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Large Production Web Dynpro development

Former Member
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Everyone knows how to develop in ABAP in a way that works in team environments and provides reuse, but this is not clear within Web Dynpro. I'd like to see a tutorial or overview of how large Web Dynpro projects with multiple developers should be structured in terms of using DTR, interfaces between components, database design, etc. Until DTR becomes available, all Web Dynpro development is just "playing around", but when it gets here, I hope SAP can provide an overview of the right way to develop.

Accepted Solutions (1)

Accepted Solutions (1)

Former Member
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Hi Matt,

i would like add the following remarks to your suggestion:

<u>1. Availability of DTR</u>

Nearly nobody, except SAP internals and ramp up customers have a DTR available today. So the prerequisites for 99.9999% of all other SDN users to follow the steps in a tutorial (or overview) don't exist. This is crucial IMHO, because you have to start with DTR activities to be able to do anything.

<u>2. How to get DTR running</u>

Configuration and efficient usage of the DTR (there are minimum 4 possible development scenarios) is enough to fill a big, at least 3-hour tutorial without even having touched Web Dynpro (let's call it Part 1).

<u>3. Backend access in a productive scenario</u>

is the next point. What would you like to see included? EJB (with BMP or CMP?), JDO, ABAP (Adaptive RFC and/or JCA?), Web Services? Again, this is enough to fill an own tutorial (let's call it Part2).

<u>4. Design and usage of Web Dynpro</u>

and some other, for a full featured article necessary, types of Development Components. This is rudimentary documented in the NW documentation, but who of the Sneak Preview and other users work with them so far? What are best practices and common traps designing them (let's call it Part3).

And last but not least...

<u>5. The Composite application framework (CAF)</u>

and especially the promised features of it's designer and the generation framework behind it will probably disprove most if not any of the working practices (at least concerning point 3) mentioned in a tutorial.

The CAF is the so far missing piece in the puzzle, because it connects services of any type between each other and to the presentation layer (including Web Dynpro UI patterns nobody used upto now) based on metadata models (let's call it Part 4).

So from my point of view we should think about reducing the requirements what should be covered by the upcoming article/tutorial to the (real world) work with DCs.

Best regards

Stefan

former_member374
Active Contributor
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Hi Stefan,

You make some good points.

How about: "I'd like to see a tutorial or overview of how large Web Dynpro projects with multiple developers should be structured" even without having a DTR around yet.

Matt would that be something your would be interested or does it have to be in conjunction with the DTR?

Let us know.

Yes let's create manageable junks out of this big request as separate forum posts that people can fulfill independently of each other.

Best, Mark.

Former Member
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Hi Mark,

As all future development should be using DTR, I think it would be best to focus on the actual recommended architecture of Web Dynpro within a DTR environment rather than the temporary approach. That said, if the DTR is not going to be available within NW '04 when it is released at the end of the year, I'd be interested on how to do this without DTR. I know from our experience, combining developer's work using local DC's in the sneak preview edition is impossible (or not documented at least).

Note - My request is relatively independent of the actual data model, as I'm assuming most types of data models should be supported by this information (ie. Adaptive RFC, Model Classes, EJB's, Web Services, etc).

Regards,

Matt

ps. It's a big request, but an important one for us architects out there.

Former Member
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Hi Matt,

first of all the DTR or more precise, the Java Development Infrastructure (JDI) <b>is</b> announced to be generally available with the synchronized release of NW 04 this fall, probably in October.

Second, i didn't want to have any valuable parts removed from your request. What i tried to suggest is to keep the infrastructure part as far as possible separated from the design part and to split the information in more eatable and therefore expressive and not over-simplified bits.

But anyway, maybe we should just wait and see who accepts the challenge and what the results are.

Best regards

Stefan

Former Member
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Hi Stefan,

I agree that there are many more questions to be answered, however, it is apparent that DC's are important to the overall Web Dynpro architecture, and without DTR (or JDI if that's what it's now been badged ), I have found that the DC's are more pain than they are worth. ie. I couldn't even export a DC project to another machine!

That is the main reason I am focussing on JDI being part of the architecture at this point as, for example, I'd like to know how SAP develops Web Dynpro (Maybe their using CVS???).

Regards,

Matt

Former Member
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Hi Matt,

it's possible to copy local DCs to another machine and import them there, but of course it is not really intended to do this.

One can make local DCs "globally visible" by exporting them into the DTR. As you addressed the ABAP world earlier, it's quite comparable with the local objects section of the ABAP workbench. But i hope, this (and a lot more) will be clarified by the upcoming contribution.

I don't think, that SAP uses a "normal" CVS. Since the DCs are mainly metadata based, a CVS cannot efficiently manage them. No, i'm quite sure, SAP (->"Eat your own dogfood") is using the DTR/JDI for own development projects for a reasonable amount of time already.

Best regards,

Stefan

PS: As i've seen having a look into the corresponding sections of the Service Marketplace, JDI has been renamed to NWDI (i guess NetWeaver Development Infrastructure;). Anyway, it doesn't matter really...

Former Member
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So my thoughts, without DTR(JDI or NWDI); local DC's are more of a hindrance to a multiple development environment then a help (I like the local objects analogy Stephan).

In regards to CVS, that was intended to be more of a joke as I'm sure SAP will be pushing NWDI in the near future.

Anyway, for now, I'll leave it for someone @ SAP to have a go at responding to this request.

Regards,

Matt

Former Member
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> first of all the DTR or more precise, the Java

> Development Infrastructure (JDI) <b>is</b> announced

> to be generally available with the synchronized

> release of NW 04 this fall, probably in October.

> Stefan

Will DTR/JDI be available in the sneak preview too? I mean, there will be a new release of sneak preview??

Regards,

Ronaldo.

Answers (1)

Answers (1)

former_member374
Active Contributor
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Hi Matt,

This is exactly the kind of suggestion I am hoping for. A theme that has not been covered, but that isn't solved with two sentences.

Hope someone picks it up and gets the well deserved double points.

Best, Mark.