GROUP BY in LOOPs on internal tables

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

We’ve all sorted internal tables to use AT NEW on a LOOP. But starting from 7.40, we can use GROUP BY on LOOPs.

The ability to group by values based on expressions or even methods is great.

The grouping is done on the first LOOP and can be processed afterwards. Try running the code below and I bet you’ll be as impressed as I was.

Fix bug in SAP standard using an implicit enhancement

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

You just found a bug in a standard FORM (or FM or METHDO): FORM EQUAL_VALUE CHANGING W_DATE TYPE SYDATUM. W_DATE = SY-DATUM - 1. ENDFORM. You report the error to SAP but you know it will take them several days, weeks or months to publish a correction. And you need it corrected right now. You decide to act. So you use the implicit enhancement at the start of the FORM to replace the standard code with your own (just until the correction arrives, of course):

Can you really do it right the first time?

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

Checkpoints is a very powerful ABAP framework which almost nobody uses. Why? Probably for the same reason hardly anyone listens to Sun Ra and knows that Frank Zappa has 102 albums. Because, even though really good, it’s obscure and not commercial. Checkpoints are, indeed, really good and not commercial. But they should be more like Mozart and the Beach Boys which are both good and commercial.

STA Ticket System improve SAP incident handling times

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

Today we have a guest, Tamás Holics. He owns STA Consulting, a Hungarian company which has created 2 very interesting SAP products. In this article Tamás presents the STA Ticket System.

The problem

A lot of time is wasted in SAP software testing and maintenance processes due to incomplete or incorrect error reports from users and testers. Support people (analysts, developers) usually have to ask for more information about the error. This takes a lot of valuable working time from both the reporters of the error and support people. Solving the problem is often blocked until every information is available.

The rot is noble after all

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

For many years I’ve been complaining about how backward ABAP development ecosystem is and how long it takes to evolve. Every time he heard me saying it a good friend of mine would wisely advise me to never bite the hand that feeds you.

But how can a man not speak out?

Software design patterns in ABAP

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

We are constantly learning. But once in a while we learn something which is a leap forward forcing us to look in a new way to everything we do. The last time this had happened was when I started using OO in ABAP. OO was not new to me as I had already used it extensively in Java, C#, C++, etc. But to finally be able to apply these precious concepts on my daily job was a relief and a big improvement in the quality, flexibility and speed of my work.

Disable value history for a single field

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

SapGUI usually keeps a history of the last values entered on each field. This is usually a good thing. But you may very well not want it to happen (in case you’re entering pornographic values in a specific field for example). You could always turn it off globally in the SapGUI settings.

But what if you just want to disable it in one particular field? Abapinho tells you how to do it.

Add parameters to standard methods and functions

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

We are all aware of SAP implicit enhancements which allow you to add code to the top or bottom of any block of standard code (methods, functions, etc). We’ve all used it to make a change to a BAPI or other standard piece of code.

But only recently did I find that you can also use these implicit enhancements to add parameters to standard methods and functions.

ZTOAD - Editor de SQL

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

Toad is a very famous SQL tool which allows you to build and execute SQL queries in an easy and interactive way. And now, thanks to Mr. Sébastien HERMANN, SAP has a simplified version of this wonderful tool. I’ll let him explain. Thank you Sérgio Fraga for spotting this. Greetings from Abapinho.

Internal table secondary indexes

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

This is how internal tables used to be declared:

DATA: itbl TYPE TABLE OF bkpf.

Program the program programming

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

One of the few things that separates us humans from all the other animals is our ability to think about thoughts.

A sparrow may think I’m scared, I’ll say chirp chirp chirp and, as a direct consequence, whoever stands close to it will hear chirp chirp chirp.

Use the "where used" tool in a program

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

The “where used” tool is very dear to any ABAP developer. Through it one can find out where a given object is used. Doesn’t look like much but we all know how important this is.

Class CL_GUI_FRONTEND_SERVICES

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

Class CL_GUI_FRONTEND_SERVICES is commonly used to upload and download files from and to the user’s local computer. But it can do many more good things. For example:

SAP can take selfies!

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

I just found out that SAP can take selfies. I still don’t see why one would need it. But that’s understandable because I never really understood the need for selfies anyway.

Here’s how SAP can take a selfie:

Do you know the ASCII code for CR_LF and its buddies?

images/thumbnail.jpg - Thumbnail

I don’t.

And I don’t want to. Why waste memory on stuff like that?

And I don’t need to because ABAP has a class just for that.