ballerinax/sap.jco Ballerina library

Overview

SAP is a global leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Beyond ERP, SAP offers a diverse range of solutions including human capital management (HCM), customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise performance management (EPM), product lifecycle management (PLM), supplier relationship management (SRM), supply chain management (SCM), business technology platform (BTP), and the SAP AppGyver programming environment for businesses.

The ballerinax/sap.jco package exposes the SAP JCo library as ballerina functions.

Setup Guide

Obtain SAP Connection Parameters

To connect to an SAP system, you need to obtain the following connection parameters from your SAP administrator. These are some common parameters required to establish a client:

• Host: The hostname or IP address of the SAP server.
• System Number: Identifies the system within the landscape.
• Client: Specifies the client ID of the SAP system, which is used for login.
• User Name: Your SAP user account name.
• Password: Your account password.

There may be additional parameters required based on your organization's SAP configuration. Consult your SAP administrator for the complete list of parameters needed for your setup.

Download and Add Middleware Libraries

To use the SAP JCo connector, you need to download the sapidoc3.jar and sapjco3.jar middleware libraries from the SAP support portal and add the dependencies to your Ballerina project.

Step 1: Download Middleware Libraries

1. Go to the SAP Support Portal.
2. Search for and download the following files:
   • sapjco3.jar
   • sapidoc3.jar

Step 2: Setting Up Environment

1. Install JRE: Ensure you have Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 17 installed on your system.

2. Set CLASSPATH: Configure the CLASSPATH environment variable to include the JAR files and the following native SAP JCo libraries based on your operating system:

   Operating System	Native SAP JCo Library
   Linux	libsapjco3.so
   Windows	sapjco3.dll
   MacOS	libsapjco3.dylib

Step 3: Add Dependencies to Ballerina.toml

After downloading the libraries, add them to your Ballerina.toml file in the Ballerina project by specifying the paths and relevant details.

[[platform.java17.dependency]]
path = "../sapidoc3.jar"
groupId = "com.sap"
artifactId = "com.sap.conn.idoc"
version = "3.1.*"

[[platform.java17.dependency]]
path = "../sapjco3.jar"
groupId = "com.sap"
artifactId = "com.sap.conn.jco"
version = "3.1.*"

Ensure that the paths to the JAR files are correct and relative to your project directory.

Quickstart

To use the SAP JCo connector in your Ballerina application, modify the .bal file as follows:

Step 1: Import connector

Import the ballerinax/sap.jco module into your Ballerina project.

import ballerinax/sap.jco;

Step 2: Create a new connector instance

Configure the necessary SAP connection parameters in Config.toml in the project directory:

[configurations]
host = "XXXXXXXX"
systemNumber = "XXXXXXXX"
jcoClient = "XXXXXXXX"
user = "XXXXXXXX"
password = "XXXXXXXX"

Then, create a new JCo client instance using the configurations.

configurable jco:DestinationConfig configurations = ?;
jco:Client jcoClient = check new (configurations);

Step 3: Invoke connector operations

Now you can use the operations available within the connector.

Execute a Function Module via RFC

public function main() returns error? {
    ImportParams importParams = {
        importParam1: "Hello",
        importParam2: 123,
        importParam3: 123.45,
        importParam4: 123.456
    };

    ExportParams? result = check jcoClient->execute("TEST_FUNCTION", importParams);
    if (result is jco:ExportParams) {
        io:println("Result: ", result);
    } else {
        io:println("Error: Function execution failed");
    }
}

Send IDocs to an SAP system

public function main() returns error? {
    xml iDoc = check io:fileReadXml("resources/sample.xml");
    check jcoClient->sendIDoc(iDoc);
    io:println("IDoc sent successfully.");
}

Initialize a listener for incoming IDocs

listener jco:Listener iDocListener = new (configurations);

service jco:Service on iDocListener {
    remote function onReceive(xml iDoc) returns error? {
        check io:fileWriteXml("resources/received_idoc.xml", iDoc);
        io:println("IDoc received and saved.");
    }
    remote function onError(error 'error) returns error? {
        io:println("Error occurred: ", 'error.message());
    }
}

Step 4: Run the Ballerina application

To run your Ballerina application which interacts with SAP using the SAP JCo Connector, execute:

bal run

Examples

The Ballerina SAP JCo Connector provides practical examples illustrating usage in various scenarios. Explore these scenarios to understand how to automate processes involving SAP systems and external data sources using Ballerina.

1. SAP Inventory Update via RFC - Integrate external inventory data into an SAP system and update inventory records through an RFC.

2. Automate iDoc Dispatch - Demonstrate the automation of generating and dispatching iDocs for shipment details.

3. Automated Supplier Order Processing via iDoc Listener - Set up an iDoc listener to automate supplier order processing.