ABAP: An Introduction (First Edition) (SAP PRESS)

Good thing I have a programming background - there are so many errors in the examples that I found it hard to follow.

Writing an ABAP for beginners book in 2016 is a challenging and possibly ungrateful task. Someone entering the SAP world today would have to deal with a lot of history (and possibly some very 1999ish systems to maintain) while being constantly bombarded by new technologies, some of which may be abandoned just as fast as they came about. Somehow Brian managed to write a book perfectly suitable exactly for the current state of the SAP world.To be honest, ABAP has never been a good first programming language. If you have no knowledge of computer science of programming whatsoever you might want to start with something simpler. But if you find yourself thrown into the SAP world (voluntarily or not) this book will provide great instruction and a solid base for your learning.This book covers all the bases, starting with the IDES setup and walks you through all the steps needed to develop a simple application. You will learn about the database and UI concepts, obsolete statements (and why they still matter) and find some solid development advice. All this is packed in relatively small volume, which makes even the paper book handy and convenient to use.Another potential audience for this book would be the ABAPers who, like me, have been around for years but not necessarily had either opportunity or motivation to learn newer techniques or OO ABAP. Fellas, if you feel like you’ve been writing the same code for years but Paul Hardy’s books seem way too far out - this is the book for you. You will find that it allows to ease into the subjects you might not be comfortable with (yet), such as ABAP Objects or Eclipse IDE.While written for the beginners, the book does not slip into the cutesy “dear little friend” style. So you will not outgrow it easily and will reach for it as a quick reference for years to come.Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary book copy by the publisher but the review was not required or expected to be positive. I’m grateful Brian wrote such great book that wasn’t boring to read and showed me how much I still need to learn even after doing ABAP for 10 years.

I started in the ABAP world around 16 years ago...and my first thought after seeing an R/3 screen was "I want to work for that company"...of course...my second thought was "This ABAP looks so weird"...anyway...after 11 years I managed to work for ABAP and funnily enough...for the almost 5 years that I have working with them...I have barely touched ABAP...ABAP is a language that I truly love and admire...it's just awesome...When I got my myself the chance of reading this book I was completely trilled...just an opportunity to go back to my roots and learn ABAP for the second time...This book is just awesome...I wish it was available by the time I was learning ABAP...it explains everything in a very simple and concise way...focusing on the important stuff and as a bonus...you get to build a really nice project that involves most of the things that would use if working for a client...Obviously...being an ABAP veteran myself...I knew most the stuff...but I gladly discovered some new features that are really cool...and now I'm glad that I know them and could use if I have the change to write new ABAP applications...If you have never heard of ABAP but are curious...or if you're just starting on this fascinating book...you should really...and I mean really...read this book...Disclaimer: I received this book free from SAP PRESS as part of their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions I’ve expressed are my own.

Learning how to develop applications using ABAP technology can be quite a challenge. Unlike other mainstream languages out there (e.g. Java, Python, etc.), learning ABAP is not as simple as downloading an SDK, pick up a book, and start coding through examples in a weekend. Indeed, before you ever start coding in ABAP, you must have at least a basic understanding of the AS ABAP platform, the proprietary development tools SAP uses, and so forth.Though there are many books out there written about ABAP, I’ve yet to encounter a starting guide as cohesive as Getting Started with ABAP. This book does an excellent job introducing developers to the world of ABAP, blending basic ABAP language concepts with practical use cases, best practices, and perhaps most importantly, context. By context, I’m referring to those elements of ABAP which have changed over the years but still show up in legacy code (and sadly new code written using out-of-date practices). For new developers, it’s vital to have this background to be able to learn ABAP the right way and not pick up bad habits.Like many consulting firms out there looking to grow their team, I’m always on the lookout for materials to help our developers quickly come up to speed in ABAP. This is especially true now as more and more developers flood into the SAP development landscape to support newer technologies such as SAPUI5/Fiori, HCP, and HANA. In our case, we’re usually dealing with seasoned developers who are just new to ABAP. For us, this guide is a perfect launching point for getting new developers plugged in. It’s concise, informative, accessible, and reads well (not like some of those regurgitated manuals you see out there). So, if you’re looking to get started in ABAP, I strongly recommend you give this book a try.

This book really is the perfect guide if you want to learn to program with ABAP in a short period of time. I'll recommend this guide to anyone!

Un buen libro para introducirte al mundo de abap, es bastante introductorio, si ya sabes abap basico busca otro libro, este comienza desde como definir variables, estructuras, creación tablas, programas, etc. Para principiantes está muy bien pero se queda corto para personas que ya conocen algo de abap. Para programadores que vienen de C#, java, etc, etc. podría ser util para conocer los conceptos basicos, pero no esperen tener un conocimiento tan profundo.