As of SAP NetWeaver 04, ITS is now available being integrated into the
SAP NetWeaver component SAP Web Application Server 6.40 as an Internet
Communication Framework (ICF) service, which can, like other services, be
accessed through the Internet Communication Manager (ICM). With the ITS
integrated in the SAP Web Application Server, the web browser now communicates
directly with the SAP System. Furthermore, all ITS-related sources, such as
service files, HTML templates or MIME files, are now stored in the system's
database, similar to ABAP sources
SAP Web Application Server -
Next-Generation Web Application Platform
By Jens Hagen SAP AG
The Internet has rewritten the list of requirements that
today's corporate technological infrastructures have to meet. Professional
business applications crucially need a highly-scalable, reliable infrastructure
that supports open internet standards off the shelf. SAP Web Application Server,
a part of mySAP Technology, is SAP's response to these new requirements. SAP Web
Application Server offers a stable foundation for Web-centric, mission-critical
applications and Web Services. It is more than just a platform for mySAP.com
components. The new release 6.20 of SAP Web Application Server offers a fully
J2EE compliant environment for quickly developing and deploying dynamic,
collaborative Web applications and Web services. SAP's decade of experience in
application servers complements the J2EE standard with features that are
mandatory in a mission-critical business application environment and thus
provides the most reliable and proven Web Application Server today. With SAP Web
Application Server professional platform-independent business solutions,
leveraging J2EE are a reality.
SAP Web Application Server is the underlying technology for
all mySAP.com components (such as mySAP Customer Relationship Management, mySAP
Business Intelligence, and the forthcoming SAP R/3 Enterprise). It also offers a
wide range of services that enable extensive, global e-business solutions,
including a development environment, software logistics, security, and
connectivity. Building on the scalable and reliable SAP application server, SAP
Web Application Server delivers innovative, native Web technologies, a J2EE and
ABAP environment for architecting applications, and Web services for
business-to-business collaboration.
WAS Introduction
Enterprise Resource Management Technology is evolving at a rapid pace with professional business applications increasingly demanding a highly scalable, reliable infrastructure that can support open Internet standards, off the shelf. A Web Application Server serves all these purposes and delivers proven scalability and performance. It also supports Web technologies and open standards, such as HTTP, eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and Java (J2EE).
SAP Web Application Server (SAP WAS) is a platform for efficient development and allows you to implement Web applications. SAP Web Application Server is a crucial component of mySAP� Technology platform. It also paves the way for implementing �Web services�. WAS supports all releases of mySAP.com components (including ABAP language), any Java 2 Enterprise Edition and .NET platform. This article concentrates on using SAP WAS with Java components.
Overview of Business Server Pages (BSP)
SAP Web Application Server enables new Internet paradigms to be combined with the transactional operations of ERP. SAP supports the development and operation of both Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and ABAP-based Web applications and services.
The custom development of such applications start with the creation of an environment, which provides a set of carefully matched tools to support various applications, known as Web Applications Builder. It is an object-oriented, repository-based development environment using ABAP and/or JavaScript. It supports the complete development and lifecycle of enterprise applications, and allows a user to develop new kind of enterprise web applications known as BSP applications. The core parts of these applications are the Business Server Pages (acronym BSP) and MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) objects. The concept behind BSP is similar to that of ASP (Active Server Pages) or JSP (Java Server Pages) documents that can contain code and HTML, all of which is compiled by the server upon request. You have the choice whether to use ABAP or JavaScript in your BSP documents.
SAP�s Web application Server assimilates conventional Web technologies with new ones like Web Dynpro for the presentation logic of professional business web applications. In order to implement BSP Applications, it is important to gain an understanding of the SAP Web Application Server.
J2EE and ABAP in a Common Environment
J2EE and Java are generally accepted as the standard Web
programming technologies, and there is no shortage of related expertise.
Naturally, companies want to tap into this expertise and use it to build their
own e-business applications. SAP Web Application Server has both an ABAP and a
J2EE personality, supporting both programming environments in a common,
integrated infrastructure. That way, you not only protect the investments that
you have already made in ABAP applications and expertise, but you can also
channel the latest J2EE proficiency into future applications. For users and
applications, the integration is completely transparent, delivering a proven
e-business environment with native Java support for easy deployment,
straightforward installation and administration, coupled with full life-cycle
support for Java-based e-business components. All existing business objects and
interfaces can be used with both the J2EE and the ABAP environment, and new
applications will be built leveraging both environments. Now, the large base of
existing Java developers and J2EE software can be exploited easily. Using this
approach gives developers a single infrastructure that leverages the advantages
of both environments. This not only simplifies your IT infrastructure, it also
slices a considerable chunk off your operating costs. It provides companies with
the choice and flexibility to extend their solutions according to their
available development skills and technical constraints while supporting all
existing SAP applications.
�
Provision of Web Services
The SAP Web Application Server is the underlying
infrastructure for applications that offer Web services to users and other
applications either directly or through the portal and exchange infrastructure.
Web services provided through the SAP Web Application Server adhere to a common
set of open technical Internet standards that enable cooperation and
interoperability across different technical platforms. A professional
programming model with a development and runtime environment for building top
notch user-centric Web services ensure intuitive point-and-click and
state-of-the-art Web-based user interfaces. User-centric Web services clearly
separate layout (HTML) from data (XML), and thus provide automatic support of
multiple languages, personalization, and interface customization help to speed
up user-interface development. Application-centric Web services fully leverages
open standards like HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Extensible Markup
Language (XML), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Web Services Description
Language (WSDL), and Universal Discovery, Description, and Integration (UDDI)
providing customers with the opportunity to drive innovative, easy to change
business processes without the constraints of a proprietary infrastructure.
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Conclusion
With
the SAP Web Application Server, SAP brings the benefits of their proven
infrastructure - reliability, scalability, software logistics, change
management, platform independence, and business knowledge - to the J2EE world.
That way, you not only protect the investments that you have already made in
ABAP applications and expertise, but you can also channel the latest J2EE
proficiency into your applications. SAP Web Application Server supports all the
operating systems, and databases supported by SAP, freeing customers from
technological constraints and giving them the power to build the infrastructure
that best fits existing environment and individual needs. SAP Web Application
Server 6.20 will be available in the second quarter 2002 and be an integral part
of the mySAP.com e-business platform and any upcoming mySAP.com solution.
