ABAP_to_the_Future

Summary 1.5
design UML diagrams inside Eclipse, an d then to turn those UML diagrams into
ABAP programs.
The prototype Obeo has provided looks like a specialized version of Eclipse, and
is called the Obeo Design Studio. Both the Obeo product and UMAP do the same
sort of thing, but the following list highlights their differences:
왘 You do not have to have anything installed on the backend ABAP system with
the Obeo product; it generates the code straight into the ABAP system by using
a menu option in ABAP in Eclipse. No download and upload is needed.
왘 In the UMAP product, the TYPES come up as INVALID; in the Obeo version, the
TYPES are blank, and you have to fill them out yourself, which isn’t the end of
the world.
As mentioned, as of the time of writin g this is just a prototype and not yet
released. When the plug-in is released, Obeo will charge for it.
Hopefully, this section has given you an idea of what sort of plug-ins are possible
for Eclipse that could make your programming life easier; maybe you will even be
motivated to read the how-to document mentioned at the end of this chapter and
create your own tool.
1.5 Summary
This chapter covered the basics of ABAP in Eclipse or, as SAP likes to call it, ABAP
Development Tools. After reading it, you should have an understanding of what
you can do with Eclipse and how it can do things that SE80 can’t.
Because ABAP in Eclipse enables prog ramming in ABAP, it somehow needs to
make sure that the syntax check is righ t and that code completion works properly—that
is, that it knows everything th ere is to know about the language. This
naturally leads to the next chapter, which is all to do with the somewhat staggering
enhancements that have been ap plied to the ABAP language in SAP
NetWeaver 7.4.
Recommended Reading
왘 SAP NetWeaver How-To Guide: SDK for the ABAP Development Tools:
http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-40668 (Wolfgang Wöhrle)
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