Sap R/3 Ale & Edi Technologies (Sap Technical Expert Series) (Paperback)

by Rajeev Kasturi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Targeted at the SAP R/3 developer, SAP R/3 ALE and EDI Technologies provides working examples of using and customizing this industrial-strength, enterprise-level package.

The book begins with a quick introduction to Application Linking Enabling (ALE) and the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in the SAP R/3 package. By using SAP tools, ALE/EDI developers can query data, move it around within distributed systems, and even create reports with third-party tools. The powerful SAP R/3 package contains data fields that can automate virtually any manufacturing or business scenario. The author introduces Intermediate DOCuments (IDOCs), which provide message-based delivery of data.

Further sections investigate master data distribution (which involves requesting IDOC for particular fields). Throughout the book, the author enumerates the steps required within SAP R/3 to generate data (including screen shots of the R/3 tool at work). He also covers both outbound and inbound processing and how to customize IDOC messages. (This can be done to improve performance, for instance.)

Later the book turns to EDI and explains how to generate electronic reports (such as invoices), as well as how to submit data into R/3 via EDI. The book offers tips and techniques for optimizing data processing within distributed systems and features an appendix listing R/3 message codes and IDOC types (which all go by short mnemonic codes).

Written for the reader who already understands the basics of SAP R/3 but wants to learn more, this book can fill a useful niche for the enterprise developer who wants to see this powerful package at work. --Richard Dragan

Product Description
SAP is the world's largest Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provider with an installed base of more than 15,000 worldwide. ALE (Application Link Enabling) and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) are two hot technologies that enable data communications between two or more SAP systems and/or SAP and legacy systems.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (February 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071347305
• ISBN-13: 978-0071347303
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,057,170 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best practical tutorial and reference for ALE/EDI, May 6, 1999

By A Customer

This book by Rajeev is by far the best book I have seen on ALE & EDI Technologies. It contains the best practical approach to learning these hot skills of SAP in a step-by-step fashion blended with the right amount of theory and valuable tips and tricks for optimally performing interfaces. I have applied many of the techniques and configuration mentioned in the book and the CDROM to great benefit. The CDROM also has source code for real world examples and case studies mentioned in the book. I recommend this highly to all SAP consultants, beginners and advanced users, as a tutorial and reference.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I've read both the Arvind Nagpal and Rajeev Kasturi books, June 24, 1999

By	Dale R. Seng (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read both the Arvind Nagpal and Rajeev Kasturi books, and I conclude that the Nagpal book is much better for me, a person who has been doing SAP EDI for several years.

I do not know either of these authors. I do not have anything to do with the publishers. I bet this is more than many of the reviewers here can say!

I know that sheer bulk is not what we are buying here, but let's do some numbers to examine one aspect of the comparison. The Kasturi book starts with 388 pages. Well over 100 pages in the back are tables out of SAP that we can print any time we want (or save a tree and just pull up a screen). Since I've worked with SAP EDI for a few years, I didn't expect a lot of things to be new to me in the first 3 or 4 chapters, but man, there was nothing even moderatly interesting to me in the early part of the book. That left about 150 pages in the middle that, I'll admit, I only skimmed. But the per-page cost of those few possibly valuable pages is quite high! There was a strong ALE / example flavor to the book. As if someone wrote about a few of their favorite implementations.

Now, the Nagpal book starts with quite a few more pages (786). There is NOT a huge section of this book dedicated to stuff I could print out of or look up in SAP. Yes, some of this stuff is 'light' too. And again, I'll admit to skimming a lot of it that I didn't have a pressing need to know right now. And yes, there are quite a few print-screens in the book (but I LIKE print-screens). The bottom line is that I, a person who's been using SAP-EDI quite a while, found the Nagpal title MORE INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE, and found it had MORE INFORMATION than the Kasturi book.

--Dale--

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worthwhile, January 8, 2001

By A Customer

I am an experienced SD consultant and work often with EDI. I have about 15 SAP books of which 2 are worthless: this book and the large 'Que' handbook. When you eliminate screenprints, abap code and dictionary descriptions dumped right out of SAP you are left with only about 150 pages of basic text. My colleague and I have half-jokingly considered trying to get McGraw Hill to buy this book back. On completely the other side of the coin - the book on the same topic by Arvind Nagpal is possibly the best SAP book I own. If this book is worth $5 (probably not) then the Nagpal book is worth $500.

It appears certain that the 5 star reviews shown here are mistaken or false. They just do not correspond with the reality. I suppose it is possible that someone has used the Nagpal book and mistakenly wrote a review for the book here (titles are similar and both are Indian authors - would certainly be possible). I tend to believe, however, that the reviews are actually contrived to prop this book up and that is why I feel the need to write this review. Even worse - it seems there are false-negative reviews written for the competing SAP EDI book by Nagpal.

If there is any question just find a place to thumb through the 2 texts. There is NO doubt of the result.