BASIS Understanding SAP ITS - Internet Transaction Server

Understanding SAP ITS - Internet Transaction Server

The SAP Internet Transaction Server (ITS) is the essential link between the SAP R/3 system and the Internet. It enables Internet (and Intranet) users to communicate directly between R/3 system to run R/e transactions, remote enabled function modules and reports as Internet applications components. The ITS is one of the cornerstones of SAP's mySAP.com offerings and strategy and integrated into the SAP 6.10 Web Application Server release. The ITS is the key technology behind the following products: Workplace, Employee Self-Service (ESS), Enterprise Buyer Professional (EBP), BW 2.0 Interface, Online Store and Retail Store, and the APO Interface. There are many other SAP products and applications that are based on ITS technology to interface from the Web to SAP R/3.

SAP ITS can handle complementary Web technologies to access data from SAP R/3:

- SAP GUI for Html: SAP transaction screens are dynamically converted to HTML pages

- Web transactions: SAP transactions that can be called from an HTML page (template based mode)

- Web remote function call (RFC): SAP R/3 function module that can be called from an HTML page

- Web reporting: Mechanism for linking to SAP reports and regenerated lists from an HTML page. Web reporting is implemented as a special-case RFC.

- ITS Flow Logic: Events, statuses, and modes used to model the dialog logic of a Web application in "flow files" on the SAP ITS.

SAP R/3 data is accessed via BAPI or RFC. Access to external data providers is also possible.

SAP's Internet applications are known as Internet Application Components (IAC) or Easy Web Transactions (EWT). Both are complete business solutions that allow Internet and Intranet users to access business information in the SAP R/3 system by starting transactions, function modules, and reports from a Web browser. All IACs or EWTs are based on a common infrastructure consisting of two essential components.

SAP Internet Transaction Server (ITS) - The ITS is the interface between the Internet and R/3 and is the runtime engine that links Web server to the R/3 Application server.

ABAP workbench tool - Web Application Builder and/or SAP@Web Studio - WAB is an R/3 ABAP workbench tool and SAP@Web Studio is a PC tool for creating, modifying and managing all ITS objects on which IACs or EWTs are based. These objects include service files, HTML Templates and HTRC language resource files.

The ITS solution to developing Internet applications is based on the premise that there is already a suitable business application solution, which has a stock of transactions, function modules and reports, as well as its own integrated development environment. All that is needed to enable Internet users to access and run these applications is an interface to the Internet. Apart from the general advantages derived from making SAP R/3 business information available over the internet, the ITS solution has many benefits.

These include:

• Ease of development - Programmers can develop IACsEWTs using a business application system (R/3), development environment (ABAP Workbench) and a programming language (ABAP), with which they are already familiar. There is also integrated data dictionary support from the ABAP Dictionary and appropriate transaction handling.
• Ease of deployment - The ITS solution supports internationalization of applications.
• Ease of use - ITS based IACs and EWTs have the same look and feel as any other Web site.

The separation of programming tasks from the visual design aspects is desirable, because both require different skills. In the ITS scenario, the ABAP programmer develops the application in ABAP using the ABAP Workbench in the SAP R/3 system and the user interface specialist handles the design and navigation aspects of the application with design languages like HTML and SAP's HTML Business in either the SAP@Web studio or ABAP Workbench tool, Web Application Builder. The aim is to create applications that send documents back to the Web browser client in plain HTML format, since this format can be handled by all major browsers. This is important in an environment like the Internet where there is often little control you can exert over client software such as Web browsers. Fit can be controlled; you can also use Dynamic HTML, Java applets, JavaScript, and VBScript in you HTML templates, because the script language is transparent to the ITS.