Again: web dynpro vs. bsp vs. webgui

[Former Member]

Hello,

I have an existing Z transaction which produced approximately 100 days manpower. Now there should be the possibility to access this transaction over the web with a browser. I have no web development experience with sap, but I found 3 possibilities to do this:

webgui - bsp - web dynpro.

In my opinion webgui is the easiest way to do this. I take the existing transaction and make it accessible over the web with the its. I need nearly no manpower. Is this right?

What is the advantage if I use bsp or web dynpro? Is it because of performance, license costs, scalability, operational availability, layout, guaranteed future?

I also have read in this forum that web dynpros supports meta data and component based programming, supports smart and mobile clients and allows me theoretically to integrate arbitrary backend systems via the same interface.

But do I need all this things really? Maybe it supports me if I have a development project with years of manpower. Is this right?

Because of these things in my opinion the bsp solution should be the second best solution. Because of the posibility to design the layout in html.

Thanks in advance

Manuel

[Former Member]

Hi Manuel

If you have the SAP screen already available , then the best solution would be to go for the ITS solution(Web Gui).

But if you were to compare the man days required to code a dynpro and a web dynpro screen from scratch then they would approximately be the same.

Yes if you want to leverage on Web Dynpro you will have to currently code all screen from scratch , and encapsulate your backend logic as function modules.

Apart from BSP you have the option to use Portal Development Kit (if you have SAP EP in your landscape) . JSPHTMLB(tag libraries)JCO running on WAS 6.2 or 6.4 or other Java server.

If you have just one screen and currently dont have the WAS 6.4 in your landscape and it would involve delays interms of procurement , setup and training, then its better you go with either of the above solutions depending on the skillsets in your team

Regards

Pran

[Former Member]

Hello Pran,

Thanks for your answer.

As I understand I have now 4 posibilities to solve my problem. ITS (webgui),web dynpro, bsp and portal development kit. As I assumed webgui would be the easiest way for me. What are my advantages if I dont use webgui? What are the preferences of the other technologies?

Regards Manuel

[eddy_declercq]

Manuel,

It depends also a bit on your skills. If you don't know anything about Java, webdynpro is (for the moment, since the ABAP version isn't available yet) rather out of the question.

If you can make an FM of your trx, the BSP solution might be the easiest step. No additionial knowledge (except from some HTML(B)) is needed.

Eddy

[Former Member]

I would say 5 possibilities ,ITS, web dynpro ,bsp, PDK and JSP. But then you have other options such as the java gui or citrix thin client

I would say if you would want a quantum leap in advantages by preferring a UI solution , then it has to be webdynpro be it ABAP(not supported yet) or Java.

Some of the features that I have heard about and noticed as well is

-> Metadata based which means tomorrow SAP could easily support a new client without you not requiring even to change a line of code.

-> Support for Java gui and Win gui for web dynpro coming up(over http)

-> More professional UI and flicker free

-> Faster development time when compared to BSP or JSP

-> Future proof

On the down side

-> You loose control on so many things that you took for granted in web programming such as javascript support, DHTML

Regards

Pran

[Former Member]

Hello eddy,

thanks for your answer, but unfortunately I dont understand all of your abbreviations. What do you mean with fm and trx?

regards

manuel

[eddy_declercq]

Oeps, sorry for that.

An FM is a Function module, code produced in se37.

A TRX is a transaction. A trx is usually linked to a report created with se38.

I suppose that you transaction has lots of user input. If you can leave out all that and could seperate all the processing code into one or more FMs, you can easily make a BSP app from it. That is of course not without effort, so webgui might a sensable choice if you don't wanna spend any time/money on it anymore.

[Former Member]

if I use webdynpro with java do I need anythingh else than a WAS and sap netweaver developer studio? How are the experiences with web dynpro with java? Is it mature to develop critical business applications?

regards

manuel

[Former Member]

Yes a developer

Jokes aside , we went live on web dynpro and the system has been humming away smoothly, no crashes , no performance issues. My opinion would be yes its a very stable platform, but I would definitely like to hear from others

Regards

pran

[Former Member]

Hi Manuel

yes, you'll need another 100 days of (wo)man power to develop the application (sorry, Pran's joke was so good, i simply couldn't resist)

But, just to complete your confusion, you should keep the following things in mind, which might directly or indirectly influence your decision:

1. And most important. Is it possible to call your Z transaction via RFC (remote function call)? All "particiants" used in the transaction has to be prepared for this, e.g. they must be capable of "running dark" without user interaction, without opening a dialog window and without trying to do anything like MESSAGE A/E/I/S/W. There is no (hidden) COMMIT WORK anywhere?

2. If you can answer 1. with "yes" (or no regarding the last question), what's the situation regarding your customer? Will she/he agree to administrate another server/technological system besides the (probably well-known) ABAP stuff?

3. There will probably be additional license fees for the WebAS and/or the SAP EP (if you want to use it). Who will pay for that?

If all of this doesn't matter (or is no problem at all), i totally agree with Pran. Web Dynpro (for Java) is mature enough to develop critical business applications. 99.9% of possible performance (or other) problems are self-made and the result of lacking experience with the framework in the beginning. If you keep the conceptual design of your application(s) clean and straightforward and don't start to "struggle" with the framework, you'll not run into severe problems.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Stefan

[Former Member]

Hello,

thanks for all your answers. They are very helpful. At the end I have two final questions.

-Are web dynpros really noticeable faster than webgui with ITS?

-Is there anywhere a demo application with web dynpros in the web at sap or anywhere else? So that I can test the look and feel and the performance of a web dynpro application.

Regrads

Manuel Nagler

[eddy_declercq]

The webgui used to be rather slow, but with the new ITS it's much improved. All depends of course on the HW used.

[Former Member]

Hi Manuel

Web Dynpro, does seem to faster but it seemed to have more server roundtrips but they say its only the delta that is being transmitted , probably that saves on the HTTP payload . But ITS screen ..too many flickers and flashing screens pushes me to epileptic seizures

)

Regards

Pran

[Former Member]

Is there really no demo anywhere? I would really like to see a demo, even if its only a few pages on the web.

regards

manuel nagler

[Former Member]

Manuel,

I can provide you with a demo. It is a pretty simple transaction that I developed.

But I have a question for some of the other folks concerning Java Web Dynpro. I have heard that there are some issues when using Java Web Dynpro over Citrix. Evidently the function key support needs to be enabled via JSP? Does anyone have any experience with this?