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Program Flow in an ABAP Program

Contents:
Client / server architecture
Sample program with data displayed in list form
Sample program with data displayed on a screen
Which ABAP program components are discussed in
which units?

SAP AG 1999

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BC400

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0.2
Overview

Client
Client // server
server architecture
architecture
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed in
in list
list form
form
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed on
on the
the screen
screen
Which
Which ABAP
ABAP program
program components
components are
are discussed
discussed
in
in which
which units?
units?

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0.3
Client / Server Architecture

Presentation
Server
Layer

SAPGUI

SAPGUI

SAPGUI

Dispatcher

Application
Server
Layer

database

SAPGUI

SAPGUI

SAPGUI

Dispatcher

Work
Process

Work
Process

Work
Process

Work
Process

Work
Process

Work
Process

Work
Process

Work
Process

SAP AG 1999

The R/3 System has a modular software architecture that follows software-oriented client/server
principles.

The R/3 System allocates presentation, applications, and data storage to different computers. This
serves as the basis for the scalability of the R/3 system.

The lowest level is the database level. Here data is managed with the help of a relational database
management system (RDBMS). In addition to master data and transaction data, programs and the
metadata that describe the R/3 System are stored and managed here.

ABAP programs run at the application level, both the applications provided by SAP and the ones
you develop yourself. ABAP programs work with data called up from the database level and store
new data there as well.

The third level is the presentation level (SAPGUI). This level contains the user interface, in which
an end user can access an application, enter new data and receive the results of a work process.

The technical distribution of software is independent of its physical location on the hardware.
Vertically, all levels can be installed on top of each other on one computer or each level on a separate
computer. Horizontally, application and presentation level components can be divided among any
number of computers. The horizontal distribution of database components, however, depends on the
type of database installed.

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User-Oriented View

Presentation
Server
Layer

Work Process

Application
Server
Layer

ABAP Program

Database

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This graphic can be simplified for most topics discussed during this course. The interaction between
ABAP programs and their users will be of primary interest to us during this course. The exact
processes involved in user dispatching on an application server are secondary to understanding how
to write an ABAP program. Therefore we will be working with a simplified graphic that does not
explicitly show the dispatcher and the work process. Certain slides will, however, be enhanced to
include these details whenever they are relevant to ABAP programming.

ABAP programs are processed on the application server. The design of the user dialogs and the
database dialogs is therefore of particular importance when writing application programs.

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Program Flow: What the User Sees

Selection Screen

Black Box

Screen

List

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Time

The user is primarily interested in how his or her business transaction flows and in how data can be
input into and displayed from the transaction. Technical details, such as whether a single program is
running or multiple programs are called implicitly, or the technical differences between the kind of
screens being displayed, are usually less important to the user. The user does not need to know the
precise flow of the ABAP program on the application server. Users see the R/3 System with
application servers and database as a black box.

There are, however, three technically distinct screen types (screens, selection screens, and lists) that
offer the user different services. It is the developer's job to determine which type of user dialog is
most suitable to the user's needs.

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Interaction Between Server Layers

Program
Start

ABAP Program
ABAP
Processing
Block

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

SAP AG 1999

When the user performs a user action (choosing Enter, a function key, a menu function or a
pushbutton, for example), control is handed over from the presentation server to the application
server and certain parts of the ABAP program are processed. If further user dialog is triggered within
the ABAP program, the system sends a screen to the presentation server and control is once again
handed over to the presentation server.

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Overview

Client
Client // server
server architecture
architecture
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed in
in list
list form
form
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed on
on the
the screen
screen
Which
Which ABAP
ABAP program
program components
components are
are discussed
discussed
in
in which
which units?
units?

SAP AG 1999

In this part of the unit, the user has chosen to start a program where an airline ID can be entered on
the initial selection screen. The program subsequently uses this information to retrieve the 'Long
name of airline' and the 'Local currency of airline' from the database and display them for the user in
list form.

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Sample Program 1: Program Start

Program
Start

Repository

Database
Table

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Time

Whenever a user logs on to the system, a screen is displayed. From this screen, the user can start a
program by using its menu path.

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System Loads Program Context

Program
Start

ABAP Program

Repository

Selection Screen
Data Objects

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

If the user has triggered a program with a user action, then the program context is loaded on the
application server. The program context contains memory areas for variables and complex data
objects, information on the screens for user dialogs and ABAP processing blocks. The runtime
system gets the program information from the Repository, which is a special part of the database.

The sample program has a selection screen as the user dialog, a variable and a structure as data
objects and one ABAP processing block. The list that is used to display the data is created
dynamically at runtime.

The subsequent flow of the program is controlled by the ABAP runtime system.

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Runtime System Sends Selection Screen

Program
Start

ABAP Program

Data Objects

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

Since the program contains a selection screen, the ABAP runtime system sends it to the presentation
server at the beginning of program processing. The presentation server controls the program flow for
as long as the user fills in the input fields.

Selection screens allow users to enter selection criteria required by the program.

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Selection Screen Entries Inserted into Data Objects

Program
Start

ABAP Program

Data objects

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

As soon as the user has finished entering data on the selection screen, he or she can trigger further
processing by choosing 'Execute'. All data input on the selection screen is the automatically placed in
its corresponding data object in the program and the ABAP runtime system resumes control of
processing. Our sample program contains only one ABAP processing block. The runtime system
triggers sequential processing of this ABAP processing block.

If the entries made by the user do not have the correct type, then an error message is automatically
triggered. The user must correct his/her entries.

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Program Requests Data Record from Database

Program
Start

ABAP Program

Data objects

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

The ABAP processing block contains a read access to the database that has been programmed into it.
The program also passes the database information about which database table to access and which
line in the table to read.

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Database Returns Data Record to Program

Program
Start

ABAP Program

Data objects

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

The database returns the requested data record to the program and the runtime system ensures that
this data is stored in the appropriate data objects. Normally a structure is the target field when a
single record is accessed. The structure contains variables for all fields requested from the database.

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Runtime System Sends List

Program
Start

ABAP Program

Data objects

Database
Table
ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

The layout of the subsequent list display has also been programmed into the processing block. After
all processing has ended, the runtime system sends the list screen to the presentation server.

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Overview

Client
Client // server
server architecture
architecture
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed in
in list
list form
form
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed on
on the
the screen
screen
Which
Which ABAP
ABAP program
program components
components are
are discussed
discussed
in
in which
which units?
units?

SAP AG 1999

In this part of the unit, the user starts a second sample program where an airline ID can be entered on
the initial selection screen. This program subsequently uses the information input on the selection
screen to retrieve the 'Long name of airline' and the 'Local currency of airline' from the database and
display them for the user on a screen.

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Sample Program 2: Program Start

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Repository
Database
Table

Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

When the user starts the program, the program context is loaded first. This time, however, our
sample program contains three processing blocks, a selection screen, and a screen, and a variable and
two structures as its data objects.

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ABAP Runtime System sends Screen

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

Since the program contains a selection screen, the ABAP runtime system sends it to the presentation
server at the beginning of program processing.

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User Leaves Selection Screen

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

As soon as the user has finished entering data on the selection screen, he or she can trigger further
processing by choosing 'Execute'. All data input on the selection screen is then automatically placed
in its corresponding data object in the program and the ABAP runtime system resumes control of
processing. The runtime system then triggers sequential processing of the ABAP processing block
that comes after the selection screen.

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Program Requests Data Record from Database

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

The ABAP processing block contains a read access to the database that has been programmed into it.
The program also passes the database information about which database table to access and which
line in the table to read.

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Database Returns Data Record

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

The database returns the requested data record to the program and the runtime system ensures that
this data is stored in the appropriate data objects. Normally a structure is the target field when a
single record is accessed. The structure contains variables for all fields requested from the database.

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Program Calls Screen

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

Process
Before
Output

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

The ABAP processing block now triggers screen processing. This is often expressed simply by
saying 'The program calls the screen'. However, in reality, each screen possesses its own processing
block that is sequentially processed before the runtime system sends the screen to the presentation
server (Process Before Output). This allows screens to be used in a very flexible manner.

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ABAP Runtime System Sends Selection Screen

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

Process
Before
Output

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

After the screen's processing block has been processed, the ABAP runtime system sends the screen to
the presentation server. During this process, data is transported into the screen's fields from a
structure that serves as an interface for the screen.

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User Executes User Action

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

Process
Before
Output
Process
After
Input

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

Once the user performs a user action (choosing Enter, a function key, a menu function or a
pushbutton, for example), control is handed over to the runtime system on the application server
again. The screen fields are transported into the structure that serves as the screen's interface and a
special processing block belonging to the screen is triggered. This processing block is always
processed immediately following a user action (Process After Input).

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Processing of the ABAP Processing Block
Resumes

ABAP Program

Program
Start

Data objects

Database
Table
Screen

ABAP
Processing
Block

Process
Before
Output
Process
After
Input

ABAP Runtime System

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Time

After the 'Process After Input' processing block has been processed, the sample program continues
processing the ABAP processing block that called the screen in the first place.

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0.25
Overview

Client
Client // server
server architecture
architecture
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed in
in list
list form
form
Sample
Sample program
program with
with data
data displayed
displayed on
on the
the screen
screen
Which
Which ABAP
ABAP program
program components
components are
are discussed
discussed
in
in which
which units?
units?

SAP AG 1999

SAP AG

BC400

2-25

0.26
Course Content

Unit 1

Introduction

Unit 2

Program Flow in an ABAP Program

Unit 3

Introduction to the ABAP Workbench

Unit 4

ABAP Statements and Data Declarations

Unit 5

Database Dialogs I (Reading from the Database)

Unit 6

Internal Program Modularization

Unit 7

User Dialogs: List

Unit 8

User Dialogs: Selection Screen

Unit 9

User Dialogs: Screen

Unit 10

Interfaces

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Course Content

Unit 11

Reuse Components

Unit 12

Database Dialogs II (Making Changes to the Database)

Unit 13

Software Logistics and Software Adjustment

Exercises
Solutions
Appendices

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