A Comprehensive Overview of SAP Build Apps

To streamline business operations in today’s fast-paced digital market, enterprises demand solid and scalable solutions. SAP has been a well-known provider of corporate software for decades, but developing custom apps within the SAP ecosystem has been a complex and time-consuming task. With the advent of SAP Build Apps, a low-code development platform, creating sophisticated and feature-rich SAP apps is now easier than ever. In this blog, we will look at the features of SAP Build Apps and how to use this cutting-edge platform to develop corporate apps for SAP. 

SAP Build enables quick application and automation development by simplifying and streamlining the builder experience while using enterprise-grade scale and security. You may simply digitalize and automate your everyday tasks or boost your coding productivity whether you are a non-technical business user or a code-first developer. 

 

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(Image Credit : Blog)

What is SAP Build Apps? 

Without the need for coding, SAP Build Apps is a visual programming environment that enables both expert and novice developers to create enterprise-ready custom applications.Using hundreds of templates and pre-built business logic components, you may begin your application projects and decrease development time. Learn how to use drag-and-drop to construct online and native mobile cross-platform apps while also interacting with other SAP systems. 

 

• Create user interfaces quickly and easily.

Drag-and-drop to create enterprise-grade bespoke applications.

• Visually create data models and business logic  

                    Create cloud services without writing any code.  

• Integrate with ease  

                    Pre-built connectors and components to connect with SAP and non-SAP systems.               

• WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor

 

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(Image Credit : BTP Platform)

 

Distinction between SAP Build Apps and Appgyver   

In contrast to AppGyver, which is based on an open-source platform, SAP Build Apps are built on top of the SAP Business Technology Platform. As a result, AppGyver is a general-purpose development platform that can be used to create applications for any purpose, whereas SAP Build apps is especially designed to enable the creation of apps for SAP systems.  

 

 

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This is the SAP Build Apps homepage, often known as App Builder.

This app builder includes the Marketplace, View canvas, Logic canvas, Global toolbar, and previewing your app.   

The Global toolbar is in this app builder’s upper section: 

• You may start your app from launch tab and run a preview.    
• From this theme tab, you may modify your app’s theme.   
• This nav section specifies whether the app’s navigation header bar at the top should be enabled or disabled for all pages.  
• Configurations for local and external data resources can be created and managed in data.  
• This section allows you to enable authentication for your app.

 

Designing the user interface for your programme will take place on the View Canvas, which is in the screen’s centre. You can drag components from the left-hand component library panel and drop them on the canvas before configuring their different settings in the right-hand properties panel.                                                  

The marketplace contains every component and flow function accessible in SAP Build Apps.The elements in the panel are commonly utilised.   

Key Features of SAP Build Apps:  

• Visual programming: SAP Build Apps uses a visual programming environment, so you can build your apps by dragging and dropping components. 

 

• Low-Code Development: SAP Build Apps is a low-code development platform that allows users to create applications with minimal hand-coding.  

 

• Pre-built components: SAP Build Apps includes a library of pre-built components that you can use to build your apps.

 

• Data persistence and application logic execution: With the help of the built-in cloud functions, you may create no-code application backends. Create solutions that may be utilised separately or in conjunction with your existing SAP data models.

 

• Sync with SAP and other systems: SAP and other system integration with only one click, connect your app to your no-code backend. Utilising SAP BTP Authentication and Destinations, you can quickly integrate contemporary APIs or consume data from the cloud or SAP systems.

 

• Data Integration: SAP Build Apps facilitates easy integration with various data sources, including databases, REST APIs, and web services.  

 

• Logic and Automation: SAP Build Apps enables users to implement application logic and automate processes through its visual flow editor. Users can create event-driven workflows by connecting logical components with visual nodes.

 

• Connectors: SAP Build Apps includes connectors to SAP and non-SAP systems, so you can easily integrate your apps with other systems. 

 

Architecture

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(Image Credit : Blog)

 

 

Process of Building an App  

An application’s three main components are:  

User Interface (UI) – This is what the user sees and interacts with on the screen.  

Data – Information retrieved from back-end systems and displayed in the user interface.  

Logic describes the actions that are taken in response to user interactions or application events.  

 

 

UI

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Data

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Explaining Logic Foundations 

Flows, logic, and algorithms are some of SAP Build Apps’ additional key features. Algorithms control the arithmetic that runs an app, and logic directs how it behaves when a user interacts with it.   

Logic is fundamentally based on business rules that are established to produce an outcome, and the requirements for those should be thoroughly understood during the planning process. Business rules are specific operating procedures that arise from your company and are closely related to software requirements.

 

Logic

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When executing logic, one considers pressing a button component in the case of a type of trigger, especially given the examples discussed previously. An event that can initiate the execution of various functions/actions is the pressing of a button or other component. However, events are not limited to a user’s button click.  

 

 

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(Image Credit : SAP Learning)

 

 

 

Variables 

 A place for temporary data to be stored in your app until you need to show, read, or transmit it somewhere else, like to a back-end system, is provided by variables.

Types of Variables

 

Type	Purpose
App Variable	It is used to store data that must be available across the app.
Page Variable	It is used to hold information that is only needed for the current page.
Page Parameter	It is used to save the information needed to open the current page. For example, if you have a product details page that displays information about the current product, the page requires the product’s ID in order to display its data.
Data Variable	It is used to save data acquired from an external data source. A data variable can be set to store either a single record or a list of records.

 

 

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REST APIs Integration in SAP Build Apps 

 

REST API integration, in simple terms, refers to the process of connecting and interacting with web services or applications using the principles of Representational State Transfer (REST). GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and other common HTTP methods are used in the REST architectural style to interface with various software systems online.  

 

Step By Step Procedure: 

In Build Apps, navigate to the data section in the icons on the top of the screen: 

 

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Choose “CREATE DATA ENTITY” under the SAP Build Apps classic data entities section, then “REST API Direct Integration”:

 

 

 

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From here we can start to configure our API. You will see 6 different tabs: 

• BASE 
• GET COLLECTION (GET) 
• GET RECORD (GET) 
• CREATE RECORD (POST) 
• UPDATE RECORD (PUT) 
• DELETE RECORD (DELETE) 

 

• Base is where you will specify where and to what the API will connect. The “Resource URL” specifies the exact location of the data, so we will set this to the endpoint URL of our database. The “Resource ID” identifies what we’re looking at, so enter the name of your table here:

 

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• GET collection refers to a specific type of API request that is used to retrieve a collection of resources from the server. 

 

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• A relative path is a simplified and shortened URL that is used to make API requests to specific server endpoints.  

• A response key path is the specific location or path within the API response that contains the desired data.  

• Additional pieces of information known as HTTP headers are sent along with an HTTP request or response. They let the server or client decide how to handle the request or response by giving them crucial information and instructions.     

• A variable portion of a URL that serves as a placeholder for dynamic data is known as a URL placeholder in REST API integration. The server may process customised requests depending on the specified placeholders thanks to the ability for developers to pass specific values as part of the URL.  

• A query parameter in REST API integration is a piece of information that is added to the end of the API URL to change the request and filter the results, enabling clients to request particular data from the server.  

 

Now we can verify that it functions. Click “RUN TEST” after selecting the Test tab. If the test is successful, we should see “Status: OK” and all of the current records in the table:  

 

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• In the context of REST API integration, the term GET record describes an API call that uses the HTTP GET method to retrieve a single record or resource from the server using a special identifier, such as an ID or a key.  

 

• The process of delivering data to the server using an HTTP POST request to add a new entry or resource to the database or storage associated with the API is known as creating a record in the context of REST API integration.  

 

• Using the HTTP PUT or PATCH technique, updating a record in a REST API integration refers to sending an HTTP request to alter or change the data of an existing resource on the server.     

• In the context of REST API integration, the term delete record refers to an HTTP technique used to remove a particular resource or record from the server’s database. This is commonly done by making a “DELETE” request to the relevant API endpoint along with the resource’s unique identifier.

 

Summary:

Here you can find some learning content:

https://learning.sap.com/learning-journey/develop-apps-with-sap-build-apps-using-drag-and-drop-simplicity

This short blog can help you to understand basic knowledge about SAP Build Apps.

Since i am also new to writing blogs, Expert suggestions & feedbacks are much appreciated.

If you like this blog post you can follow me for more blogs i will try to make in coming future specifically related to SAP BTP Technologies.

 

Thank You,

Maharana Pratap Singh.