ABAP_to_the_Future

Installation 1.1
very basics of how to use it. Once you’ve got that down, you’re ready for Section
1.2, which will examine some of the th ings you can do while developing ABAP
programs in Eclipse that you cannot do at all (or not do very easily) when performing
the equivalent tasks in Transaction SE80 within the SAP GUI. Section 1.3
will talk about how ABAP in Eclipse handles a vital part of the development process:
the testing and troubleshooting of your custom programs . Finally, Section
1.4 explains how to extend the functionality of Eclipse by using custom plug-ins
to add extra functionality, either by using freely available open-source tools or by
creating your own tools.
Warning: Houston, We Have a Problem
To install Eclipse, your backend system needs to be at least an SAP NetWeaver 7.31 SP
4 system. If you’re one of the SAP customers still on 7.02 or below, Eclipse is not for
you! There’s a reason this book is called ABAP to the Future, after all.
1.1 Installation
There are three parts to se tting up an Eclipse develo pment environment so that
you can use it to create and change ABAP programs:
1. Install Eclipse itself on your local PC.
2. Add the SAP-specific tools.
3. Connect your local Eclipse environment to a backend SAP system.
This section will guide you through each of these steps.
1.1.1 Installing Eclipse
You might expect to start by visiting https://www.eclipse.org, where you will see
many links to news items about the annual Eclipse conference, newsletters, community
groups, and so on; most import antly, you’ll see a big button marked-
Download.
The gotcha is that this page will give you the latest version of Eclipse, and SAP
typically runs about three months behind; thus, it may be that if you download
the latest version of Eclipse, it will be literally too good to use. So, before getting
all excited and pressing the exciting Download button, visit https://
37