Differences between LSMW and BDCBatch Data Communication (BDC) is the oldest batch interfacing technique that SAP provided since the early versions of R/3. BDC is not a typical integration tool, in the sense that, it can be only be used for uploading data into R/3 and so it is not bi-directional. BDC works on the principle of simulating user input for transactional screen, via an ABAP program. Typically the input comes in the form of a flat file. The ABAP program reads this file and formats the input data screen by screen into an internal table (BDCDATA). The transaction is then started using this internal table as the input and executed in the background. In Call Transaction, the transactions are triggered at the time of processing itself and so the ABAP program must do the error handling. It can also be used for real-time interfaces and custom error handling & logging features. Whereas in Batch Input Sessions, the ABAP program creates a session with all the transactional data, and this session can be viewed, scheduled and processed (using Transaction SM35) at a later time. The latter technique has a built-in error processing mechanism too. Batch Input (BI) programs still use the classical BDC approach but doesnt require an ABAP program to be written to format the BDCDATA. The user has to format the data using predefined structures and store it in a flat file. The BI program then reads this and invokes the transaction mentioned in the header record of the file. Direct Input (DI) programs work exactly similar to BI programs. But the only difference is, instead of processing screens they validate fields and directly load the data into tables using standard function modules. For this reason, DI programs are much faster (RMDATIND - Material Master DI program works at least 5 times faster) than the BDC counterpart and so ideally suited for loading large volume data. DI programs are not available for all application areas. LSMW is an encapsulated data transfer tool. It can provide the same functionality as BDC infact much more but when coming to techinical perspective most the parameters are encapulated. To listout some of the differences : LSMW is basicaly designed for a fuctional consultant who do not do much coding but need to explore the fuctionality while BDC is designed for a technical consultant. LSMW offers different techinque for migrating data: Direct input ,BAPI,Idoc,Batch input recording. While bdc basically uses recording. LSMW mapping is done by SAP while in BDC we have to do it explicitly . LSMW is basically for standard SAP application while bdc basically for customized application. Coding can be done flexibly in BDC when compared to LSMW BAPI interface technology forms the basis for the following developments: Connecting: New R/3 components. These business object types and their BAPIs are described and stored in the Business Object Repository (BOR). BAPIs used for outbound processing are defined in the Business Object Repository (BOR) as API methods of SAP Interface Types.5A BAPIs can also describe interfaces. implemented outside the R/3 System that can be called in external systems by R/3 Systems. For further information see BAPIs Used For Outbound Processing. for example. . Functions implemented outside the R/3 System can be standardized and made available as BAPIs. that is stored and described in the Function Builder.BAPIs Definition A Business Application Programming Interface (BAPI) is a precisely defined interface providing access to processes and data in business application systems such as R/3. The target system is determined for the BAPI call in the distribution model of Application Link Enabling (ALE). A BAPI is implemented as a function module. Integration BAPIs can be called within the R/3 System from external application systems and other programs. BAPIs are the communication standard for business applications. Non-SAP software Legacy systems Isolating components within the R/3 System in the context of Business Framework Distributed R/3 scenarios with asynchronous connections using Application Link Enabling (ALE) Connecting R/3 Systems to the Internet using Internet Application Components (IACs) PC programs as frontends to the R/3 System. These BAPIs are known as BAPIs used for outbound processing. Visual Basic (Microsoft) or Visual Age for Java (IBM). BAPIs of SAP Business Object Types BAPIs are defined as API methods of SAP business object types. Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) and Business Information Warehouse (BW). BAPIs of SAP Interface Types As of Release 4. for example. one of these boats transfers data from one lake to another. Each lake (company) is filled with data. SAP R/3 is typical of enterprise platforms in that it forces its users to reconceptualize the way information is used in a company. flowing through the company like water. Workflow applications that extend beyond system boundaries Customers' and partners' own developments The graphic below shows how BAPI interfaces enable different types of applications to be linked together.Interfaces to the R/3 System For further background information on BAPIs refer to the document BAPI User Guide. . Occasionally. some connected. and data ceases to be treasure in the vault—it becomes a living thing. some not. boats venture from the shore to the middle of the lake for some data. Integration and data transport become the keywords. BAPIs . Consultants who have clients with SAP systems must be familiar with BAPIs and their role in an ERP system. usiness Application Program Interfaces allow developers to integrate third-party software into SAP's R/3 product. Occasionally. Think of the pre-ERP universe as a series of small lakes. IDocs are the barges. powerful ships and barges populate these waterways. There are several hundred of them. And Business Application Programming Interfaces—BAPIs—are the small. Think of a BAPI as a business object—say. For the SAP consultant. They can be used out of the box or modified to create new business objects specific to your client’s needs. It’s important to understand its role among them. It’s easy to confuse a BAPI with an IDoc (another central SAP data transport feature). and their role in designing applications. from posting sales orders to changing passwords. powerful ships that keep these barges of data moving. a master record.With the advent of ERP. in categories such as accounting. First in a series This is the first installment in a series that examines the significance of Business Application Programming Interfaces. such as an invoice. is the first practical step. Building canals for the client An understanding of how SAP changes the structure of a business is the first conceptual step in becoming an effective SAP consultant. human resources. a canal system—SAP R/3—is installed. BAPI is one of a set of tools at your disposal for interfacing with an SAP R/3 system. BAPI is the most powerful tool in the SAP consultant’s toolkit. and to have an idea of what each does in relation to the other. of which BAPI is the most central. from creating jobs in SAP to launching IDocs. A vast network of bidirectional waterways takes the place of the lakes. how to use them. and logistics. They perform a vast array of functions. such as a client profile. Small. keeping data in constant motion. or a transactional record. from listing employee benefits to tracking a shipment. The difference is that IDocs are about moving data between systems or modules. A solid knowledge of SAP’s data-handling mechanisms. Their place in SAP and your toolbox SAP R/3 arrives with a bundle of BAPIs ready for your immediate use. BAPIs are about calling data in and out of SAP in the first place. SAP Assistant . covers a great deal of ground. This. or they can be different platforms. If a BAPI is a ship pushing a barge (data). A BAPI is a business object. How do RFCs relate to BAPIs? An RFC is the means by which the business object represented by a BAPI is implemented.This stand-alone program is. of course. An RFC is a function module in a system that is called from some other system. and enabling you to create what you need (see Figure A). Its contents give you access to SAP R/3’s objects. the toolbox you carry with you as a hands-on SAP consultant. an RFC is . the engine of that ship is a Remote Function Call (RFC). allowing you access to what’s there. SAP Assistant holds your set of keys to SAP’s business objects. Most importantly. or an RFC may be used on the spot in real time by any party making an inquiry of an SAP system from the outside (including you. in essence. Figure A Where BAPI fits in among SAP automation components Remote Function Calls BAPI is ultimately a mechanism for getting data out of SAP R/3. The two systems can both be SAP. sitting at your laptop). All the information you need for setting up remote function calls from outside SAP is found here. the manner in which this mutates business processes. terms. . the hands-on skills to create applications become simple. as an SAP consultant. An IDoc is e. Another new language BAPI is. understand the dynamic nature of data handling in an SAP environment. and you must know it well. like many aspects of SAP R/3. This indicates a set of (electronic) information which builds a logical entity. the way in which BAPI and related tools interface with this new. the BOR describes the living cells of this new body. IDocs are simple ASCII data streams. or the IDoc is all the data of a single invoice. Their specification is stored in the data dictionary. The name “messages” for the information sent via IDocs is used in the same ways as other EDI standards. UNIX System. Cells come in many different types. and most importantly. Nowadays. Everybody who has ever dealt with interface programming. all the data of a single customer in your customer master data file. The BOR’s contents essentially define the implementing company’s business model. Once you understand these concepts. this means that data is coded in ASCII format. The typical structured file has records. Therefore. be it a PC. If an SAP R/3 system can be described as the animation of otherwise lifeless data. the IDocs are simple flat files with lines of text. each record starting with a leading string that identifies the record type. will find IDocs very much like the hierarchical data files used in traditional data exchange. .functional code. and tools a consultant must absorb to be effective. IDoc data is usually exchanged between systems and partners that are completely independent. the data should be transmitted in a format that can easily be corrected by the computer operators. However. The information which is exchanged by IDocs is called a message and the IDoc is the physical representation of such a message. S/390 or any internet browser. including numbers which are sent as a string of figures 0 to 9. It’s not overstating the case to say that the BOR is the core of SAP. it will rapidly be clear to even a less experienced consultant that these concepts are firmly rooted in the object-oriented methodology that is now every IT professional’s stock-in-trade. It is critical that you. and that’s what the BOR holds: all the different types of data comprising an SAP system of databases. as well as the defining information of all interfaces to other companies. living database. Such data can easily be read with any text editor on any computer. where the lines are structured into data fields. When they are stored to a disk file. IDocs is the acronym for Interchange Document. It is therefore mandatory to post the data in a human readable form.g. The Business Object Repository A great deal goes on in the Business Object Repository (BOR). another new lexicon of concepts. Macintosh. The information it holds includes the definitions of all business objects internal to the company. ALE The <b>ALE (Application Link Enabling)</b> concept available in R/3 (Release 3. RFC A remote function call (<b>RFC</b>) is the call of a function module that runs in an external system to the calling program. This functionality is achieved with the use of Idocs (Information Document) as opposed to the use of a centralised database. It incorporates the exchange of business information across these systems whilst ensuring consistency and integrity of the data.International standards like the ODETTE or VDA formats are designed in the same way as IDocs are. Non-R/3 applications never manipulate a Business Object directly. Although it is also possible to call a function module in the same system as an RFC. via BAPIs. They differ principally from the IDocs concept. like Postscript or HTML) to embed the data. RFC means remote function call.0) supports the development of applications across different SAP systems. It is always done indirectly. normally RFCs are used when the caller and the called function module do not run in the same system. BAPIs are a developer’s window to the wonderful world of R/3. BAPI <b>BAPI</b> At the encapsulated heart of the SAP Business Framework stand Business Objects and the beloved BAPI (Business Application Programming Interface). It is through this standard that SAP enforces stable interfaces to the business logic that is encapsulated by SAP Business Objects. All object data intended for usage outside R/3 must be passed through these specific methods on SAP Business Objects. these are the function modules which can help u to access across the sap and from sap to third party front end. In effect.g.12 or EDIFACT/UN are based on a data description language. . because they use a programming language syntax (e. Other EDI standards like XML. ANSI X. IDOC means intermediate document. These computers are likely to use different hardware and/or operating system platforms. during a shipping transaction process. IDocs are used for asynchronous transactions: Each IDoc generated exists as a selfcontained text file that can then be transmitted to the requesting workstation without connecting to the central database. one or more IDocs are generated in the sending database and passed to the ALE communication layer. A large enterprise's networked computing environment is likely to connect many geographically distributed computers to the main database. An IDoc encapsulates data so that it can be exchanged between different systems without conversion from one format to another. Explain to me about Idoc? IDoc (for intermediate document) is a standard data structure for electronic data interchange (EDI) between application programs written for the popular SAP business system or between an SAP application and an external program. which increases efficiency and decreases resource demands. IDocs serve as the vehicle for data transfer in SAP's Application Link Enabling (ALE) system. the Business Application Programming Interface (BAPI) is used for synchronous transactions. one is ALE. which can help u to carry the data from sap to nonsap. For example. ALE uses to tranfer the data across sap systems where as EDI uses to transfer the data from sap to third party front end. which may then be broken down into more specific categories called message types. BAPI means Business application programing interface which is the RFC enable function module and uses in OOPS concept. Another SAP mechanism. and second is EDI. such as purchase orders or invoices. an IDoc may be generated that includes the data fields required to print a shipping manifest. Greater specificity means that an IDoc type is capable of storing only the data required for a particular transaction. IDoc types define different categories of data. After a user performs an SAP transaction. The . An IDoc can be generated at any point in a transaction process. this is two types. date. An IDoc is an intermediate document used to send data in two ways. They provide more data security. .communication layer performs a Remote Function Call (RFC).here you have to enter the datas that you enter in the VA01 screen in order to create sales order. click execute. using the port definition and RFC destination specified by the customer model. In BW. R/2. In older version the hirerchies where loaded using IDOC transfer method. In that click basic type and enter order05(IDOC type) and select via message type then enter ORDERS(message type). which may be an R/3. You will get to see many fields. click existing IDOC and enter the IDOC which you created in the above step and just change the P. Next time when you create the IDOC.O no.Sytem will create new sales order through new IDOC Before doing all you need to maintain the partner profile in T code WE20. *-. The IDoc is transmitted to the receiver. you click standard inbound the IDOC would be created by the system.You can see the created order by going in to VA03 screen. when you create a Infosource you can select the transfer mode as PSA or IDOC.O no etc. Now its possible with PSA but still that method is available to load the hierarchies. P. After entering all the datas. IDoc is a transfer mode. An example in SD: For creating sales documents (sales order) through IDOCS you will have to use the T code WE19. For this Discuss with EDI consultant. The datas such as material name. in same tcode WE19 screen. Its the method provided for backward compatibility.Ashok What are the main advantages if IDOC? IDoc is the data Format used by the SAP in data transfer using ALE /EDI methods. qty. or some external system. that is internal and the external point for you.