Appliance Library (CAL) solution, as of 14th June, 2021
As an alternative to the developer edition on Docker, we are now also offering this as a. You can access this and create your own instance of SAP ABAP Platform 1909, Developer Edition here:
SAP ABAP Platform 1909, Developer Edition (CAL)
Highlights of the 1909 Edition
ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP)
ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model – The Big Picture
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.
For more information, see:
- The blog post Getting Started with the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP), by Carine Tchoutouo Djomo
- The SAP Help Portal: ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model
Git-Enabled Change and Transport System (gCTS)
gCTS = CTS + git
A new way of transporting objects, gCTS enables you to use Git to store your ABAP development objects. gCTS makes use of special Git features, such as working on local copies of a central remote Git repository. Software development takes place in the usual editors like ABAP Development Tools (ADT). Changes to objects are still recorded in transport requests. Current states of objects can be pushed to remote Git repositories, either by releasing a transport request or while you’re working.’
For more general information on gCTS, see this blog post: gCTS is here, by Karin Spiegel
For the official documentation overview, see: Git-Enabled Change and Transport System
The official documentation for configuration, Configuring Git-enabled Change and Transport System contains three steps. However, we have preconfigured the first two, so you only have to complete the third, Configure Repositories.
Some certificates are already available. If you would like to connect to your own GitHub server or to a provider other than github.com, you have to add the appropriate certificates to the ABAP system in transaction STRUST. The configuration has been done for the default user ‘DEVELOPER’.
To get started with gCTS, simply open the gCTS app in the SAP Fiori Launchpad (FLP).
If you are a SAP customer, partner, or employee, the following SAP Note provides additional information: SAP Note: 2821718 . However, the essential configuration has already been done for everyone.
Custom Code Migration with the ABAP Test Cockpit (ATC)
We actually introduced this in AS ABAP 7.52 SP04, Developer Edition and it was very popular, so we decided to include it again. Basically,we’ve preconfigured the developer edition to run as a central check system for those checks. You can test this out of the box locally in SAP ADT, then configure the rest of your landscape to work with it.
This is particularly useful for SAP S/4HANA Readiness Checks and SAP Cloud Readiness Check.
For more general information on ATC, see these two excellent blogs, by Olga Dolinskaja:
SAP Cloud Connector
SAP Cloud Connector
SAP Cloud Connector provides a link between SAP Cloud Platform applications and on-premise systems. It runs as on-premise agent in a secured network; acts as a reverse invoke proxy between the on-premise network and SAP Cloud Platform; and lets you use existing on-premise assets without exposing the entire internal landscape.
If you are interested in connecting your developer edition with a licensed version of SAP Cloud Platform, ABAP Environment (aka “Steampunk”), I have written a tutorial mission on this: Connect Your On-Premise System with SAP Cloud Platform, ABAP Environment
For more information, see:
- SAP Help Portal, SAP Cloud Platform Connectivity: SAP Cloud Connector
- SAP Community blog post (third-party content): SAP Cloud Platform Cloud Connector – A Brief Guide for Beginners
abapGit
Yes, abapGit is available out of the box.
Documentation is here: abapGit Documentation
If you are not yet familiar with abapGit, this post by Graham Robinson is a great introduction, with how-to videos:
Other Highlights of ABAP Platform 1909: Overview
Blog post: ABAP Platform for SAP S/4HANA 1909, from October 2019, by Olga Dolinskaja
Official slide deck for ABAP Platform in SAP S/4HANA 1909 – Overview and Product Highlights.
Troubleshooting
From now on, please DO NOT post a blog comment if you require troubleshooting.
Why?
- Very few people follow these blog posts, so you will not get help from the vast majority of the community
- It makes it difficult for other users to find similar issues in future, which leads to many duplicated errors
- There is no capacity to monitor all blogs for all released versions
A. If it’s a problem downloading the files, rather than installing the downloaded files, please try the following:
- Delete your cache.
- Try a different browser.
- If that fails, please email SCNContent [at]sap[dot]com, with:
– User ID
– User IP
– Date, Time, Time zone, and location (country) of attempted downloads
– screenshot of the error
– URL of download
– Note: URL must be in the form: (https://www.sap.com/registration/trial.GUID1.html?id=guid2&external-site=GUID3)
B. If it’s a problem while you are using the developer edtion, please post on the ABAP Development forum : ABAP Development: Ask a Question , using the hashtag #ABAP_Trial.
I have also started compiling FAQ and Troubleshooting – so if you have any questions, please check there first.
Thank you for your understanding.
Update, 19th March, 2021: André Fischer has written a short blog post: How to gracefully shutdown your SAP ABAP Platform Developer Edition when shutting down Windows
Guides and Tutorials
If you’re not sure where to start with your new system, we have written several tutorials.
FAQ and Troubleshooting also contains some info on Cookbook-style projects, where Community members have described projects involving different versions of the developer edition.
Enjoy!
Hello,
The SAP GUI archive is corrupted I can t extract it.
Coud you please help me ?
Thanks.
Karim
Hi Chaib Karim,
As the post says, you need to:
Best wishes,
Julie Plummer.
Hi Julie,
Any news about the new release ?
Thanks a lot.
Regards,
Karim
I used to be able to run it using below command on my linux system, but after i recently formatted my system, when I run the below command i get below error.
command: sudo docker run --stop-timeout 3600 -i --name a4h -h vhcala4hci -p 3200:3200 -p 3300:3300 -p 8443:8443 -p 30213:30213 -p 30215:30215 -p 50000:50000 -p 50001:50001 -p 50013:50013 -p 50014:50014 store/saplabs/abaptrial:1909 -ski
p-limits-check -agree-to-sap-license
error:
Hi Gaurav,
The Docker image is temporarily unavailable, due to the worldwide log4j issue.
It does not appear that the Docker image is affected, but we need to analyze this independently, before we restore it on Docker Hub.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Best wishes,
Julie Plummer.
Hi Julie,
Thank you for the confirmation. I have suspected the same.
It would be great if you let us know once its available.
Best Regards,
Gaurav Sahu
Hi Gaurav,
Absolutely: I will confirm here, and on Twitter (@julieplummer20 ).
As Ralf Henning says below, this will be January 10th earliest.
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Best wishes,
Julie.
Hi Julie Plummer ,
Any update please.
Best Regards,
Gaurav Sahu
Hi Gaurav,
Yes, for convenience to all users, I provided the update at the top of the blog post.
I am sorry for the bad news. We are working on it.
Best wishes,
Julie.
Hi Julie Plummer
Thank you very much for the continuous updates and effort.
Can you provide any rough outlook on the matter?
Will we be able to use it by Q2 2022?
Best,
Philipp
Hi Philipp,
I fully understand the frustration and I apologise for this delay.
However, at present I cannot provide a timeline for this.
I would urge you, and everyone, to keep an eye on this blog post.
As soon as I have any more information, I will let you all know in an update at the top of this.
Thanks for all your continued interest,
Julie.
SAP Product Management
Hi Julie,
you wrote the issue may be the log4j security alert.
This can be addressed/mitigated within a development environment...
Can SAP please release some kind of vm/installfiles/... if the docker solution is not safe enough?
In SAP trainings this docker container is still mentioned as the "best solution if you want to test, what you just learned!"
Thank you
Markus.
Hi Markus,
Just to be clear: There were no issues specific to log4j.
What has happened is that SAP's Compliance and Program Management standards have evolved.
Therefore, we need to ensure that we are compliant with the new standards.
I will post at the top of this blog post as soon as there is any new information.
I apologise for the inconvenience.
Best wishes,
Julie Plummer.
Dear Julie,
your own statement from December 21 reads:
[emphasizes done by me]
It hasn't come up since, so the initial takedown was because of the log4j issue.
After all the situation for devs is:
If the SAP's Compliance and Program Management standards have evolved, thats totally fine for the next ABAP Dev Container 2109 or 2209, but after log4j is not the issue anymore I dont see any reason to not upload the 1909 container again.
Thankfully I can still download the 7.51 and 7.52 dev trials to test some things, and they may not meet the evolved standards either.
ABAP Devs all around the world are now waiting for over six months for the container to be available. We, as the developers, need to learn this things! Because we are the ones telling consultants and controllers about new and exciting features and possibilities we need to provide better tested and faster deployed (CI/CD !!!!) results.
Does SAP want to get rid of all ABAP developers, who are interested in new technologies?
Best wishes
Markus
Hi Julie
Hope you are doing well! Do you have any updates for us?
Thanks,
Philipp
Hi Philipp,
I apologise but not yet. I will post at the top of this blog post as soon as there is any new information.
Best wishes,
Julie.
Hi everybody,
I have the same problem, I read the answers for this comment, so the problem is caused by the image and there is no solution at the moment?
Because the status of my Docker image is IN USE.
Hi,
Is there an option to install ABAP Platform 1909 developer edition on Virtual Box?
Thank you & Regards
Welly
I think it isn't released as independent installable system so no VM installation . So only option is to wait until docker image is available again
Hi Welly,
as Muhammad already mentioned, we have to wait for the Docker image to return.
After that you can install Ubuntu or another Linux of your choice within a VM and Docker on top. But for this solution you need 32GB memory.
If you are using Windows you can install Docker in the Windows Subsystem Linux (WSL2) and you don't need an extra VM. Also 32GB required.
actually, you can undock it but you still need the image 😀
Thanks Uwe,
Yes the hardware requirement of 32GB and 4CPU is my concern, just wondering if installing on VBox like previous version will need less hardware.
Regards
Welly
Hi Welly, No we don't support this.
Sorry.
BR Julie.
Yes, It´s possible, I´ve done.
Just follow this blog:
https://blogs.sap.com/2021/02/22/install-abap-platform-developer-edition-1909-using-vm-and-suse/
changing Vmware by Vbox, the settings are quite similar .
Anyway you need to wait for the docker image.
Regards
Hi Julie Plummer,
do you have an idea of the unavailability duration ?
The risk is not really high, this is a pure dev system (should not be productive), on a virtual system, ....
Best regards
Fred
Hi Fred,
the decision will be made on January 10th, at the earliest. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Regards RalfHi Ralf,
any updates on the decision here? Would be nice to get the option back to spin up some dev systems.
Regards Nils
Hi Julie Plummer，
Looking forward to an early update.
Best wishes.
Paul.
Why 2020 when the 2021 release is available already? I mean I'm happy for whichever version but I'm curious how the decision process for the release version looks like.
Hi Sebastian,
This is a valid question.
To go through the whole procedure from licensed product release (2021) to developer edition takes some time (months, not weeks.)
So, we have already completed 80-90% of what we need to do for 2020.
If we scrapped this and went straight to 2021, we would be starting from scratch and could take months more. Once 2020 is out, we hope to start work on 2021.
HTH Julie.
Hi Julie. Awesome Blog.
While installation, I am getting a path unknow error as below. I have followed the steps as provide in the SAP hub, yet getting an error like this.
couldn you suggest on this.
PS C:\Windows\system32> docker run --stop-timeout 3600 -i --name a4h -h vhcala4hci -p 3200:3200 -p 3300:3300 -p 8443:8443 -p 30213:30213 -p 30215:30215 -p 50000:50000 -p 50001:50001 -p 50013:50013 store/saplabs/abaptrial:disabled -agree-to-sap-license -skip-limits-check
docker : docker: Error response from daemon: OCI runtime create failed: container_linux.go:380: starting container process caused: exec: "-agree-to-sap-license": executable file not found in $PATH: unknown.
At line:1 char:1
Regards
Jakku
Th system is currently disabled while they're patching it.
https://hub.docker.com/_/sap-abap-trial
Thanks Mike
Hi there,
is it now possible to generate new license for A4H? I have been asked for the authorization despite I'm already signed in, and my community creds don't work.
Update License page on support.sap.com
Just tried today, you can access the page without credentials again.
Hi. I use the abap platform 1909 since november 2021.
Today i run the command docker start -ai a4h and the result is:
FAIL: process hdbindexserver HDB Indexserver-HDB not running
HDB: the start command failed, exit code=2
The service HDB has failed to start and initialization is blocked until the problem is resolved
You can try your luck 10 times until initialization is terminated
Hint: docker containers can be joined by: docker exec -it <name> bash
Hint: Container must have at least 16GB RAM available
Hint: Container must have at least 70GB DISK free
This is because the system is currently disabled or something in my computer is consuming RAM?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Julie Plummer ,
Any update please, when we will have this docker available.
Thank You!
Hi Gaurav, hi all,
I understand your frustration, but as soon as there is any news, I will post it here, top of the blog post.
I need to call on your collective patience for the time being.
Thanks and best wishes,
Julie.
Hi, in OpenSAP course "DevOps for ABAP with gCTS in SAP S/4HANA" it is mentioned that we can create a docker image of our QA system and use it before merging changes to actual QA box main branch. I am looking for more information on how we can create a docker image of QA system with data, Please advice.
Hi Gaurav,
Your question has nothing to do with ABAP developer edition. This means that the people you need to reach are unlikely to see it.
Please post a question in the openSAP feedback.
Failing that, you can post a question in the ABAP Development forum.
Honestly, this is the best way to get help.
BR JUlie.
Please can the 1909 docker image be re-enabled?
It seems daft it has been removed for those who need it with no replacement.
Security issues are not an issue for isolated Developer environments, a warning would be sufficient.
Update 06/05/2022 - I found the following tutorial works great, and recommend it for anyone that cannot wait for the docker image.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk9dslG-_RU&ab_channel=Pawe%C5%82Wiejkut
*Note* the SAP installation will fail the first time with "modlib.jslib.caughtException" because the licence needs updating located here: "sybase/NPL/SYSAM-2_0/licenses"
Replace the licence with the one from the trial download page called "SAP ABAP AS Part License", and rerun the installation, and it should then complete successfully.
To gain access to create ABAP programs when logged in as DEVELOPER, password: "Down1oad" ....
Login with user "SAP*"using password "Down1oad"
Use transaction "SLICENSE" to find hardware key , delete the existing license
Go here https://go.support.sap.com/minisap/#/minisap
and generate a license selecting the "NPL - SAP NetWeaver 7.x (MaxDB)" option
Install the licence from the "SLICENSE" transaction
not work , ABAP Developer Edition 7.52 SP04 the SYBASE_AS( ASE Enterprise Edition Trial License) was expired on March 31st 2022
Get a new one at the usual source.
Hi Martin,
No it's not daft. Breaking SAP Compliance standards would arguably be daft :-).
These exist because a tiny handful of actors are malevolent.
Also, not all users are experts at setting up their environment.
I understand the frustration.
However, we can't go faster by cutting corners.
Sorry. I'll be delighted to broadcast the re-release of 1909 as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
Julie Plummer, SAP SE.
Hi Julie,
"the re-release of 1909"
Does this mean that BOTH 1909 and 2020 will be available when the time is right?
Regards,
Declan.
Are they providing SAP Dev. as an Docker image or not? - I'm working on a devel. system / vmware at the moment and this is ultra slow after a couple of months. - I would like to switch to the docker envionment...
...but SAP makes is somehow impossible to setup their development system.
I don't think VMWare is the issue causing your slowdown. I've been using my 7.52 dev edition on VMWare for years and it's still perfectly fine.
If speed is the reason then think twice about switching to A4H on Docker because it will be slower. Docker is not inherently faster either, under non-Linux environments you're better off with VMWare for running SAP systems. My 7.52 starts up a LOT faster than A4H (60-70 seconds vs. >20 mins).
Something is seriously wrong: 20 frickin' minutes? O_o
Granted, I'm using a Linux host but the startup times are roughly comparable.
The 20min problem is twofold:
Firstly, Docker is Linux-native and runs a little different on MacOS/Windows. As Sebastian talks about VMWare I assume he's running Mac or Windows.
On Mac/Win we need Docker Desktop, which actually runs a Linux VM under the hood. The issue is that Docker Desktop uses a fixed amount of memory as defined in the resource config. If I want to run A4H on my MacBook then I set it to 20GB, and that's what Docker Desktop will consume on startup - even if I just want to run a tiny Kroki or Gitea system. Therefore starting up a 16GB+ Docker Desktop takes a little while if you want to run A4H on non-Linux hosts.
Secondly, A4H startup gets to a login-able state in a couple of minutes but then spends a good 10 minutes or so exercising the CPU fan by "doing stuff" (on Linux too) until it settles down. It's not really useable during this time so I consider this startup time.
After a total of 20 minutes it's fast. Once it's settled in, I can run both A4H and 7.52 on VMware simultaneously on my 32GB MacBook without a problem, I can even start Windows VM too if I need it.
However another issue is that A4H also constantly consumes CPU on my system (something to do with A4H 's virtual filesystem setup). So I run A4H on my slower Linux NAS and my MacBook's Docker is set to 2GB for running "normal" sized Docker images.
Some one have backup image to share?
Having it is one thing.
Another is having the right to redistribute it.
ABAP Developer Edition 7.52 SP04 not work any more.
1909 developer edition is still not available(from 5 month).
tha't not sound very good...
It works... just install a new license.
nope, License was expired on March 31st 2022.
Look, I used it last saturday. Just get a new license!
SYBASE_ASE_TestDrive.lic was expired, SAP License Keys generate different txt file.
As Former Member said, try to generate a new one from https://go.support.sap.com/minisap/#/minisap
Hi Massimo,
https://developers.sap.com/trials-downloads.html - search for ABAP.
Andrea is correct: The license expires 31st March 2023. HOWEVER, the comment in the license is wrong ("2022"). I apologise for the inconvenience. (See comment below from Ralf Henning.)
2. Or are you referring to the ABAP application server license for 7.52 SP04?
That's available here: new license! ("minisap").
Both are up-to-date.
Best wishes,
Julie Plummer.
How to get a valid SAP ASE Testdrive license
If you need to get a valid SAP ASE Testdrive license:
1 Goto https://developers.sap.com/trials-downloads.html
2 Look for SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP Developer Edition 7.52 SP04
3 Download the last file SAP ABAP ASE Part license.
Here you will find a valid license and instructions how to apply. To avoid confusions: The comment at the lic file itself is wrong. It says lic is valid up to March 2022. But in fact this lic is valid up to March 2023. (verified by the SAP ASE Expert)
I'm sorry for the confusion. Hope this helps
Ralf
Difference between Docker Image and Version in SAP Cal (Cloud Appliance Library)?
I would like to know what is the difference between the version as Docker image and the one available in SAP Cal. It seems that this one can also be launched as an instance without any restriction so far. I would obviously not like to ensure with my question that this version is also no longer available. However, I wonder if the same reasons apply here with the associated risks as for the Docker version.
Regards,
Pascal
Hi Julie, last update is almost three month old. Is there anything new? Thanks! Max
Hi Julie, do you know when we could receive any news about this? I was hoping to use this for self-study.
Thanks.
Hi Guillermo,
I think you can bury this topic. It seems that SAP doesn’t have anymore the intention to support the developers in this way.
There only focus lies on the cloud solutions. Everything On-Premise or local is dead.
Kind regards
Matthias
Hi Matthias,
Thanks for your answer, but i really hope you're wrong. Testing and learning abap in your own local server without all the limitations of cloud would be fantastic, but at the end, i think you're right.
Regards.
Guillermo
From a Dev/Ops perspective this docker image is quite interesting - so I really hope there will be some update on this. But yeah, it looks like as you're right. Bests Tom
Most of the new S4 HANA projects are still built on the on-premise architecture without Fiori.
Some inexperienced mid-sized companies work on the cloud version but I think it will be disaster.
They don't know how slow sap employees work.
"product standards at SAP have evolved"
Translator SAP -> English
"if it is not a cloud product, it is dead for us"
I hope SAP will make it clear soon.
It doesn't matter that SAP would prefer customer choose cloud solution over On-Prim but from developer point of view, local development tools is still very important especially for new tech stack like this which we have to spend a lot of time to learn them.
when SAP suddenly dropped this image on Docker Hub, I thought Oh that just because Docker has changed their policy and SAP had to adjust something to compile with those new restrictions but it seems my thought was wrong.
If SAP would like to help developer to have more chance to learn and play with their tech stack, podman is another good choice if Docker has limitation.
It is a bit difficult for me to afford a bill if I have create an instance on cloud provider to run ABAP 1909 there.
I hope SAP will listen to a little voice and help us to continue have container image of ABAP development.
Hello.
I was getting the error "HDB license has expired" when I was starting my image - and it took me some time before I understood that I should be using HDB - SAP HANA Platform Edition (64GB) option in the link you provided https://go.support.sap.com/minisap/#/minisap
Do you think you could alter the description in the top?
Dear Julie,
as we understood, there will be no more new local versions of ABAP Develeopr editions available: Unfortunately, these standards apply to all locally installed delivery formats.
Do we have any alternative ? Will be new Developer Editions above 1909 published on CAL ?
At the moment the only option is to keep track the evolution of ABAP, and jump in as ABAPer is the BTP ABAP Trial Environment. It was closed recently on EU then moved again to US. One hand lot of developers who like to learn ABAP or keep and improve their skills with new ABAP need a stable system, on the other hand it would be good that not everyone is put into a big Trial ABAP system like in the Cloud. There are plenty of objects from all around the world, often with collision and different needs of some ABAP tooling with different versions. Our objects BTW not protected from changes by others. This developer edition was a basic need to make usage of ABAP wider in the development universe. I started with developer editions around 15 years ago, and now this line is cut. Without that I could not be an ABAP developer today. I know plenty of university students in our country, who is using this safe approach to not bother others, and not get bothered having their own system, when they are prototyping and learning. And this does not the need to have CAL subscription and pay cloud fees.
Thank You, if You can provide us alternatives with Ralf, to have a private developer edition with the latest ABAP to learn, which might not realized by Your team.
Kind regards
Attila , an expert developer who is also a student when it comes to new technologies
Hi Attila,
we're working on an ABAP Developer Edition 1909 CAL Version, probably on SP07.
Kind regards Ralf
Hi Ralf,
Do exists some way to obtain a replica, or backup system, to restore in a pristine environment to use an installation like this?
Patricio
Hi Patricio,
Technically:
If anyone still has this running, he/she can use the docker command to export the original image, and this can be used for fresh "installation".
This option works, when the changes to the container was not committed to the image, but that command has to be done explicitly, and most probably very few people did something like that. Otherwise You receive a version with all the changes already made on that system.
Legal stuff:
I think people may not redistribute it, it is against SAP legal terms. But Ralf can confirm it.
Thank You Ralf !
At least me is living in 2022 and not in 2019. Esp. ABAP RAP is evolving rapidly.
Hi Attila,
with the BTP Free Tier that also includes Steampunk you have the private option the ABAP Environment availabe.
Best Regards
Gregor
Thank You Gregor, I will check this out!
Hi Julie,
First of all, I would like to thank you, Ralf and your team for the work that you have done to provide the SAP developer community with the different ABAP Developer Editions throughout the years. I am sure that you and your team has spent countless hours creating, updating, documenting and maintaining these developer editions. As others have commented, these have been invaluable to learning and advancing our skillsets as developers.
With the discontinuation of the SAP ABAP Platform 1909 Developers Edition on Docker, what is your recommendation for ABAP developers to continue our ability to learn and advance our skills outside of the workplace? From what I see, there are 3 possibilities
From a developer's perspective, none of the remaining available options are great. If SAP were to provide developers with ABAP in the Cloud accounts for free that do not expire and are private without having to worry that someone could overlay or change your code or if the SAP ABAP Platform 1909, Developer Edition on CAL was able to be used without having to incur the cost from the cloud provider, then I would say that there is a good alternative to the SAP ABAP Platform 1909 Developers Edition on Docker.
Thanks again for all your work in the past on these Developer Editions and hopefully a new option will become available to the ABAP developer community.
Regards,
Gregg Hinkle
Please do not forget the BTP Free Tier option.
Could you possibly provide a link to this option? I was not aware that you get a free instance of netweaver with free tier option that is private one (of course there is a shared instance of abap in the cloud)
It's not a NetWeaver but a full SAP BTP ABAP Environment. Check the description at SAP Discovery Center -> Services -> SAP BTP, ABAP environment
"The instance will be only available during regular office hours."
Have you actually had issues because of this? I was a bit skeptical of this limitation.
Until now I never had a time where I can't connect. SAP HANA Cloud is shut down during the night and you have to start it. I've not seen a start button for Steampunk yet.
it is a nice option I guess, but isn't the "Number of Repository Objects - 500 max." limitation hurting too much?
HI Gregor,
I did not mention the BTP free tier since you need a BTP Pay-As-You-Go account to use that. With BTP Pay-as-you-go, you need to create your global account in the SAP Store and add a credit card. If you happen to use a non-free-tier service by mistake, you will be charged or if you exceed your entitlements, you will be charged. We use BTP Pay-As-You-Go and the free tier services at my employer for Proof of Concept and investigating functionality, but we have incurred charges even doing that. The BTP Trial account really seems to be meant for individual developers for self-learning purposes. At least that is my take from my usages of both types of accounts.
Thanks for the information, Gregg Hinkle !
Unless there is company-wide interest for that, I am so NOT going to try the free tier, like ever! Unfortunately, the trial account just doesn't cut it for some scenarios, such as using abapGit to work on an opensource project.
Hi Gregg,
which isn't different to any other Cloud Provider or? But of course in many cases SAP still needs to be more transparent and provide a way to set a cost limit.
CU
Gregor
You are correct that if you look at it like using the SAP ABAP Platform 1909, Developer Edition on CAL where you need to pay your Cloud Provider's usage charges, it is similar. It is also nice that with the Free-Tier ABAP environment you have your own private environment that no one else can change or update. However the fact that you can't create a BTP Pay-As-You-Go account without placing a credit card in it and there is always the risk of incurring unexpected charges by using a service that you did not realize was not part of the Free-Tier or you do not watch your entitlements closely and go over is not great.
I created and setup the Global Pay-As-You-Go account for my employer and I am the administrator of it. We have been very careful trying to only use free-tier services and even I even used the Prepare an Account for ABAP Development (Free-Tier) booster when setting up our ABAP environment. However when I or others on my team follow some of the Tutorials or Missions from SAP, we have been sent down the road of using something that was not part of the Free-Tier service without knowing it. Since I setup the account, I get the emails from SAP of what our monthly charge is. I then have to explain to management why we are receiving a charge for a "Free-Tier" account in order to expense it. To be fair, these monthly charges have never been more than $100 USD each month which is a non-issue for many companies. However for a individual learner to have to pay these charges each month out of their own pocket can be an issue. If you could place a charge lock on the global account where you can't use a service or additional entitlements if you would incur a change, then this would be a good option. I just don't like the surprise of unexpected charges.
Great feedback. Getting Max Skalatsky from the Free Tier team into the loop here.
@gregorw BTP Free Tier ABAP Environment has IMHO still a limitation of 500 development artefacts, which will be reached quickly and is thus ruled out for me for anything than very simple education purposes.
Hi
There is actually another option, assuming SAP would agree to it, and that is to reactivate the current Docker image without further enhancements. It would be the more affordable option given the high cost of some of the alternatives. At the same time, it would fill the gap left by the lack of a mini-SAP as at present.
Regards
Phil Enslin
They could have simply NOT pulled the image in the first place, if that were the case!
IMHO, log4j was a good cover story... anyway, if you don't need HANA features you could always use the slightly older AS ABAP 7.52SP04 version. True, you need to setup a Linux system first but the guide is reasonably complete and gets you through all key steps.
quote
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It's the simplest way. Pleeease, could you consider it?
Hello experts,
Which option would be best to use with a Cloud Connector setup? I would like to create a scenario for cloud and on-premise integration.
Any suggestions are most welcome.
Thank you.
R.I.P. MiniSAP aka. SAP Developer Edition.
It's a shame that this offer to play around with SAP ABAP systems - offline, full controlled, on low TCO - is no longer provided. It was not only of value for developers, but also for security researchers and many others.
Julie Plummer, Ralf Henning will there be a summary what exactly is affected by "these standards apply to all locally installed delivery formats", maybe out of https://developers.sap.com/trials-downloads.html?
As HANA Express Edition is a regular product, I would assume this is not affected, right?
Best regards,
Joe
If they stop providing keys to existing installations, this will have a knock-on effect on opensource projects as well. Extremely disappointed to see such shortsightedness from SAP!
Still, hats off to Julie Plummer and Ralf Henning for the good work until now!
Also from a DevOps perspective the image made a lot of sense. With SAP's investment in gCTS and Project Piper, the image was a good starting point to play with a local developer workplace. Just like other technologies have enabled for years.
Absolutely, it makes a ton of sense to use this as a stepping stone!
Thanks Julie Plummer and Ralf Henning for all the support! I know, it was not your decision!
That story could be a chapter in a book called "how to make my own technology irrelevant by killing my own developer community".
I can only guess, but I assume at the end of the day it was a decision based on money. I'm sure, in the long run this will be way more expensive for SAP!
I suspect that gradually more and more functions will be released. Quote from the release note ADT 3.28: "You can now connect ADT to SAP S/4HANA Cloud ABAP Environment by creating an ABAP cloud project".
Perhaps in the future they will also allow access to the cloud again with the SAP GUI. Technically, this would probably already be possible today.
It just needs enough pressure from the customers and it has to happen carefully because SAP has to keep up the appearance to the shareholders to be a modern cloud company.
Then there will be a "MiniSAP" again at some point.
Thanks to Julie Plummer and Ralf Henning and the team for your big efforts put into this great project. it helps me a lot.
It would be difficult for an independent ABAP developer to learn or practice in SAP development.
Thanks for all the effort and info. I must say this is rather disappointing as the current cloud options are not very affordable for an individual.
The old docker 752 system was more than adequate for most ABAP testing and the fact that it's been removed is rather annoying.
Hello Julie,
First of all, thank you, Julie Plummer, Ralf Henning, and the team for the efforts to create this great project and keep it in motion. Like many people here, it has been a great learning tool.
That said, I would like to say that this is terrible news for the community. If there's any chance for this project to return, please do so.
Again, thank you for your efforts.
Rafael
Hi Julie Plummer ,
You write "...it is no longer possible for our small team to provide the ABAP Developer Edition on Docker for the foreseeable future."
There's a huge team out here, is there any way some of the work can be opened up? Several people have dockerised the older trial images, so it may be worth discussing?
Overall though it's sad that a company that generates billions in profit and still spends billions on R&D can't spare a few bob to invest in what is effectively crowdsourced innovation.
And of course, thanks for all your good work in the trial systems.
Regards,
Mike
Hello Julie,
it has been mentioned already, this are really bad news. All I can say, many thanks to you and your team for your extensive support.
@ Managemement: This is totally dull decission. You gonna loose the developer community which are the folks who are selling YOUR products to the customers everyday. It is not your Sales, it is us. If we do not convice our business than you can stop producing bright marketing slides.
And no, the cloud solutions can not replace the local installations.
All the best,
Dirk
Thanks for all your good work...
However I agree with other developers here. This has the potential to make more developers easily innovate and take ABAP to the next level. ABAP is no longer a language/technology of the past. I see lot of developer attention and Open Source push these days. This developer edition would have added great value to the community. I wish there is a petition everyone can sign that shows SAP that this is a good investment for the future.
If you want to support an idea of bringing NW Developer edition back, please vote here:
https://influence.sap.com/sap/ino/#/idea/293518
Note: S* ID needed.
Thanks
Done! Thanks for the effort and the idea!
Hello Martin,
many thanks for your idea.
Dirk
Voted!
Thank you Martin Maruskin
yes please bring it back - I connected the 1909 to my BTP trail account and even GitHub learning a lot with a junior collogue while creating all kinds of stuff. Thank you Martin. I know about the free tier of course. I feel uncomfortable giving out my credit card data not knowing exactly what and when I will be charged for something.
Voted!
The way I see it, taking this away sends a clear signal by SAP that community-led innovation is not welcome.
Done. Good idea..!
I hope SAP will bring back this option!
KR
Jens
I voted as well. Maybe someone needs to create a blog post asking for this functionality and then create an anniversary post about it every year like Paul Hardy does for Editable SALV.
https://blogs.sap.com/2022/02/08/international-editable-salv-day-2022-year-14/#:~:text=This%20day%20marks%20the%2014th,an%20option%20to%20be%20editable.
It appears that this actually worked since as of Release 756, you can now create editable SALV grids
https://blogs.sap.com/2022/08/01/editable-cl_salv_table-after-release-756/
Shame SAP enough and they actually may listen.