The SAP ADO.NET Data Provider enables user to easily connect to SAP data from .NET applications. Straightforward SAP ERP integration. Now accessing SAP RFC's from .NET applications is as easy as querying SQL Server.
SAP .NET Connectivity Features
- SQL-92 access to SAP R/3, NetWeaver, and ERP / ECC 6.0 data
- Compatible with distributed SAP systems and dedicated or custom application servers
- Connect to live SAP ERP/NetWeaver data, for real-time data access with the SAP ERP/NetWeaver ODBC Driver
- Full support for data aggregation and complex JOINs in SQL queries
- Secure connectivity through modern cryptography, including TLS 1.2, SHA-256, ECC, etc.
- Seamless integration with leading BI, reporting, and ETL tools and with custom applications via the SAP Connector.
Target Service, API
The driver supports SAP ECC version 6+, SAP BW, SAP ERP, SAP /4 and SAP S/4 Hana on-premise. For SAP S/4HANA Cloud, use CData SAP Gateway Drivers.
Schema, Data Model
SAP Tables: SAP Tables are exposed as views automatically via the TableMode connection property. If you know exactly which SAP Tables you want to work with, you can specify them via the Views connection property, which overrides TableMode. BAPIs and RFCs: BAPIs and RFCs are exposed directly as stored procedures. By default, all RFCs starting with the keyword BAPI are displayed as an available stored procedure. SAP Queries: SAP Queries are also exposed as views, but they are turned off by default.
Key Objects
SAP Tables such as, Customer (KNA1, BUS1006), Sales Order (VBAK, VBAP, BUS2032), Purchase Order (EKKO, EKPO, BUS2012), GL Account (SKA1, BUS3006). BAPI such as BAPI_SALESORDER_*, or BAPI_CUSTOMER_*.
Operations
SELECT operations with filtering and JOINS are supported. Write operations through BAPI and RFC can be executed. User will need to enable RFC for the module user wants to use in CData Drivers.
Authentication
NetWeave, CLASSIC, CLASSIC_Unicode, SOAP are availabe as Connection Type. ApplicationServer, GroupServer are aviable as Connection Scheme.
Specific feature or properties
Specific RFCs are needed to use the driver, such as DDIF_FIELDINFO_GET,RFC_GET_FUNCTI ON_INTERFACE,RFC_READ_TABLE,SLDAG_CHECK_FOR_UNICODE etc. And you will need to pre-set RFCs.
See what you can do with SAP ADO.NET provider
Use SAP from SQL Server Analysis Service (SSAS) multi-dimensional cubes. Keep your analytical data modeling and access to any source including cloud and on-premises.
The SAP ADO.NET Provider allows developers to build applications that connect to SAP using familiar SQL and Entity Framework. Integrate SAP to your mission -critical applications or create easy side-by-side applications.
You can connect from ADO.NET compliant low-code development tools:
You can connect SAP from .NET-based reporting and analytics tools:
Standard ADO.NET Access to SAP
The SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider offers the most natural way to access SAP data from any .NET application. Simply use SAP ERP Data Provider objects to connect and access data just as you would access any traditional database. You will be able to use the SAP ERP Data Provider through Visual Studio Server Explorer, in code through familiar classes, and in data controls like DataGridView, GridView, DataSet, etc.
The CData ADO.NET Provider for SAP ERP hides the complexity of accessing data and provides additional powerful security features, smart caching, batching, socket management, and more.
Working with DataAdapters, DataSets, DataTables, etc.
The SAP ERP Data Provider has the same ADO.NET architecture as the native .NET data providers for SQL Server and OLEDB, including: SAPConnection, SAPCommand, SAPDataAdapter, SAPDataReader, SAPDataSource, SAPParameter, etc. Because of this you can now access SAP data in an easy, familiar way.
For example:
using (SAPConnection conn = new SAPConnection("...")) {
string select = "SELECT * FROM MARA";
SAPCommand cmd = new SAPCommand(select, conn);
SAPDataAdapter adapter = new SAPDataAdapter(cmd);
using (adapter) {
DataTable table = new DataTable();
adapter.Fill(table);
...
}
}
ADO.NET Provider Performance
With traditional approaches to remote access, performance bottlenecks can spell disaster for applications. Regardless if an application is created for internal use, a commercial project, web, or mobile application, slow performance can rapidly lead to project failure. Accessing data from any remote source has the potential to create these problems. Common issues include:
- Network Connections - Slow network connections and latency issues are common in mobile applications.
- Service Delays - Delays due to service interruptions, resulting in server hardware or software updates.
- Large Data - Intentional or unintentional requests for large amounts of data.
- Disconnects - Complete loss of network connectivity.
The CData ADO.NET Provider for SAP ERP solves these issues by supporting powerful smart caching technology that can greatly improve the performance and dramatically reduce application bottlenecks.
Smart Caching
Smart caching is a configurable option that works by storing queried data into a local database. Enabling smart caching creates a persistent local cache database that contains a replica of data retrieved from the remote source. The cache database is small, lightweight, blazing-fast, and it can be shared by multiple connections as persistent storage.
Caching with our ADO.NET Providers is highly configurable, including options for:
- Auto Cache - Maintain an automatic local cache of data on all requests. The provider will automatically load data into the cache database each time you execute a SELECT query. Each row returned by the query will be inserted or updated as necessary into the corresponding table in the cache database.
- Explicit Cache - Cache only on demand. Developers decide exactly what data gets stored in the cache and when it is updated. Explicit caching provides full control over the cache contents by using explicit execution of CACHE statements.
- No Cache - All requests access only live data and no local cache file is created.
This powerful caching functionality increases application performance and allows applications to disconnect and continue limited functioning without writing code for additional local storage and/or data serialization/deserialization.
More information about ADO.NET Provider caching and best caching practices is available in the included help files.
Visual Studio Integration & Server Explorer
Working with the new SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider is easy. As a fully-managed .NET Data Provider, the SAP ERP Data Provider integrates seamlessly with the Visual Studio development environment as well as any .NET application.
As an ADO.NET Data Provider, SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider can be used to access and explore SAP ERP/NetWeaver data directly from the Visual Studio Server Explorer.
It's easy. As a standard ADO.NET adapter, developers can connect the Server Explorer to SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider just like connecting to any standard database.
- Add a new Data Connection from the Server Explorer and select the SAP ERP/NetWeaver Data Source
- Configure the basic connection properties to access your SAP ERP/NetWeaver account data.
Explore all of the data available! SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider makes it easy to access live SAP ERP/NetWeaver data from Visual Studio.
Developer Integration: Databind to SAP
Connecting Web, Desktop, and Mobile .NET applications with SAP ERP/NetWeaver is just like working with SQL Server. It is even possible to integrate SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider into applications without writing code.
Developers are free to access the SAP ERP ADO.NET Provider in whatever way they like best. Either visually through the Visual Studio Winforms or Webforms designers, or directly through code.
- Developers can connect the SAP ERP/NetWeaver Data Source directly to form components by configuring the object's smart
tags.
- Add a new Data Connection from the Server Explorer and select the SAP ERP/NetWeaver Data Source. Then, select the
feed, view, or services you would like to connect the object to.
Done! It's just like connecting to SQL Server.
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