4 Steps to Become an ABAP Programmer

Programming, coding, and development are all three words that refer to the same idea — the creation and modification of online platforms that help businesses thrive.

Systems Analysis Program Development (SAP) knew that programming would be a monumental leap forward in occupational and business growth, and they created their own programming language to reflect that. SAP development is a landmark in development for business applications.

SAP’s coding language is called Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP), and it allows an enterprising developer to tailor a business’s SAP experience down to the smallest details.

As a result, ABAP development careers often play to the strengths of thorough, detail-oriented individuals with a passion for creating innovative solutions through their skillsets. For many SAP developers, ABAP is just one of many programming languages they know, and they’re able to eloquently write in code the same way an author writes a novel.

So how can you become an SAP ABAP programmer? It breaks down into four simple steps that we’ll cover below.

We’ll start with the basics.

1. Understand SAP’s Fundamentals

Before you start learning ABAP, it’s crucial that you understand how SAP works as a platform.

The “SAP fundamentals” are a series of essential skills that every SAP specialist learns to become proficient with the baseline software. This allows someone to do the simple, everyday work that they’ll need to do, and it allows them to grow into the next phase of their SAP specialization.

This is why the fundamentals are so important. They set the stage for what you’ll learn next.

In terms of skills, you can expect SAP’s fundamentals to cover items like navigation, reporting, and the basics of SAP data structuring.

You’ll also learn some slightly more advanced skills than other specialties simply because of the nature of your work. After all, you’ll be changing and troubleshooting code that impacts the way that an entire business uses SAP. That’s no small feat, and you have to have a firm grasp of how the entire software works before you jump into ABAP.

2. Learn about ABAP

ABAP is an object-oriented coding language that was developed by SAP exclusively for use in their software. The language itself was created in response to SAP’s desire to do very unique, specific things with their product that other coding languages either couldn’t do well (or at all).

ABAP itself is construed from four base computing languages: Java, C, C++, and Python. So, if you already know one (or all) of these languages, it’s safe to say that you have a head start on ABAP code!

In terms of your SAP education, your ABAP curriculum will feature tasks like querying, modeling, testing, and more. You’ll also learn how to do all of these in relation to other teams in a single business, making you more versatile and a stronger asset to your organization.

In short, your ABAP curriculum will teach you how to do everything from building a new feature from scratch to setting the access permissions on a finished product.

Still, there’s a more important and more advanced skill that you have to master next — learning how your ABAP script will interact with other coding languages.

3. Learn How ABAP Interacts with Other Coding Languages

As we mentioned earlier, ABAP is derived from four existing coding languages, all of which are common throughout the development world.

Java is a remarkably versatile and powerful coding language that exists just about everywhere. It’s the primary language for Android devices, it powers server banks, and it’s responsible for powering all kinds of websites from WordPress blogs to government organizations.

C is a Windows, UNIX, and Linux language that is also used as an all-purpose solution to many coding challenges. C is in video games, calculation programs, graphics engines, and even video games.

Similarly, C++ is a coding language that is most frequently found in the video game industry. It’s also used for web browsers. In summary, the greatest strength of C++ is its ability to give control over hardware and CPU output when needed.

Finally, Python is primarily used for structuring data and executing that data in a pre-made sequence. Python is used in everything from library databases to machine-learning artificial intelligence. It’s also widely regarded as one of the easiest coding languages to learn.

So why is it important to know all of this?

The reason is that ABAP uses bits and pieces of these four programming languages in an incredibly powerful way. It’s able to use the strengths of each coding language to empower SAP ABAP developers to create something more than the languages combined. You choose the way you want something to function in your organization’s SAP interface, and you get to choose the best way to execute it.

Once you do, you can not only solve a problem that your business has — you can make the solution simple and streamlined like never before.

However, it’s important to note that writing script is only the first step in a long journey to finalizing a program.

The next step is debugging.

4. Understand the Debugging Process

Debugging is the process of testing your newly-written software, testing it for errors, identifying the causes of those errors, and fixing them.

Debugging is known in coding circles to be a long and arduous process, and it’s also one that can seem to come “back from the dead” once it’s completed.

This is why it’s so important to have a debugging process — it simplifies one of the most challenging parts of programming in general and ABAP programming in particular.

With the SAP debugging process in your arsenal of SAP ABAP knowledge, you can simplify, shorten, and improve your own debugging system for the best possible results.

Start Your Journey to Becoming an SAP ABAP Programmer

Are you ready to start on your way to becoming an SAP ABAP programmer?

We have the perfect solution for you!

Our proprietary curriculum will walk you through each of the four steps we mentioned above (and then some) so you can get all of the information, practice, and expertise to become an SAP ABAP programmer.

Is it time for you to take the next jump in your career? Start learning!