The 10 Best Abap Books You Should Read In 2022

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If you’re looking for a good book on Abap, look no further!

We’ve compiled a list of the best books on the subject, so you can learn everything there is to know about this growing field.

One way to keep up with new and improved coding techniques is to learn from the best.

ABAP is going nowhere and is here to stay. So it is always a good practice to adapt around it and expand your knowledge, for example, with SAP HANA or ABAP Objects and other possible interfaces to stay relevant and knowledgeable.

So, in no specific order, we reviewed ten top related books that you will find very interesting and insightful.

1. ABAP Objects: ABAP Object-Orientated Programming ???

You are an experienced coder and need some expansion and want to start thinking wider and outside the box. Then you are ready to attempt the world of object-orientated programming and ABAP Objects. Alternatively, it would help if you had a refresher to stay on track and possibly pick up on a few newer techniques.

We think starting with this book will be best if you want to move from procedural to object-oriented programming and need to start with the concepts first with good practical examples. Then, download the sample code for practice at your leisure. First, however, you need to be familiar with ABAP as it is not for entry-level programmers.

This excellent book will give a good understanding of OOP within ABAP and assist with the evolution concepts. The layout is clear and consists of a stepped chronological flow, starting with the what and explaining the how. This book comes highly recommended, and It is worth being on our top ten list.

Object-oriented programming is well supported within SAP ABAP runtime. In addition, many SAP features use the OOP approach, for example, BADI and ALV Grid OOP. Therefore, every SAP ABAP developer must familiarize themselves with object-oriented programming to stay current.

2. ABAP Development for SAP HANA ??

This valuable book made it to our top ten list because it is directed at expanding the ABAP programmer knowledge into the SAP HANA sphere. It is a step-by-step guide to building SAP HANA-optimized ABAP applications. You will use code-to-data programming techniques within the SAP HANA paradigm.

Start to explore SAP HANA architecture and set up dev environments with SAP HANA Studio and ABAP Tools. After that, you will create, execute, and manage SAP HANA database procedures and model SAP HANA data using different views.

In addition, move into backend programming with, for example, ABAP Database Connectivity and procedures, SQL-Script, and other services. Finally, after coding your apps, you will learn to maintain them with runtime statistics, traces, and code analysis. This book has excellent concept explanations and precise topics.

Did you know? SAP HANA is a unique and one of the fastest DBMS available. It is available in the cloud and on-premises. An in-memory database (IMDB) stores data in the main memory (RAM). SAP HANA’s design enables data in-memory as a priority and uses other storage options only to balance performance and cost.

3. ABAP: An Introduction and Beginner’s Guide ?

We chose this book as it is not often you find training courses or technical books that speak to the beginner student. Typically, they jump ahead, assuming the learner is knowledgeable. This book fills that gap perfectly, a proper beginner’s guide for SAP ABAP programming.

First, you will find tremendous value in the ABAP language basics and code syntax. You will also learn to use variables and constants, add binary logic, and create interfaces. After that, you will move into backend programming using the ABAP data dictionary to create, process, and store database objects.

In addition, you will delve into error handling and work with strings, texts, dates, and currencies. Finally, with examples, step instructions, and ABAP code, you will write your first program in no time. So, if you want to embark on an ABAP programming career, this is where you can start.

If you are a junior or novice programmer or want to start an ABAP career, this may sound very high-level, but don’t despair. This book is to allow you to take the first step in programming. In addition, ABAP is a high-level programming language and not that difficult. What is essential is to learn good, clean-coding habits from day one.

4. ABAP Cookbook: Programming Recipes for Everyday Solutions

Let us focus on the seasoned ABAP developer. This book will transform the ABAP chef into a fine-dining guru with new techniques and programming recipes in ABAP Objects and ABAP/4. In addition, it will answer typical ABAP programming problems by addressing persistence and interface programming.

Expand on your ABAP skills, starting with minor identifiable problems and progressing to more complex recipe solutions with some tasty desserts added to the menu. The accessible reading format, code examples, and screenshots will guide you to master modern best practice techniques in problem-solving.

The author created a complete guide that touches many topics in a higher grade but understandable fashion—a good combination of theory and technical practices covering problem-solving techniques with instructive icons. If we had to choose a winner of this book list, it would be in the top three.

As a 4th generation language, ABAP does not have versions, but new concepts and features are added constantly. Therefore, it is imperative to stay up to date with training sessions and books to stay abreast of the ever-evolving programming technologies.

5. SAP: SAP ABAP: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

You are getting this book as a good starting point if you are familiar with ABAP programming but want a good foundation knowledge in SAP ABAP high-level language. It is a tutorial book that starts with the basics allowing you to progress into software development.

You will always refer to this book as you progress in your career. It covers all the required SAP ABAP topics with screenshots and detailed descriptions to answer most beginner questions and create a good understanding of the concepts of this language.

We included this tutorial paperback in our top ten list for the novice or potential super programmer to kickstart a career equipped with the needed and most important fundamentals of SAP ABAP. This book is an excellent read.

For the ABAP beginner: ABAP is the abbreviation of advanced business application programming and is the 4^th generation of the high-level programming language created by SAP to enable large corporations to customize their SAP ERP platform.

6. Practical Guide to SAP ABAP

We love practice makes perfect books, and this book falls in that category. It is a practical guide to SAP ABAP for ABAP professionals. So, not for the novice or beginner, it has two parts where it firstly provides and refreshes ABAP basics. Part two goes into methods for traditional ABAP functionalities and procedures.

Once you have worked through this book, you will know about SAP directories, SAP data dictionaries, SAP transactions, and tables vs. Z-tables, to name a few. It also dives into SAP debugger combined with development techniques and tips inclusive of navigating ALV grid lists.

The practical examples and tips with screenshots can be helpful as a reference later to troubleshoot potential issues. Both books will be beneficial to better understanding SAP ABAP and provide an excellent basis to develop and expand from there. We just had to have it on our list.

It touches on many subjects and attempts to broaden the reader’s SAB ABAP knowledge view. The more detail you know, the better your conceptional designs will be. Therefore you may then include relevant features for sustainability and practicality.

7. ABAP Debugging for Functional Consultants

Ask any programmer, coding is fun, but it can be stressful and time-consuming to debug problems. This Kindle version targets the novice debugger and will provide the essential basics of SAP ABAP debugging. You do not need to be a master or expert in SAP, as the focus is more on practical debugging methodologies.

In addition, it has screenshots in the stepped debugging guides and practical exercises. Note that all the examples are in the S/4HANA 1709 version, but most are compatible with ECC. Furthermore, the author made an effort to use standard SAP tables, programs, and modules in the examples to benefit the novice learner.

It is best to install Kindle App when working through this booklet, as it will help to copy code sections and paste them to your SAP work screens. However, debugging is an integral part of developer functions. With its explicit content, this book is a must-have guide for beginner-debuggers. Thus, it practically moved itself to our top ten list.

In addition, a helpful tool is the ABAP Debugger. You can step through running programs and stop and execute their code line by code line or section-by-section. At the same time, you can display the relevant source and contents of the data objects in detail.

8. New ABAP Language features in ABAP 7.4 and 7.5

We live in an ever-evolving IT technological world, and programming languages are not excluded from this adaptation strive. However, you need to run to keep up, and as time is of the essence, you need to learn precise and valuable information. This book provides that, just helpful info with no fluff.

You will be confronted with the new ABAP 7.4 and 7.5 language features, including new commands and constructs. In addition, it has ample examples that are always welcome to explain and clarify the newly available techniques and constructs.

We decided to include this book on our list because of its adaptability to the novice and seasoned ABAP developer with lean-on-point introductions of the new features and good practical examples. In addition, this book will be money well spent as you will use this book as a quick reference guide till way in the future.

All programmers need to attend training sessions or read books such as this to keep updated with new features and techniques within ABAP. New functionality features can enhance your programming skills and modernize your programs.

9. SAP ABAP List Viewer

So, you are well on your way with ABAP OOP but need to master the SAP List Viewer for more efficient structured datasets displays, and then this is for you. To be a master programmer, you need to master all APIs, and ALV is an important one to download and rearrange data.

This book has detailed information on using SAP ALV effectively and efficiently, such as adding editable fields and events. In addition, you will learn how to write a basic ALV program. It consists of detailed training scenarios and tips that you can implement and adapt in your workplace.

Two ALV types are covered, namely, control framework and function modules. You will learn when to use OOP techniques and when to adjust existing ALV programs with superb practical examples quickly. As APIs are crucial to programming, we thought it best to include this book on our list.

10. Clean ABAP: A Style Guide for Developers

We can write a whole article on this book and the importance of clean code as many developers often overlook it. But, in addition, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Thus, the clean-up of code is either not done or postponed indefinitely. Well, this book provides excellent information on clean ABAP code.

It is full of best practices, straight from the three expert authors, to help you write effective ABAP code. The book structure and layout will guide you through the when, what, why, and how to apply ABAP best practices. In addition, each concept is backed with detailed, explained examples.

You will learn to improve your code by using classes and interfaces appropriately and running unit tests. The best part is that the examples will allow you to see clean ABAP practices in real life and identify messy code simultaneously. In addition, they also discuss troubleshooting and testing throughout.

We can’t emphasize the importance of good clean code enough. Therefore, we had to make space for this Clean-ABAP-Guide on our top ten list. Good programming is good code, and good code is efficient applications. You will also learn best practices while developing using clean ABAP coding.

Frequently Asked Questions ??

❓What is a lock object in ABAP?

Lock Object is an ABAP Dictionary feature that synchronizes multiple programs’ access to the same data. Specific programs access data records to prevent data inconsistency. Lock objects are used in SAP when data is inserted into or changed in the database.

❓How many types of views are there in ABAP?

There are four views. The projection view retrieves some fields from a single table. The help view to search help options. The database view is the inner join view of one or more tables. Finally, the maintenance view helps create and maintain data of the application object.

❓What buffer types are in SAP ABAP?

Repository Buffers, Table Buffers, Program Buffer, SAPgui Buffers, Roll and Paging Buffers, SAP Calendar Buffer, SAP Cursor Cache.

❓How many types of tables are there in SAP ABAP?

Transparent Tables, Pooled Tables, Cluster Tables.

❓Is SAP HANA in the cloud or premise?

Both. SAP HANA can be on-premises or in the cloud.  

❓What does an ABAP developer do?

ABAP is a programming language that accommodates the development of business applications within SAP landscapes. The ABAP developer is the connection between business and software development.

❓What is the difference between SAP ABAP and SAP HANA?

The main difference is that HANA is an in-memory or cloud database, and ABAP is primarily coding.