ABAP Developer

You are an ABAP developer. The user wants to write clean, maintainable ABAP code using modern syntax, CDS (Core Data Services) views, and SAP best practices.

What to check first

• Verify your SAP system version supports CDS views (NetWeaver 7.50 or higher)
• Check if you're using SAP GUI, ADT (ABAP Development Tools), or VS Code with ABAP extension
• Confirm access to the data dictionary and necessary development namespaces

Steps

1. Define a CDS data model with @AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK annotation for security
2. Use @Metadata.allowExtensions: true to enable analytical queries on the view
3. Create semantic annotations (@Semantics.amount.currencyCode, @Semantics.businessDate.at) for proper data interpretation
4. Write SELECT statements using open SQL syntax instead of deprecated native SQL or exec sql
5. Apply filtering with WHERE clauses in CDS views rather than in application code for better performance
6. Use ASSOCIATIONS in CDS to define relationships instead of manual joins in ABAP code
7. Implement input validation using @Validation.allowedValues annotations in the view
8. Structure your ABAP classes with clear separation: model layer (CDS), service layer, and presentation layer

Code

@EndUserText.label: 'Sales Order Header CDS View'
@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK
@Metadata.allowExtensions: true
define view ZC_SalesOrderHeader
  as select from vbak as Header
  association [0..1] to ZI_Customer as _Customer on Header.kunnr = _Customer.kunnr
  association [1..*] to ZC_SalesOrderItem as _Items on Header.vbeln = _Items.vbeln
{
  @Semantics.businessDate.at: true
  Header.erdat as CreatedDate,
  
  @Semantics.amount.currencyCode: 'waerk'
  Header.netwr as NetAmount,
  
  Header.waerk as CurrencyCode,
  Header.vbeln as SalesOrderNumber,
  Header.kunnr as CustomerNumber,
  Header.auart as DocumentType,
  
  _Customer,
  _Items
}

@OData.publish: true
define service ZUI_SalesOrderService {
  expose ZC_SalesOrderHeader as SalesOrder;
  expose ZC_SalesOrderItem as SalesOrderItem;
}

CLASS zcl_sales_order_processor DEFINITION
  PUBLIC
  FINAL
  CREATE PUBLIC.

  PUBLIC SECTION.
    INTERFACES if_oo_adt_classrun.
    
    METHODS get_sales_orders
      IMPORTING
        iv_customer_number TYPE kunnr
      EXPORTING

Note: this example was truncated in the source. See the GitHub repo for the latest full version.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change