Introduction to ABAP/4 Programming for SAP, Revised and Expanded Edition (Hardcover)

by Gareth M. De Bruyn (Author), Robert Lyfareff (Author) "In ABAP/4, statements consist of a command and any variables and options, ending with a period..." (more)
Key Phrases: general table display, third local currency, second local currency, Domain Type Length Short, New York, Advanced Data Output (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This revised edition provides a learn-by-doing tutorial with real-world business examples for programming in todays most powerful client-server environment. From the basics of tables, displays, loops, and conditional operators to tuning and troubleshooting techniques to enhancing system performance, this tutorial is a must for anyone developing in the SAP environment.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 509 pages
• Publisher: Prima Pub (Mass Market); 2 edition (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761513922
• ISBN-13: 978-0761513926
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #683,602 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST and MOST PRACTICAL ABAP/4 book I've come across., October 10, 1998

By A Customer

I am currently involved with an installation project of SAP in several countries and I have had the dubious pleasure of getting exposed to the ABAP code. If you are involved with an SAP project you know the software will contain some bugs and you will also want some customization. Unfortunately, most of the programmers out there do not know your business and at times it is frustrating bridging the gap to meet the customization needs.

So the more of the programming language that you know the easier the communication will be. For example, the programmer will give you a program and if it does not meet your needs it is very helpful in being able to read through the program logic and understand what the program is doing. This book does an excellent job in explaining the commands, the syntax, giving practical examples, and highly stresses the practical rules for optimizing the program.

If you have the ability to write your own programs and play around in a development system this book is the one with which to start. It will give you the basics and beyond and is very easy to read and follow, especially with the examples.

Again, I highly recommend this book from a practical reference and also as a text book to learn how to program in SAP.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, if you have had some exposure to SAP., July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This is a good introduction to ABAP/4 programming, IF you have some experience in programming in another language AND you're familiar with the SAP environment. It covers most of the basic features of writing ABAP/4 reporting code; it doesn't cover dialog programming or SAPscript, but does have a chapter on BDC. If you aren't familiar with the Workbench -- that is, if you don't know how to create and update programs in the SAP environment -- I would recommend SAMs Teach Yourself ABAP/4 in 21 Days, by Ken Greenwood, as the place to start.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak conceptual backgroung, poor copyediting, simplistic., August 4, 1998

By A Customer

I strongly disagree with the other reviewers about this title. I find it to be weak on key SAP concepts and their practical applications. Summaries at the end of chapters are useless for they contain no reference to key topics. They do however have attempts at positive reinforcement with statements like "Congratulations! You have learned to program one of three major types of ABAP programs..."

Little attention is paid to several key ABAP concepts. For example, there is very little space devoted to distinguishing betweek data elements and data types. How do they work together? We can't learn from this book. Internal tables are glossed over in a VERY simplistic manner (i.e. the significance of the itab header line and alternatives using table work areas).

Additionally, there are numerous copy edit errors in syntax. The description of the field mask functions is one example. In several areas, the shaded note sections are just truncated and do not co! ntain the full text intended.

I also find the code snippets to be watered down too much. Instead of including real programs, the examples are often annotated with notations that indicate "functional code goes here" instead of showing a relevant example of "functional code".

There are also examples of statements that are just plain wrong. The authors state that after version 3.1, SAP has no cluster tables and then they completely dispense with the topic. In fact v4.0 still does have table clusters. This is a gross oversight.

Treatment of internal tables is very weak. For example, the current syntax for creating itabs is not defined well. They do not properly communicate the behavior of the OCCURS 0 statement in itab creation. Additionally, treatment of the CLEAR command is simply incomplete. They imply that CLEAR always works on the itab header line, which is not true. It is just not that simple and depends on whether the itab is using its own! header line or a different work area. I am also unimpres! sed with the very poor coverage of the ABAP Workbench and data dictionary. Often reference is made to a tool or an object without first defining the use of the item being referenced. I guess we are just intuitively supposed to know these things.

On the positive side, I did find good references to the more obscure options and syntax options in ABAP. There are many examples of code structures that I would not think about using. It will serve well as a reference for unusual approaches for the experienced programmer, but it DOES NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION FOR THE NOVICE.

Pass on this book.