Implementing Database Updates Using Business Objects

Question 1

What is a business object in the ABAP RESTful application programming model?

Answer 1

A business object defines an entity, like a travel agency, with CDS views defining its structure and behavior definitions specifying operations like create, update, and delete, along with validations and actions.

Question 2

What does the behavior definition of a business object describe?

Answer 2

the allowed standard operations (e.g., create, update, delete) and defines checks (validations) performed when data is created or changed.

Question 3

What does the behavior implementation of a business object contain?

Answer 3

The actual specific code for validations, determinations, and actions, as well as code for standard operations depending on the implementation scenario.

Question 4

How is the behavior implementation of a business object structured?

Answer 4

The behavior implementation consists of one or more ABAP classes. The global class is declared in the behavior definition, and the actual coding is contained in a local class within the global class definition.

Question 5

What is a validation in the context of a business object?

Answer 5

A validation is a check performed by the runtime when data is changed. It ensures data correctness during record creation or modification based on defined triggers and conditions.

Question 6

What is the purpose of the behavior definition’s link to the database table?

Answer 6

The link between the behavior definition and the database table specifies how the data is stored and managed, including information about active data, drafts, locking, authorization checks, and concurrency control.

Question 7

What is the behavior pool in the context of a business object?

Answer 7

The behavior pool refers to the global class that serves as the container for the behavior implementation of a business object. It is declared in the behavior definition and contains the actual coding specific to the business object’s behavior.

Question 8

What is a Business Service in the ABAP RESTful application programming model?

Answer 8

A Business Service is a way to consume a Business Object, typically through an OData UI Service for an SAP Fiori Application.

Question 9

What is Entity Manipulation Language (EML)?

Answer 9

a set of ABAP statements used to access Business Objects from inside ABAP code.

Question 10

Why should a Business Object not be consumed directly?

Answer 10

consumers should access Business Object Projections (BO Projections) and Business Object Interfaces (BO Interfaces) to ensure stability and encapsulation.

Question 11

What is a BO Projection?

Answer 11

a service-specific projection of a Business Object, specifying a subset of its data and operations available through the service.

Question 12

What is a BO Interface?

Answer 12

A BO Interface provides stable access to a Business Object’s data and operations, typically released for use in other software components. Accessing a BO Interface is recommended for ABAP code using EML.

Question 13

How can you identify a BO Projection or BO Interface?

Answer 13

BO Projections start with the keyword “projection” in their behavior definitions, while BO Interfaces start with the keyword “interface”.

Question 14

What is the naming convention for BO Projections, BO Interfaces, and BO Definitions in SAP developments?

Answer 14

BO Projections <namespace>C_<...>,</namespace>

BO Interfaces <namespace>I_<...></namespace>

BO Definitions <namespace>R_<...>.</namespace>

Question 15

What is EML?

Answer 15

EML, or Entity Manipulation Language, consists of statements used to manipulate the data of a business object.

Question 16

How do you read data from a business object using EML?

Answer 16

To read data from a business object, you use the READ ENTITIES statement, specifying the keys of the data you want to read and the results of the query.

Question 17

What are the key components of the READ ENTITIES statement?

Answer 17

The READ ENTITIES statement includes parameters for the keys of the data to be read and the result set, along with the addition of fields to specify which fields of the business object are required.

Question 18

What is the purpose of the TYPE TABLE FOR READ IMPORT in EML?

Answer 18

The TYPE TABLE FOR READ IMPORT contains the key field(s) of the business object and %control structure to indicate which fields are used in the operation.

Question 19

How is data updated in a business object using EML?

Answer 19

Data is updated using the MODIFY ENTITIES statement with the UPDATE addition, specifying the fields to be changed and the internal table containing the updated data.

Question 20

What is the function of the COMMIT ENTITIES statement in EML?

Answer 20

The COMMIT ENTITIES statement triggers the save sequence to persist data changes made outside the business object in the database, but it’s not necessary nor allowed inside the behavior implementation of the business object.

Question 21

What operations can be performed using EML?

Answer 21

EML supports operations such as reading data with the READ ENTITIES statement and modifying data with the MODIFY ENTITIES statement (UPDATE, CREATE, DELETE).

Question 22

What determines the operations that can be performed with EML?

Answer 22

The operations allowed by EML depend on the behavior definition of the business object interface. Direct usage of prohibited operations results in syntax errors.

Question 23

How are internal tables declared in EML?

Answer 23

Internal tables are declared using the TYPE TABLE FOR <operation> addition in the DATA statement, where <operation> specifies the operation (e.g., READ IMPORT, READ RESULT, UPDATE).</operation></operation>

Question 24

What is contained in the TYPE TABLE FOR READ RESULT in EML?

Answer 24

The TYPE TABLE FOR READ RESULT contains all fields of the business object and is used to hold the result set after executing a READ ENTITIES statement.

Question 25

How is data updated in the transactional buffer using MODIFY ENTITIES in EML?

Answer 25

Data is updated in the transactional buffer using MODIFY ENTITIES with the UPDATE addition, specifying the fields to be changed and the internal table containing the updated data.

Question 26

In our scenario, what is coded in a behavior implementation?

Determinations
Validations
Update

Answer 26

Determinations
Validations

That’s right. Validations and determinations are coded in the behavior implementation. But In the managed implementation scenario, the framework takes care of the standard operations create, update and delete.

Question 27

What does the TYPE TABLE FOR UPDATE declaration represent in EML?

Answer 27

TYPE TABLE FOR UPDATE is a special data type used to declare internal tables in EML, representing data to be updated in the transactional buffer. It contains all fields of the business object along with the %control structure.