In SE24 the class code is partially hidden from the programmer behind a GUI. This is apparently convenient but ultimately limitative.

Why

Because it:

• 🍼 Prevents the programmer from really know the full syntax of an ABAP class
• 🚢 Requires a lot of navigation which is slow and confusing
• 🌎 Makes it hard to look at the class as a whole

And then there is the shame issue, of course:

- Hello, do you know ABAP?
- Yes I do.
- Can you write an "Hello World" class in ABAP, right here, right now?
- No, not without SE24.
- Oh, I thought you knew ABAP. Bye.

By letting go of the user-friendly SE24 GUI, you’ll regain control over all the aspects mentioned above.

How

First remember: no pain, no gain 😓:

• 🤔 Acknowledge that, after so many years relying on SE24 to navigate an ABAP class, switching to raw code will not be immediately intuitive;
• 🧘‍♂️ Understand and believe that soon the strangeness will be gone and you’ll be loathing every time you’re forced to endure the awkward SE24 navigation.

Start as a Padawan

• Keep working in SE24 but…
• switch to Source-Code-Based and…
• slowly learn the syntax needed to fully define and implement a class, its methods, attributes, etc…
• switching back to Form-Based navigation whenever you’re stuck or are not sure about something.

Then become a Jedi

• Install Eclipse and ADT (ABAP Development Tools)
• Connect Eclipse to your development systems
• Add the packages on which you need to work
• Enjoy a modern IDE: raw code + navigation + inspection + extra functionalities:
  • Refactoring (rename galore!)
  • All errors immediately flagged in the code without having to compile it
  • Open dozens of (splittable) windows
  • See details on any variable in loco, without context switching
  • Etc

Greetings from Abapinho