Introduction to SAP ABAP Workbench

SAP ABAP Workbench is the collection of tools that are used by the ABAP developers to create various applications using ABAP language in the SAP ERP system. All the workbench tools are integrated with each other. The various tools are given as:

• ABAP Editor
• Data Dictionary
• Menu Painter
• Screen Painter
• Function Builder
• Debugger
• Object Navigator

It is the graphical programming environment that allows developers to develop, test, and run the ABAP programs in the SAP system.

ABAP workbench allows us to create a database table, view the fields, and browse the data within the tables using its one of the most popular tools, ABAP data dictionary. With the help of these Workbench tools, we can create programs, user interfaces, and can access the database information in the SAP system. The below diagram explains the work process of ABAP Workbench in SAP R/3 System architecture:

To access the ABAP workbench for the development, the menu path in SAP Easy access is given below:

Consider the below image:

In the above image, we can see that all the workbench tools are given under the Tools-> Development option. We can access these tools in two ways:

• Follow the given path and double click on the required tool. Or,
• Enter the transaction code (we will discuss further in this topic) given in front of each tool in the "Command Field." For example: To access the ABAP dictionary, we need to enter the SE11 code in the command field.

The ABAP Workbench Menu is divided into four sections:

1. Overview
2. Development
3. Test
4. Utilities

Features of ABAP Workbench

• The tools in the ABAP workbench are integrated together, which means if we double click on an object while working on a program, the workbench automatically launch that tool.
• In ABAP workbench, we work with the development packages and objects such as reports, transactions, function modules, screens, menus, etc.
• It is used to write the ABAP code to create the various applications, debug an application, performance analysis, maintain database objects, create Menus, etc.

ABAP Workbench Components/Tools

Below are some important development tools of the ABAP Workbench:

1. ABAP Data Dictionary: It is one of the most important tools of the workbench, which is used to create and manage the tables without redundancies. It can be directly accessed using the SE11 transaction code. The menu path for this is given below:

2. ABAP Editor: It is another important component of the ABAP Workbench, which is a source-code editing tool. The ABAP developers spend lots of time on this ABAP editor. It is the tool where we build all the logics and write/edit the code. It can be directly accessed using the SE38 transaction code. The menu path for this is given below:

3. Object Navigator: It is the main entry point of the ABAP workbench as it brings all the tools together and also creates an efficient environment for us to develop the programs. It can be used to organize programming applications in an integrated environment. It is the best-used tool when we need to develop large programs with many function modules and many screens as it provides an easy way to navigate between the applications. We can directly access it using the transaction code SE80. The menu path for this is given below:

4. Function Builder: It is most similar to the ABAP editor and allows us to access the entire SAP standard module.But its primary function is to define some specific tasks that can be accessed from other programs also. Such as, we can create interfaces using function builder. It can be directly accessed by using the SE37 transaction code. The menu path for this is given below:

5. Screen Painter: It is used to define the input screen, such as by using this, we can create our own GUI screen for the programs. It allows us to create the dictionary objects such as views, database table, etc. It can be accessed using the SE51 transaction code. The menu path for this is given below:

6. Menu Painter: Menu Painter is a tool, which is used to create the user interface for our program. It can generate the buttons, menu bar, icons, etc., or can customize the user menus which are given by default. We can also define whether a menu event should be triggered through the double mouse click or by pressing the enter key. It can be accessed directly by using the SE41 transaction code. The menu path for this is given below:

7. Class Builder: It is the same as a function builder and used to create class Objects. It can be directly accessed using the SE24 transaction code. The menu path for this is given below:

How to Start ABAP Workbench

The ABAP workbench can be accessed using two ways:

1. By logon to SAP GUI→ click on Tools from SAP Easy Access→Click on ABAP Workbench. Consider the below image:
   
2. By entering the transaction codes of particular tools of a workbench or enter the S001 code in the command field and press enter, which will open the ABAP Workbench.

Transaction Code

In SAP, each application/tool is assigned with a code, which is a combination of letters, or numbers, or both, such codes are called transaction codes. We can enter these codes in the command field, by which instead of following the complete menu path, we can directly access that tool.

Using these transaction codes, we can make our applications faster.

Below are some key points of transaction codes:

• The length of the transaction code can be up to 20 characters long.
• It must start with a letter.
• It should be entered into the command field to access it.

Consider the below image:

How to find the transaction code?

The transaction codes for each application are fixed, so we just need to enter these codes in the command field, and we can directly access that application.

There are two ways to find the transaction code:

1. If we are accessing an application:
   • Go to the System option from the Menu bar→ choose the Status from the dropdown:
     
   • A window will appear from where we can check the transaction code of that application:
     
2. If we are at the home page
   • Go to the Extras option → Choose the Settings from the dropdown:
     
   • A popup window will appear, click on the "Display Technical Names."