XML Data Exchange Using ABAP

Tobias Trapp is a software developer at AOK Systems GmbH. His areas of expertise include ABAP development, XML and Web 2.0 technologies. He has more than ten years of experience in software development on various platforms, and using different programming languages for both custom and standard software.His current work focuses on error management, printing and document processes, as well as programming in a large ABAP development project. In addition, he is interested in all aspects of SAP programming, agile development methods, knowledge management, and operations research. He also participates in the SAP Mentor program.You can often find him on the SDN, as a speaker at the SAP Community Day, or in lectures on SAP programming for students. Furthermore, he is the author of the book XML Data Exchange using ABAP (SAP PRESS 2006).

1. Introduction ... 5 2. XML Technologies and Data Exchange ... 7 ... 2.1 Important Standards of the XML Family ... 7 ... 2.2 Data Exchange in Business Processes ... 9 ... 2.3 Using XML Technologies in SAP Systems ... 10 3. XML Library ... 13 ... 3.1 Important Interfaces ... 13 ... 3.2 Data Sources ... 14 ... 3.3 DOM API ... 15 ... 3.4 Rendering XML Documents and Encodings ... 17 ... 3.5 Validating Against DTDs ... 17 ... 3.6 Pitfalls Regarding Namespaces ... 20 ... 3.7 Event-Based Parsing ... 23 ... 3.8 Useful Tips ... 26 4. XSL Transformations ... 29 ... 4.1 Integrating XSLT into the ABAP Workbench ... 29 ... 4.2 Integrating XSLT in ABAP ... 31 ... 4.3 Transforming ABAP Data ... 36 ... 4.4 SAP-Specific Extensions ... 43 ... 4.5 XSLT 2.0 Support ... 46 ... 4.6 Generating Code ... 50 ... 4.7 Useful Tips ... 52 5. Simple Transformations ... 55 ... 5.1 Basic Structure ... 55 ... 5.2 Accessing Data Objects ... 56 ... 5.3 Variables and Parameters ... 61 ... 5.4 Conditional Transformations ... 62 ... 5.5 Mappings ... 72 ... 5.6 Modular Transformation Programs ... 76 ... 5.7 Miscellaneous ... 77 ... 5.8 Useful Tips ... 79 6. Java Integration ... 81 ... 6.1 Validation Using JAXP ... 81 ... 6.2 J2EE Infrastructure ... 84 ... 6.3 Creating a Web Service for Validating XML Documents ... 85 ... 6.4 Using Web Services through ABAP ... 93 ... 6.5 Discussing the Solution ... 96 7. Real-Life Scenarios ... 99 ... 7.1 Designing Technical Processes ... 99 ... 7.2 DP Concept of the Process ... 102 ... 7.3 Regression Tests ... 105 A. Sample Scenarios ... 107 ... A.1 Sample Master Data Exchange Process ... 107 ... A.2 Invoicing via cXML ... 113 B. Bibliography ... 117 Index ... 119