abap language news

8/13/2019 ABAP Language News

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ABAP LanguageNews

Andreas BlumenthalVP ABAP Server Technology & I18N

SAP AG

SAP AG 2003, TechED_Basel / ABAP203, Andreas Blumenthal / 2

Learning Objectives

As a result of this lecture, you will be able to:

Know about SAP's commitment to ABAP as a programming

language of choice for SAP NetWeaver

Know about the general direction of ABAP language

improvements in 6.20 and 6.40

Get an general overview of the latest ABAP language

improvements Know about the most important new features in more detail




Agenda

Shared Objects

Activatable Checkpoints:

Assertions & Breakpoints

Generic Programming

ABAP Objects & Class-Based Exceptions

Miscellaneous

Summary


Coming next

Shared Objects




Shared Objects - Motivation

With 64-bit architectures address space is no longer limited

Buffering data in shared memory is much longed for by

application development

Current workarounds

Long running transactions

EXPORT / IMPORT

Data must be copied before access (time and memory costs)

Data and object references not allowed

EXPORT / IMPORT TO SHARED BUFFER (since 4.0)

Automatic displacement (needs fallback strategy)

EXPORT / IMPORT TO SHARED MEMORY (since 6.10) Displacement strategy to be implemented by application

Special solutions integrated into the kernel

New kinds of applications implementable

via shared objects


Shared Objects - What ABAP Developers Demand

Fast (copy free) access to shared memory

Support for arbitrary (data) objects, including references

Easy to use and robust programming model

Smooth integration into the ABAP language

Design time and monitoring support




Shared Objects - What we Deliver

Simple 4GL like programming model

Complexity hidden by descriptive approach for powerful features

Robustness by type safety and complete control of referencesinto shared memory

Instantiation of arbitrary (data) objects in shared memory

Identical source code for classes to be instantiated in roll area or

shared memory

Support for high availability (24 hours)

High flexibility due to customizable properties

Focus on important use cases, not on generality


Shared Objects - Usage Scenarios

Shared buffers Low update frequency (once a day to once per hour)

(Very) large amounts of data

Single provider (writer)

Many parallel readers

Examples: catalogues, meta data repositories

Exclusive buffers

Access by a single writer / reader

Buffer contents are kept across transactions

Example: shopping baskets, caches with single point of access

Coarse granular locking concept Only a complete buffer can be locked

Sufficient for the above scenarios

Rare updates (shared buffer)

Readers and writers know each other (exclusive buffer)




Shared Objects - Areas and Area Instances 1

Shared Memory

The organizational units are called

areas

Defined at design time

Identified by unique name

(checked at design time)

Area Area

Contents are stored in area instances

at runtime

Instance

Instance

Instance

Identified by a unique name within

the area

The instance of a single-instance

area is generally addressed by a

default name

Shared Objects Memory

The shared objects memory is a

reserved part of the shared memory

Size customizable by profile

parameter


Shared Objects - Areas and Area Instances 2

Basics about area instances Roll Area

Area Instance

All (data) objects in an area instance

are reachable via references

Each area instance has a root object

Root

An area instance must be self-contained,

i.e. no outgoing references after build-up

to

Roll area

Other areas Inner references are allowed

References from roll area to an area

instance

Allowed as long as the area instance is

attached

Otherwise runtime error at access




Shared Objects Example: A Simple Catalogue

Catalogue (area instance)

Active version

Reader

Reader



Active version


Version under

construction

Writer

Reader

Reader






Version

out-of-date

Active version

Reader

Reader




Version

out-of-date

Active version

Reader

Reader Reader






Version

out-of-date

Active version

Reader Reader




Version

expired

Active version

Reader






Active version

Reader


Instance

Area

Root

Shared Objects - Design Time Support

An area is defined at design time withtransaction SHMA

The specified area name corresponds

to a class to be generated as a

subclass of the abstract area root

class CL_SHM_AREA: cl_my_area

The name of a root data class must be

specified (static type safety) : cl_my_root




Shared Objects – Design Time Support viaTransaction SHMA

An area is a special

class generated with

transaction SHMA


Shared Objects - Area Properties – Different Kinds

Basic (static) properties Changes let expire all area instances and require developer’s rights

Current readers or changers are canceled

Dynamic properties

Changes apply to new area instance versions only, but still require

developer’s rights

Current readers or changers are not interrupted

Runtime (customizable) properties

As for dynamic properties

Changes apply to new area instance versions only

Current readers or changers are not interrupted

No developer’s rights required




Shared Objects - Area Properties – Summary (1)

Basic (static) properties:

Area name (i.e. name of generated area class)

Root data class (i.e. type of root object)

Area instance binding:

Application server

(Single) user session

ABAP memory

Versioning (off, on, fine-tuning via corresponding runtime

property)

Preloading (off, on, fine-tuning via corresponding runtime

property) Transactionality (off, on)

Propagation (i.e. synchronization across application servers)

(off, on)

Client dependency (off, on)


Shared Objects - Area Properties – Summary (2)

Dynamic properties: Loader class

Displacement (off, on, w/ serialization)

Runtime (customizable) properties:

Maximum number of versions (2, 3, …)

Kind of preloading:

on read request on read request & invalidation

on server start & invalidation

Refresh time (automatically trigger creation of new version)

Invalidation time (invalidate version after some time)

Idle time (free version when not being used any more)

Memory limits (per version, per area)




Shared Objects - Monitoring Support viaTransaction SHMM

Overview on areas, area instances, and versions

Locks and lock holders

Memory consumption per area, area instance, and version

Area contents viewer

Area properties overview

Hooks for user defined tracing


Monitoring Transaction SHMM

Living areas

Lock overview




DATA:

...

myShmHandle TYPE REF TO cl_my_area,

myRoot TYPE REF TO cl_my_root.

myShmHandle = cl_my_area=>attach_for_write( ).

CREATE OBJECT myRoot AREA HANDLE myShmHandle.

myRoot->name = 'My first area instance'.

APPEND wa TO myRoot->itab.

...

CREATE OBJECT oref AREA HANDLE myShmHandle.

myRoot->struc->oref = oref.

...

IF ...

myShmHandle->set_root( myRoot ).

myShmHandle->detach_commit( ).

ELSE.

myShmHandle->detach_rollback( ).

ENDIF.

Open default instance

for write

Shared Objects - Sneak Code Preview – Write Access

Create arbitray (data)

objects in shared

memory

Set root object and

commit changes

Rollback changes

Coding typically encapsulated within the loader


DATA: myShmHandle TYPE REF TO cl_my_area.

myShmHandle = cl_my_area=>attach_for_read ( ).

READ TABLE myShmHandle->root->itab

INTO wa INDEX i.

...

myShmHandle->detach( ).

Open default instance

for read

Shared Objects - Sneak Code Preview – Read Access

Access root object

components

Release lock

Coding typically encapsulated by the broker




Coming next

Activatable Checkpoints:Assertions & Breakpoints


What are Assertions Good For ?

Two aspects of software reliability:

Robustness

React reasonably to a wide variety of circumstances and

possibly unexpected conditions

Example: Check for invalid file formats when handling files

Provide a mechanism to detect exceptional conditions and

handle them in specific code blocks

Exceptions (already provided by ABAP Objects)

Correctness

Adhere to some specification

Example: Load & process some valid configuration file in a well-

defined way

Provide means to detect incorrect state during normal program

flow

Assertions




What are Assertions ?

An assertion is

by intention, a program language construct which allows

explicit declaration of program correctness.

technically , a logical expression that must be true during

normal program execution.

Basic syntax:

ASSERT <logical_expression>.

Advanced syntax:

ASSERT ID <checkpoint_group>

CONDITION <logical_expression>.


Assertions Enforce a Valid Runtime State

Assertions enforce a valid runtime state at discrete checkpoints in an

executing system, thus enhancing reliability and maintainability

s y s t e m s

t a t e

program flow

consistent state

n o r m a l t

e r m i n a t i o n

unexpected

behaviour

s y s t e m s

t a t e

program flow

consistent state

n o r m a l t

e r m i n a t i o n

: assertion

runtime

error




Assertions Declare Developer's Intent

consistent state not clearly defined consistent state

: assertion

s y s t e m s

t a t e

program flow

Assertions declare developer's intent and provide insight into expected

system behavior, thus enhancing maintainability

s y s t e m s

t a t e

program flow

runtime error or

unexpected

behaviour

?Where did things start

going wrong


Common Uses for Assertions

Preconditions:Conditions that must be true when entering a procedure

Postconditions:

Conditions that must be true when exiting a procedure

Invariants:

Conditions that always hold true, e.g. for all iterations

inside a loop




Assertions in ABAP as Activatable Assertions

What's really special with assertions in ABAP:

ABAP assertions are activatable !

Assertions can be activated dynamically in productive

systems. No recompilation nor VM restart necessary.

No significant performance penalty from inactive assertions.

Transaction SAAB for administration

Control over scope of activation and mode of activation when

activating assertions:

Which assertions ?

For whom ?

What behavior in case of failure ?


Scope and Mode of Activation (Overview)

Control over scope of activation when activating assertions: Which assertions shall be activated ?

Per compilation unit

Per checkpoint group: ASSERT ID <checkpoint_group> CONDITION …

Via activation variants

For whom shall these assertions be activated ?

Per user (for all servers)

Per server (for all users)

Globally

Control over mode of activation, i.e. behavior in case an

assertion fails:

Break, i.e. stop program execution in debugger

Abort, i.e. terminate program execution with short dump

Protocol, i.e. write to assertion log and resume program

execution




Multiple Activation Options for Assertions

ABAP assertions offer multiple activation options:

Application

Report x Class y Function group z

ASSERT A

ASSERT B

ASSERT C

ASSERT D

ASSERT A

ASSERT E

ASSERT F

ASSERT G

ASSERT A

We have a set of assertions for different aspects (A-G) of an

application in different compilation units (x-z).


Activating Assertions per Compilation Unit


Application


ASSERT A

ASSERT B

ASSERT C

ASSERT D

ASSERT A

ASSERT E

ASSERT F

ASSERT G

ASSERT A

1. Activate assertions for specified compilation units(as known from C/C++, Eiffel and Java)




Activating Assertions per Checkpoint Group


Application


ASSERT A

ASSERT B

ASSERT C

ASSERT D

ASSERT A

ASSERT E

ASSERT F

ASSERT G

ASSERT A

2. Activate assertions for specified aspects.

Assert statements refer to a checkpoint group. Activation is

controlled via this checkpoint group. More than one assertion

can refer to the same checkpoint group.


Activating Assertions via Activation Variants


Application


ASSERT A

ASSERT B

ASSERT C

ASSERT D

ASSERT A

ASSERT E

ASSERT F

ASSERT G

ASSERT A

3. Activate assertions from an activation variant.

Combinations of the above options can be stored as

activations variants.




Fine-Tuning the Scope of Assertion Activation

ABAP assertion activation is global or server specific or user specific:

Assertions can be used for maintenance without interference with

productive users

DB

productive users

supportdedicated

support server

server specific activation

DB

...

user specific activation


Assertion Behavior in Case of Failure

ABAP assertions offer multiple behavior options:

BREAK: Program execution is stopped ( debugger)

ABORT: Program execution is terminated with runtime

error ASSERTION_FAILED.

PROTOCOL:Violation of the assert condition is logged,

program execution is resumed (use transaction

SAAB to display log)

ABAP assertions support different maintenance scenarios




Assertions in ABAP

Assertion behavior and maintenance scenarios:

Maintenance

Short term, interactive Long term, non-interactive

BREAK ABORT PROTOCOL

Support user, prepared to

jump into debugger

Productive user,

prepared to encountershort dump

Productive

user, nondisturbed

Support, analyzing short dumps or

monitoring assertion protocol


Activatable Breakpoints: Why and How

By using functional methods in the assert condition, alsocomplex checks can be implemented.

Nevertheless, in a business application it may not always bepossible to express state consistency in an easy way.

Problem:

Development needs a way to mark such critical points

Support needs a way to find these points

Solution:

Activatable breakpoints as a new form of BREAK-POINTstatement, which can be activated through association with acheckpoint group:

BREAK-POINT ID <checkpoint_group>.




Comparison with Other Languages: C/C++, Eiffel, Java

C/C++: Assertions implemented via precompiler macros

Eiffel: Pioneering Design By Contract with a complex assertion

facility including OO-inheritance of assertions

Java: Offering a simple assertion facility (from J2SE 1.4 on)

In C/C++, assert coding is removed when a non-debug build is

made.

In Eiffel and Java, assertions are enabled through a command line

option of the runtime environment on the level of classes or

packages.

No dynamic activation of assertions in a running system


Comparison with Other Languages: the ABAP Way

ABAP: On the language level comparable to Java assertions, buton the runtime side offering unprecedented flexibility:

Activation on the fly

Activation on a semantic level by using different checkpoint

groups

Activation variants for complex settings

User specific or server specific activation

Additional options for the assert behavior facilitating interactive

and non-interactive maintenance

Benefits of assertions can be exploited in the maintenance of

productive customer systems




Coming next

Generic Programming


Generic Programming

Runtime Type Creation

Open SQL

More catchable runtime errors




Runtime Type Creation – Seamless Integration

Coherent with static types

Types created at runtime exactly behave like statically definedtypes regarding type checks and type coercion

Merged with runtime type identification Type hierarchy CL_ABAP_TYPEDESCR with its descendants (cf.

next slide) no also provides functionality for creating types

Handy language integration

Powerful API for type construction via CL_ABAP_TYPEDESCRand its descendants

New keyword addition TYPE HANDLE with CREATE DATA(CREATE OBJECT to follow) and ASSIGN


Dynamic Types - The Type System

CL_ABAP_DATADESCR

CL_ABAP_DATADESCR

CL_ABAP_ELEMDESCR

CL_ABAP_ELEMDESCR

CL_ABAP_STRUCTDESCR

CL_ABAP_STRUCTDESCR

CL_ABAP_TABLEDESCR

CL_ABAP_TABLEDESCR

CL_ABAP_REFDESCR

CL_ABAP_REFDESCR

All data types are instances ofsubclasses of CL_ABAP_DATADESCR

CL_ABAP_TYPEDESCR

CL_ABAP_TYPEDESCR

CL_ABAP_OBJECTDESCR

CL_ABAP_OBJECTDESCR

CL_ABAP_CLASSDESCR

CL_ABAP_CLASSDESCR CL_ABAP_INTFDESCR

CL_ABAP_INTFDESCR

Pre-arrangement for dynamiccreation of classes and interfaces




Dynamic Types - Type Creation

Create a standard table of a projection of a known structure

name STRING

salaray P

city CHAR30

..... .....

phone(20) N

structure EMPLOYEE

name city .... phone

dyn. table of projection

DATA: struct_type TYPE REF TO cl_abap_structdescr,

itab_type TYPE REF TO cl_abap_tabledescr,

comp_tab TYPE cl_abap_structdescr=>component_table.

struct_type ?=

cl_abap_typedescr=>describe_by_name( 'EMPLOYEE' ).

comp_tab = struct_type->get_components( ).

DELETE TABLE comp_tab WITH TABLE KEY name = 'salary'.

struct_type = cl_abap_structdescr=>create( comp_tab ).

itab_type = cl_abap_tabledescr=>create( struct_type ).


Dynamic Types - Type Usage

Dynamic types can be used to

Create anonymous data objects

DATA: dref TYPE REF TO data,

itab_type TYPE REF TO cl_abap_tabledescr.

... "create (or obtain) itab_type

CREATE DATA dref TYPE HANDLE itab_type.

DATA: dref TYPE REF TO data,

struc_type TYPE REF TO cl_abap_structdescr.

FIELD-SYMBOLS: <fs>.

... "obtain struc_type

ASSIGN dref->* TO <fs> CASTING TYPE HANDLE struc_type.

Dynamically assign a type to a field symbol




Open SQL

Dynamic Open SQL enhancements:

Host variables now supported in dynamic WHERE clauses, i.e.values don't have to be converted into literals any more

Especially: Referring to range tables, i.e. IN rangeTab conditions,now supported in dynamic WHERE clauses

Especially: Referring to FOR ALL ENTRIES tables now supportedin dynamic WHERE clauses

Parsing dynamic SQL no up to 10x faster (50 µs instead of 500 µsper clause, to give a rough estimate)

Multi-Connect:

Get access to multiple databases (other than system database)

Syntax: … dbtab CONNECTION con|(conName) …

Connections maintained in table DBCON

But: not officially released !

("This statement is for internal use only.Incompatible changes or further developments may occur at any timewithout warning or notice.")


More Catchable Runtime Errors

Many more catchable runtime errors !

Catching all kinds of procedure invokation errors (PERFORM,CALL FUNCTION, CALL METHOD):

CX_SY_DYN_CALL_ERROR, CX_SY_DYN_CALL_*

Catching errors like

procedure unknown

parameter unknown

type error

Catching some ASSIGN errors:

CX_SY_ASSIGN_ERROR, CX_SY_ASSIGN_*

Catching errors like

casting errors (illegal cast, unknown type) and

range errors (range violation)

Further catchable runtime errors: look in the (dyna) book, akaABAP keyword documentation




Coming next

ABAP Objects &Class-Based Exceptions


ABAP Objects Enhancements

Handling improvements:

Implicit loading of classes and interfaces:

CLASS class DEFINITION LOAD (almost) obsolete

More sensitive dependency checks:

Less recompilations in development systems

Enhanced checks for unused private components

New functionality:

Types in public section of global classes and in global

interfaces more self-contained classes and interfaces

Improved ALIASES, especially:

Using Aliases with REDEFINITION and in the implementation

section's METHOD statement.

Kernel Methods




Class-Based Exceptions (1)

Enhanced ST22 / ABAP short dump analysis:

Dedicated ABAP runtime error display for uncaught exceptions

(runtime error UNCAUGHT_EXCEPTION)

TRY.

DATA: xref TYPE REF TO cx_root.

CATCH

CLEANUP INTO xref.

ENDTRY.

Access to exception object in cleanup section:


Class-Based Exceptions (2)

T100-based exception messages Definition and usage analogous to OTR-based exception

messages

Mapping of positional parameters &1 … &4 to exception attributes

T100 restrictions: 4 variables, 72 characters text

Direct messaging for exception objects with T100-based

messages:

MESSAGE excObj TYPE …(if excObj implements IF_T100_MESSAGE)

Syntax check messages for missing exception handling more

up to the point.




Coming next

Miscellaneous


Optimizations & Improved Resource Utilization

Enhanced 64 bit enabling Single roll areas > 2 GB

Single buffers > 2 GB (PXA, table buffers, EXP/IMP buffers)

Improved multi-processor support in PXA

Better scalability

Higher degree of potential parallelization

DST-safe web application server

Keep your system up and running during the 'double hour'

Dilating time to guarantee unique timestamps

Sorting internal tables

String type sort key fields handled much more efficient

Saving PXA address space

Compressing initial record layouts

MOVE-CORRESPONDING optimized for minimum DATA CBs




New Features (1)

Unicode

Pro-actively checking effects of potential structure enhancements

Support for multiple enhancement categories.

Unicode-enabled lists Memory length and screen width not proportional any more

EXPORT / IMPORT

New medium INTERNAL TABLE

Comparable to DATA BUFFER, but line-wrapped instead of

continuous string

Arithmetics

Computing with time stamps: methods from CL_ABAP_TSTMP

provide for time stamp arithmetics analogous to date and time

arithmetics

New PRNG (pseudo random number generator ) – details below


New Features (2)

API for (un-)zipping, i.e. (de-)compressing text and binary data: CL_ABAP_GZIP, CL_ABAP_[UN]GZIP_*

Enhancing CONSTANTS analogous to DATA

Restarting parameter and variant transactions correctly:

LEAVE TO CURRENT TRANSACTION

CL_DYNPRO=>GET_CURRENT_TRANSACTION( )

Generalized secondary language access, including ABAP textelements




New Tools

New Tools (cf. ABAP Tools lecture for more details):

Memory Inspector

Find memory leaks, especially when using dynamically allocated

(data) objects

Compare memory snapshots, e.g. for go-around points of long-running transactions

ABAP Unit

Module testing à la XUnit / JUnit

Packaging test code with code to be tested in testee program

Automatic test suite creation

Managing more advanced test attributes

New debugger

Process separation between debugger and debuggee

Much improved UI

More & better debugging tools


Pseudo Random Number Generator - Problem

PRNGs are used to compute "random" sequences of numbers.

The sequences are produced in a deterministic way. Anyway the

numbers appear to the user to be random, that is the values of

subsequently generated numbers cannot be predicted.

Typical applications of PRNGs:

Testing of programs: Monte Carlo methods.

Quality assurance: data sampling.

Finding good algorithms for PRNGs is a hard mathematical task:

Numbers must be uniformly distributed within the target

range.

Multidimensional data must be uniformly distributed as well.

They must not lie in a subspace only.

The period of the generated sequence must be as high as

possible.




Pseudo Random Number Generator - Solution

Existing PRNGs at SAP have been tested thoroughly.

All of them showed significant statistical anomalies (eventhe one that was certified externally …)

Thus we implemented one of the best algorithms available, theMersenne Twister (developed in 1997 by Makoto Matsumotoand Takuji Nishimura).

Has a very high period length: 219937-1 (a Mersenne prime,named after Marin Mersenne, 1588 - 1648).

Generates uniformly distributed values up to a dimensionof 623.

Access via ABAP classes. One can work with several

instances of PRNGs in parallel.

Using PRNGs is tricky, too:

Mapping numbers onto a range is error-prone. Numberscan easily be outside the range after the mapping.

Range-mapping as part of the API provided.


Pseudo Random Number Generator - Implementation

Generating number sequences for a fixed number type: CL_ABAP_RANDOM_INT generates integer numbers, either

within a given interval, or within the whole integer range.

CL_ABAP_RANDOM_FLOAT generates floating-point

numbers between 0 (including) and 1 (excluding).

CL_ABAP_RANDOM_PACKED generates (integer) packed

numbers, either within a given interval, or within the whole

range of packed numbers.

CL_ABAP_RANDOM_PACKED_DEC<n> generates packed

numbers with <n> digits after the decimal point. <n> can be

in the range from 1 to 14.

CL_ABAP_RANDOM should be used when multidimensional

data with different data types are to be generated.




Pseudo Random Number Generator - Examples

DATA: prng TYPE REF TO cl_abap_random_packed ,

seed TYPE i, p1 TYPE p, p2 TYPE p.

seed = cl_abap_random =>seed ( ).

prng = cl_abap_random_packed =>create( seed = seed

min = -999999999999999 max = 999999999999999 ).

DO 100 TIMES.

p1 = prng->get_next( ). p2 = prng->get_next( ).

…

ENDDO.

Create 100 2-tupels of type P(8) with random seed:

DATA: prng TYPE REF TO cl_abap_random_int,

number TYPE i.

prng = cl_abap_random_int=>create( min = 1 max = 100 ).

DO 10000 TIMES.

number = prng->get_next( ).

…

ENDDO.

Create 10.000 integers between 1 and 100:


Coming next

Summary




Summary

ABAP is alive as a SAP NetWeaver language

Substantial ABAP improvements (language & tools)

with 6.20 and 6.40, more in the pipeline for > 6.40

Improving ABAP nowadays often means enhancinglibraries & tools instead of adding new keywords

Shared Objects: open new fields of ABAPprogramming: application specific caches, roll-area-transcendent contexts

Activatable Assertions: improve correctness &serviceability

Runtime Type Creation: further improve flexible anddedicated means for generic programming


Further Information

Related Workshops/Lectures at SAP TechEd 2003

All sessions in track ABAP Development , but especially:

ABAP252: Developing Correct and Robust ABAP Code, 2-hr Hands-on

Wed, 2:00:00 PM, H4

ABAP254: Shared Objects in ABAP, 2-hr Hands-on

Wed, 11:00:00 AM, H4

ABAP256: Why Use ABAP Objects?, 4-hr Hands-on

Wed, 9:00:00 AM, H12

ABAP257: ABAP Troubleshooting, 4-hr Hands-on

Wed, 2:00:00 PM, H12




Further Information

Related Workshops/Lectures at SAP TechEd 2003

More favorites from track ABAP Development :

ABAP201: ABAP Workbench News, 1-hr Lecture

Thu, 9:00:00 AM, L1

ABAP258: Web Development with the ABAP Workbench, 4-hr Hands-on

Thu, 8:00:00 AM, H12

ABAP151: How to Make Your ABAP Code Unicode-Enabled, 2-hr Hands-on

Wed, 0:09:00 AM, H4

OSI253: XML Processing and XSLT Transformations with ABAP,

4-hr Hands-onThu, 9:00:00 AM, H8


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The SAP TechEd ’03 Basel Team

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