Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions about ABAP

for SAP HANA

TOP 10 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ABAP FOR SAP HANA

GENERAL

1. Which releases of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP (AS ABAP) can leverage SAP
HANA?

All SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP releases 7.0 and higher can access SAP HANA as secondary
database allowing accelerating selected business processes with SAP HANA as a side-car. In a
second step, the SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse 7.3 was optimized for using SAP HANA as
primary database. Now, with the SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP 7.4, the SAP Business
Suite powered by SAP HANA has been released. ABAP 7.4 is the “to-go” release for all SAP HANA
based ABAP applications.

2. When the Application Server ABAP is using SAP HANA as primary database, what changes and
what doesn’t?

The main server architecture, operations concepts and development infrastructure of the AS ABAP
remain the same when using SAP HANA as primary database. In particular, SAP HANA is used as a
full-fletched relational database which is optimized for transactional (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP)
processing. Even though the used data (tables/columns) is loaded into main memory, the data is
also available on disk allowing e.g. full backup and recovery.
On the other hand, SAP HANA offers unprecedented opportunities for extension and innovation such
using integrated data mining and predictive analysis for gaining new business insights. These can be
used based on existing and new data models (like provided via SAP HANA Live ) e.g. for operational
reporting scenarios and smart business applications.

3. Is it required to rewrite existing custom ABAP developments on SAP HANA?

No, existing ABAP code using standard database access via Open SQL runs on SAP HANA without
modifications. However, there are some considerations for custom ABAP developments which are
recommended to be taken into account during a transition to SAP HANA. Please see this document
for a summary of the available tools, services and best practices. In addition, there are opportunities
for accelerating and extending existing developments with SAP HANA.

DEVELOPER

4. I am an ABAP developer. Can I still use my ABAP programming skills on SAP HANA?

ABAP remains a key language as many SAP business applications and custom developments are
written in ABAP. Specifically, with ABAP 7.4 there are numerous improvements to the ABAP
language, which allow writing streamlined ABAP code and benefitting from SAP HANA. In addition,
SQL and SQLScript play an important role for expressing data intensive logic and fully leveraging the
SAP HANA platform from ABAP.

5. The SAP HANA In-Memory technology uses a columnar based storage with an insert-only
approach. Do I have to adapt existing ABAP developments for this?

No, this works under the hood with immediate performance and data compression benefits. In
particular, there is no need to classify ABAP data so that it is stored In-Memory, and the ABAP
statements INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE should still be used based on the desired business
semantics. But it is also possible to exploit the SAP HANA architecture in new application designs
e.g. when scanning through large data sets on the fly.

2
TOP 10 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ABAP FOR SAP HANA

6. What is the recommended development environment for ABAP on SAP HANA?

While the ABAP workbench (SE80) is still fully supported, the ABAP Development Tools for SAP
NetWeaver (a.k.a. ABAP in Eclipse) are highly recommended specifically when developing on SAP
HANA. In particular, they provide an integrated development experience across ABAP and native
developments in the SAP HANA Studio.

7. Does ABAP code written on SAP HANA also run on other databases?

Yes, standard ABAP code on SAP HANA is still fully portable and continues to run on all supported
database platform unless SAP HANA specific features are used.

PERFORMANCE

8. Does existing ABAP code immediately run faster on SAP HANA?

Not all ABAP code will immediately run faster. Some ABAP programs will run faster without any
changes, others will only benefit from SAP HANA after adapting the code.
Already today you should stick to existing performance recommendations for Open SQL, because a
badly written ABAP program will still be a badly written ABAP program on SAP HANA and hence not
run at optimal speed.
The existing performance guidelines are still valid for SAP HANA. However, the priorities of some
recommendations are changing, i.e. some aspects are less important due to the nature of the In-
Memory Column Store (such as secondary indices) but there are also certain anti-patterns with
higher impact on SAP HANA (e.g. single SELECTs in nested loops).

HOW TO GET STARTED

9. How can I get started with ABAP on SAP HANA?

You can find expert articles, blogs, and discussions on how ABAP-based applications can leverage
SAP HANA on the ABAP for SAP HANA SCN space. In addition, SAP offers a Trial version for
ABAP 7.4 on SAP HANA to get a hands-on experience with the latest release of the SAP NetWeaver
Application Server ABAP including ABAP development tools in Eclipse. Furthermore, there is a new
ABAP Programming for SAP HANA classroom training available.

UPGRADE / HOW TO GET THERE

10. Where can I find installation/upgrade information for ABAP 7.4 for SAP HANA?

There is a concise summary of the installation and upgrade procedures available in the End-to-End
implementation roadmap for ABAP 7.4. In addition, we highly recommend considering the available
SAP service and support offerings for an upgrade project.

3
www.sap.com

© 2013 SAP AG or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or for any purpose without the express permission of SAP AG.
The information contained herein may be changed without prior notice.

Some software products marketed by SAP AG and its distributors contain

proprietary software components of other software vendors. National product
specifications may vary.

These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies (“SAP
Group”) for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of
any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with
respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and
services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements
accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be
construed as constituting an additional warranty.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their
respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in
Germany and other countries.

Please see
http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark
for additional trademark information and notices.