Queries an SAP system to extract metadata for available BAPIs.
The main use cases of the Extract ERP Metadata node are as follows:
- Locates all functions on the SAP system, or given a wildcard, attempts to locate a specific function on the system (when using wildcard pattern matching, it will only find BAPIs).
- Given a specific function, retrieves the metadata (interface) for that function. Can be configured to return the full interface (all scalar, structure and table parameters) or simply return the function names. This is useful when doing a wildcard search to first find the name of the function that you are interested in.
- Once the Extract ERP Metadata node has extracted the interface information, it can then be used to configure the ERP Connector node to execute a function.
While it is possible to get the metadata for multiple functions at once, this is not the most common use case. Doing so can lead to the node taking a long time to complete as each retrieval of metadata requires a separate call for each function.
This topic covers the following subjects:
For examples of using the Extract ERP Metadata node, see Extract ERP Metadata examples.
Standard configuration
In most circumstances, provided the connection information has been set, only the following General properties need to be populated:
| Property name | Property type | Required | Options | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FunctionName | string | No | N/A | NONE | Specify the name of the function for which you want to retrieve metadata. If you enter a value in the FunctionName property, then only metadata information about the specified BAPI function(s) is retrieved. Otherwise, the system is queried for all available BAPI functions and the metadata for each is returned. Wildcard characters can be used within the function name to search for a function matching a specific regex or glob pattern (provided the corresponding value is set in the FunctionMatchMethod property). |
| FunctionMatchMethod | string | No |
Exact Regular Expression Glob Pattern |
Exact |
Specify how to match the specified FunctionName to locate the corresponding function(s) on the SAP system. If no function name is provided, will search for all functions. Otherwise, will search using one of these options. You can search for multiple functions by setting the FunctionMatchMethod property to Glob Pattern or Regular Expression. For example, to search for all BAPIs that have a function name that ends with "GETDETAIL", you could specify "*GETDETAIL" in the FunctionName property, and select Glob Pattern in the FunctionMatchMethod property. |
| CaseSensitive | boolean | No | N/A | True | Specify whether to search for the functions case-sensitively on the SAP system. |
| FunctionNamesOnly | boolean | No | N/A | False | Specify whether all the metadata should be retrieved for the matching functions, or simply the function names and their descriptions. |
When the FunctionMatchMethod property is set to Exact, and the CaseSensitive property is set to False, the function will be retrieved from the system and information output. Otherwise, the node needs to search through the list of available BAPIs. It is possible to specify the name of an RFM in the FunctionName property, and the metadata for the RFM will be retrieved. However, since the search is only performed over BAPI functions, if the node needs to search for the functions, then no RFMs will be returned in the output function list.
Error handling
In certain circumstances if running the node is causing errors to be produced, you can set the RecoverableErrorBehavior property such that unnecessary warnings are not written to the log to obfuscate the true cause of the problem.
| Property name | Property type | Required | Options | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RecoverableErrorBehavior | choice | No |
Error Log Ignore |
Log | In some circumstances, a call to an SAP function can complete successfully, however the function may be returned with an exception list. This generally implies that processing can continue but that there were some errors. In the case of running non-BAPI RFMs, these errors will always be returned. Use this property to specify the action to take when such errors occur. |
Outputs
The Extract ERP Metadata node has four outputs:
Output 1 - Functions
The Functions output of the node contains all of the functions on the system which matched the specified FunctionName. The Functions output contains the following fields:
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Function name | Name of the function |
| Description | Description of the function |
| Method | Function method |
| Method name | Element name in upper/lower case |
| Object name | Name of the object |
| Object type | Type of the object |
| Short text | Additional short description of the function |
Output 2- Scalar Parameters
In order to execute the function, the user needs to know which scalar parameters are to be imported to SAP and which will be exported. The Scalar Parameters output identifies all of the scalar parameters, their corresponding types and whether or not they are import or export parameters. These can then be provided to the ERP Connector node (via an input pin or via the Scalar Parameters node parameter).
The output has the following fields:
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Function name | Name of the function in which the scalar parameter is defined. |
| Param direction | import or Export, specifying whether the parameter is to be provided from the Data360 Analyze node to the SAP function call, or will be returned from the SAP function call. |
| Param name | Name of the scalar parameter. |
| SAP param type | Type of the parameter in the ERP system. |
| Data360 Analyze field type | Type of Data360 Analyze field which should be used if the parameter is to be provided in an input pin, or which will be provided in an output pin. Will be set to Unmappable if the parameter type cannot be mapped to a type. |
| Description | Description of the scalar parameter (if available). |
| Required | For import parameters, specifies whether or not this is required. Set to NULL for export parameters. |
Output 3 - Structure Parameters
To execute the function, you need to know which structure parameters are to be imported to SAP and which will be exported. The Structure Parameters output identifies all of the structure parameters, their corresponding types and whether or not they are import or export parameters. These can then be provided to the ERP Connector node (via an input pin or via the Structure Parameters node parameter).
The output has the following fields:
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Function name | Name of the function in which the structure parameter is defined. |
| Structure name | Name of the structure parameter. |
| Param direction | import or Export, specifying whether the parameter is to be provided from the node to the SAP function call, or will be returned from the SAP function call. |
| Param name | Name of the parameter within the structure. |
| SAP param type | Type of the parameter in the ERP system. |
| Data360 Analyze field type | Type of Data360 Analyze field which should be used if the parameter is to be provided in an input pin, or which will be provided in an output pin. Will be set to Unmappable if the parameter type cannot be mapped to a type. |
| Description | Description of the parameter within the structure (if available). |
| Required | For structure import parameters, specifies whether or not this is required. Set to NULL for export parameters. |
Output 4 - Tables
In order to execute the function, you need to know which table parameters are to be imported and/or exported from SAP. The "Tables" output identifies all of the table parameters, their corresponding types, and how they should be input to or output from SAP.
Note that since the function interfaces provide no information as to whether table parameters are import or export, the node is unable to provide this information.
The output has the following fields:
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
| Function name | Name of the function for which the table is defined. |
| Table name | Name of the table parameter. |
| SAP field type | Type of the field in the ERP system. |
| Data360 Analyze input field type | Type of the Data360 Analyze field which should be used in an input pin. |
| Data360 Analyze output field type | Type of the Data360 Analyze field which should be used if the parameter is to be provided in an input pin, or which will be provided in an output pin. Will be set to Unmappable if the parameter type cannot be mapped to a Data360 Analyze type. |
| Description | Description of the field (if available). |
Properties
FunctionName
Specify the name of the BAPI function for which the metadata is to be retrieved. If left empty, metadata for all functions will be retrieved.
Instead of specifying an exact function name, a globbing pattern, or regular expression can be specified as the function name. When this is done, the FunctionMatchMethod needs to be set accordingly.
When a regular expression or globbing pattern is used, then metadata about all BAPIs matching this pattern will be returned.
FunctionMatchMethod
Optionally specify how to search for the specified function name. Choose from:
- Exact - Information output only for the function with a name that exactly matches that specified in the FunctionName property
- Glob Pattern - Information output for all of the functions with a name that matches the globbing pattern specified in the FunctionName property
- Regular Expression - Information output for all of the functions that have a name that matches the regular expression specified in the FunctionName property.
The default value is Exact.
CaseSensitive
Optionally specify whether the function name property is to be matched case sensitively.
The default value is True.
FunctionNamesOnly
Optionally specify whether all metadata for the functions should be output (including import, export properties and tables), or just the function names and their descriptions.
The default value is False.
ConnectionType
Specify the type of connection you are using. If you are not using a load balanced login, then you can connect to a Custom Application Server. Otherwise, you should select Group/Server Selection.
Choose from:
- Custom Application Server - Forms a connection to the specified SAP Application Server without using group load balancing for the logins.
- Group/Server Selection - Load balanced login using the SAP Group/Server mechanism.
A value is required for this property. For more information, see your SAP documentation.
When Custom Application Server is specified, the following properties are required:
- ApplicationServer
- SystemNumber
When Group/Server Selection is specified, the following properties are required:
- MessageServerHost
- Group/Server
- R3Name
In all cases, the following properties are required:
- User
- Password
- ClientNumber
ApplicationServer
Specify the name of the SAP Application server
A value is required if ConnectionType is set to Custom Application Server.
Should not be set if ConnectionType is set to Group/Server Selection.
Group/Server
Specify the group of SAP application servers.
A value is required if ConnectionType is set to Group/Server Selection.
Should not be set if ConnectionType is set to Custom Application Server.
MessageServerHost
Specify the SAP message server host.
A value is required if ConnectionType is set to Group/Server Selection.
Should not be set if ConnectionType is set to Custom Application Server.
MessageServerPort
Specify the SAP message server port.
Optional if ConnectionType is set to Group/Server Selection.
Should not be set if ConnectionType is set to Custom Application Server.
SystemNumber
Specify the two-digit system number of the SAP system.
Called the "Instance Number" in the SAP Logon GUI.
A value is required if the ConnectionType is set to Custom Application Server.
R3Name
Specify the system ID of the SAP system.
A value is required if the ConnectionType is set to Group/Server Selection.
ClientNumber
Specify the three digit client number for the SAP system.
Called the "SystemID" in the SAP Logon GUI.
A value is required for this property.
RouterString
Optionally specify the SAP Router String in the following format:
/H/<IP address where your SAP router is located>/S/<port for your SAP router>/H/<SAP server host ip address>/H/
User
Specify the name of the SAP user.
A value is required for this property.
Password
Specify the password for the specified user on the SAP system.
A value is required for this property.
ConnectionMethod
Optionally specify the method used to connect to the SAP system. Choose from:
- Direct Connection - Connection will be held for the duration of the node run.
- Pooled Connection - Connection will be taken and returned as needed during node execution.
The default value is Pooled Connection.
RecoverableErrorBehavior
In some circumstances, a call to an SAP function can complete successfully, however the function will be returned with an exception list.
This generally implies that processing can continue but that there were some errors.
In the case of running non-BAPI RFMs (as an example, the RFC_READ_TABLE function), these errors will always be returned.
This optional property specifies the action to take when such errors occur. Choose from:
- Error - The node will error with the appropriate error message.
- Log - The node will continue, however the errors will be written to the node log.
- Ignore - Such errors are ignore.
The default value is Log.
PoolCapacity
Optionally specify an integer value specifying the pool capacity for the SAP system when using pooled connections.
The default value is 3.
See: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E14571_01/doc.1111/e17656/jco_updates.htm
PeakLimit
Optionally specify an integer value specifying the peak limit when using pooled connections to the SAP system.
The default value is 10.
See: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E14571_01/doc.1111/e17656/jco_updates.htm
Inputs and outputs
Inputs: None.
Outputs: Functions, Scalar Parameters, Structure Parameters, Tables.