SAP data interface technology type

There are many technical types of SAP data interfaces, such as RFC, ALE/IDoc, RFC/BAPI, PI, and FTP. Below are several simple introductions:

RFC method: Java programs directly access SAP objects (or function functions) through RFC. SAP provides the Business Application Programming Interface (BAPI), which is a series of interfaces provided by the SAP system, it mainly enables third-party programs to use SAP through these interfaces, so that customers can easily customize certain programs. VB, Java, C, and C ++ can all access SAP through BAPI. BAPI is implemented through the RFC (Remote function call) function on the R/3 system. Because BAPI's powerful functions are the basis, SAP can choose Java to enhance various functions on CRM. For example, you can use Java to quickly develop a client that implements specific functions. For Java, SAP also provides an API called Java Connector (JCo), which can be used to conveniently call interfaces provided by BAPI. Example: in a project, you need to retrieve the supplier's consignment and non-consignment summary settlement data and detailed data from R3 each month, which are displayed on the supplier information platform, for supplier invoicing and Finance Department payment, a timer can be made to retrieve the settlement data at each month through RFC.

IDOC: IDoc (Intermediate Document), as its name implies, is a file used as an Intermediate media. Is a common standard format, which allows third-party software to process IDoc. IDOC is a standard data format for electronic data exchange between SAP systems or between SAP systems and external systems. IDOC is generated at any time during transaction processing. For example, after a shipping transaction is executed in the SAP system, a primary IDOC that prints the data required for the freight list may be generated, data is transmitted through the communication layer. One or more communication IDOC files are generated from the master IDOC. The communication layer performs remote function calls and sets the port and partner parameter (RFC link) to communicate with the other party. The IDOC receiver may be ECC, R/3, R/2, or some external systems. It is mainly used for data exchange between different SAP systems of the same enterprise. If an enterprise is relatively large, it will have multiple SAP systems. In light R/3, there may be several servers, plus BW, XI, EP, and more, this is where ALE is used. There are many such cases outside China. You can go to some SAP forums outside China and ask questions about ALE/IDoc every day.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is called Electronic Data exchange, which is used for the exchange of Electronic Data between different enterprises. For example, if you want to use DHL for delivery, you can directly notify DHL through EDI and provide feedback. Here, the IDoc complies with the EDI standard and must be converted using the EDI subsystem. Here we will talk about distributed. It sounds very mysterious. Simply put, due to server performance and geographical restrictions, a company cannot put all its businesses on one machine, so it is necessary to separate them. After the split, there will be several, dozens, or even hundreds of servers. Different machines store the relevant primary data, that is, the data on other servers must also be changed when the system changes the data on one server. If you do this manually, you can imagine the workload and risks, and then introduce ALE/IDoc. With this technology, the distributed master data can be automatically modified. As long as one machine changes, the system will automatically send a message to other related servers, saying, "Hello, let's update it together! ". Combined with the SAP Job technology, everything is automated. This is very useful for large cross-region companies! ALE/IDoc is a very practical technology. That is to say, the more you do, the more problems you encounter, and the more improvement you encounter. It is useless to use theory alone. Therefore, you must perform more operations to gain a deeper understanding and improvement.

XI mode: XI integration can be divided into two layers. The first layer is called IntegrationBroker, which exchanges data in the form of messages. The other layer is BPM, that is, business process management. In XI, data (one record can be used, for example, the primary data of a single item; multiple records can also be used, for example, the primary data of a supplier containing the details of the primary ticket) from a business system sent to another business system through XI, the former is called Sender, and the latter is called worker er. The Adapter converts the XI-XML format to a specific type of data format for the business system. Depending on the data format of the business system, the Adapter can be divided into multiple types, such as SOAPAdapter, JDBC Adapter, File Adapter, RFC Adapter, and IDoc Adapter. Generally speaking, SOAP + RFC means that SOAPAdapter is used between Sender and XI, and RFC Adapter is used between XI and Receiver.