Use Dash to Build to Web Apps on SAP Data

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems more effectively. With the CData Python Connector for SAP ERP, the pandas module, and the Dash framework, you can build SAP-connected web applications for SAP data. This article shows how to connect to SAP with the CData Connector and use pandas and Dash to build a simple web app for visualizing SAP data.

With built-in, optimized data processing, the CData Python Connector offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SAP data in Python. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAP, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to SAP Data

Connecting to SAP data looks just like connecting to any relational data source. Create a connection string using the required connection properties. For this article, you will pass the connection string as a parameter to the create_engine function.

You can connect to SAP systems using either librfc32.dll, librfc32u.dll, NetWeaver, or Web Services (SOAP). Set the ConnectionType connection property to CLASSIC (librfc32.dll), CLASSIC_UNICODE (librfc32u.dll), NETWEAVER, or SOAP.

If you are using the SOAP interface, set the Client, RFCUrl, SystemNumber, User, and Password properties, under the Authentication section.

Otherwise, set Host, User, Password, Client, and SystemNumber.

Note: We do not distribute the librfc32.dll or other SAP assemblies. You must find them from your SAP installation and install them on your machine.

For more information, see this guide on obtaining the connection properties needed to connect to any SAP system.

After installing the CData SAP Connector, follow the procedure below to install the other required modules and start accessing SAP through Python objects.

Install Required Modules

Use the pip utility to install the required modules and frameworks:

pip install pandas
pip install dash
pip install dash-daq

Visualize SAP Data in Python

Once the required modules and frameworks are installed, we are ready to build our web app. Code snippets follow, but the full source code is available at the end of the article.

First, be sure to import the modules (including the CData Connector) with the following:

import os
import dash
import dash_core_components as dcc
import dash_html_components as html
import pandas as pd
import cdata.saperp as mod
import plotly.graph_objs as go

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the connect function for the CData SAP Connector to create a connection for working with SAP data.

cnxn = mod.connect("Host=sap.mydomain.com;User=EXT90033;Password=xxx;Client=800;System Number=09;ConnectionType=Classic;Location=C:/mysapschemafolder;")

Execute SQL to SAP

Use the read_sql function from pandas to execute any SQL statement and store the result set in a DataFrame.

df = pd.read_sql("SELECT MANDT, MBRSH FROM MARA WHERE ERNAM = 'BEHRMANN'", cnxn)

Configure the Web App

With the query results stored in a DataFrame, we can begin configuring the web app, assigning a name, stylesheet, and title.

app_name = 'dash-saperpedataplot'

external_stylesheets = ['https://codepen.io/chriddyp/pen/bWLwgP.css']

app = dash.Dash(__name__, external_stylesheets=external_stylesheets)
app.title = 'CData + Dash'

Configure the Layout

The next step is to create a bar graph based on our SAP data and configure the app layout.

trace = go.Bar(x=df.MANDT, y=df.MBRSH, name='MANDT')

app.layout = html.Div(children=[html.H1("CData Extension + Dash", style={'textAlign': 'center'}),
	dcc.Graph(
		id='example-graph',
		figure={
			'data': [trace],
			'layout':
			go.Layout(title='SAP MARA Data', barmode='stack')
		})
], className="container")

Set the App to Run

With the connection, app, and layout configured, we are ready to run the app. The last lines of Python code follow.

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run_server(debug=True)

Now, use Python to run the web app and a browser to view the SAP data.

python saperp-dash.py

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData Python Connector for SAP ERP to start building Python apps with connectivity to SAP data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Full Source Code

import os
import dash
import dash_core_components as dcc
import dash_html_components as html
import pandas as pd
import cdata.saperp as mod
import plotly.graph_objs as go

cnxn = mod.connect("Host=sap.mydomain.com;User=EXT90033;Password=xxx;Client=800;System Number=09;ConnectionType=Classic;Location=C:/mysapschemafolder;")

df = pd.read_sql("SELECT MANDT, MBRSH FROM MARA WHERE ERNAM = 'BEHRMANN'", cnxn)
app_name = 'dash-saperpdataplot'

external_stylesheets = ['https://codepen.io/chriddyp/pen/bWLwgP.css']

app = dash.Dash(__name__, external_stylesheets=external_stylesheets)
app.title = 'CData + Dash'
trace = go.Bar(x=df.MANDT, y=df.MBRSH, name='MANDT')

app.layout = html.Div(children=[html.H1("CData Extension + Dash", style={'textAlign': 'center'}),
	dcc.Graph(
		id='example-graph',
		figure={
			'data': [trace],
			'layout':
			go.Layout(title='SAP MARA Data', barmode='stack')
		})
], className="container")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run_server(debug=True)