Technical Articles
Choosing Slipstream Engine or SAP GUI for HTML to render SAP Screen Personas flavors on mobile devices
With the relatively new ability of SAP GUI for HTML (Web GUI) to take advantage of the touch features on tablets, we have received many inquiries about whether people should use Slipstream Engine or Web GUI to run SAP transactions on their iPads or Android tablets. As with so many topics regarding SAP usage, the answer to this question is “it depends”. This post contains a technical comparison between SAP GUI for HTML and Slipstream Engine that you should consider when choosing which technology to use for mobile rendering of classic SAP GUI transactions that have been simplified with SAP Screen Personas.
People use SAP Screen Personas to improve the usability of classic SAP GUI transactions that are rendered in various DYNPRO client technologies by simplifying the screens. Examples of DYNPRO clients include SAP GUI for HTML, SAP GUI for Windows, SAP GUI for Java, and Slipstream Engine. Your business needs, combined with the underlying client framework technology, define the use cases and limitations that you need to weigh when considering SAP Screen Personas. Given the smaller screen real estate on a mobile device, we recommend using SAP Screen Personas to streamline the content in the transaction before rendering with either Slipstream Engine or SAP GUI for HTML.
At a high level,
- SAP GUI for HTML is a server-side rendering technology
- Slipstream Engine is a client-side rendering technology
Both DYNPRO HTML5 clients can be used in parallel. The SAP Screen Personas add-on supports both technologies with minor differences.
| SAP GUI for HTML | Slipstream Engine | |
| Overview | Default SAP browser-based DYNPRO client. Available functionality depends on the SAP Kernel version. | Dynamic, client device specific rendering based on the same fundamental SAPUI5 technology that is used for SAP Fiori app development. Personalization and productivity-focused feature-set that depends on the SAP Screen Personas add-on version. |
| Support Commitment | Aligned with the platform release | Support commitment till 2040 |
| Installation | Default. Comes standard with SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA | Plug-in for SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA |
| Additional licensing fee | No | No |
| Requires installation of SAP Screen Personas add-on | No | Yes |
| Device compatibility | ||
| Desktops | Yes | Yes |
| Tablets | Limited (Depending on the version) | Yes |
| Phones | No | Yes |
| Can adapt rendering for specific device types? | Limited (Depending on the version) | Yes |
| ERP System compatibility | ||
| ECC | Yes | Yes |
| SAP S/4HANA | Yes | Yes |
| SAP S/4HANA Cloud | Yes | No |
| Rendering | ||
| Where does most rendering occur? | Server | Client |
| Client resources for rendering | No additional processing on the client side is required to render HTML generated by the server. | More front-end processing and resources such as the SAPUI5 library and the screen state processor are needed to render client device specific SAPUI5 DOM structure from an abstract screen state. More initial load time when compared to SAP GUI for HTML. |
| Data transfer for screen updates | More data travels through network during screen updates, as generated HTML metadata has to be transferred along with the screen state. | Less data travels through network during screen updates. “Delta rendering” updates only changes on the screen, reducing HTML payload significantly. |
| Fixing rendering issues | Rendering issues typically require implementation of a new kernel version containing the fix. | Less kernel dependency – functionality is not limited by the underlying SAP Kernel version and rendering issues can be fixed via SAP Notes without the need to update the kernel. |
| Scaling for more users | Centralized rendering requires more processing resources and network bandwidth as the number of users increases. | Rendering is distributed to client devices – better scalability. |
| Additional functionality |
ABAP push channel communication with the backend through WebSockets API. More front-end services are supported when compared to Slipstream Engine. |
Provides single page application integration with other SAPUI5 components, such as charts, lists, tables, etc. thorough the means of the SAPUI5 Applets feature. |
| Mobile-specific functionality | Enables customers to scan barcodes using device cameras. |
Enables customers to scan barcodes using device cameras. Upload images and files from phone to SAP. |
| SAP Fiori launchpad integration |
SAP Fiori launchpad integration using the Transaction app type
|
SAP Fiori launchpad integration using the SAPUI5 Fiori app type, additional Shell plugin component provided for seamless integration experience |
| SAP Screen Personas Limitations Note | SAP Note 2050838 | SAP Note 2557076 |
SAP Screen Personas supports different SAP GUI technologies and use-cases, therefore, we encourage customers to decide which option fits their scenario best.
For the SAP Screen Personas product team, Peter Spielvogel.
Thank you Peter for providing this overview and comparisson! It will definitely help customers in the decision making which technology will serve their purposes!
BR Aleks
Thanks Peter. This is good information when you are in discussions with the organization about Personas/Slipstream.
As I'm in the process of using Personas/Slipstream for EWM RF, I have found a couple of functional benefits of using Slipstream as well.
Now we just need the ability to somehow create a responsive design (not adaptive) for our flavors to suit all of the different mobile devices used. Probably not an easy task but you are intelligent people! 🙂