Software maintenance terminology in terms of BusinessObjects

SAP is not good in maintaining names for its software. We see very often changes (or XI->PI, etc.) in products names. Similarly also in case of integrating products originally developed outside of SAP and gained by acquisitions there are also issues. This time I just focus on terminology within software maintenance in terms of BusinessObjects’s products. Traditionally SAP’s software products based on NetWeaver are being patched by Support Packages (SP). In case of BusinessObjects there are more “packages”:

Service Pack (SP) – Complete program installation (a new software version).

Feature Pack (FP) or "patch" or a "hot fix" – term used in past. It was support pack with a number of new features. FP is finally contained in SP. Probably only used in ramp-up programs for new BOBJ software. This term should be abandoned going forward.

Fix Pack (FxP) - Used to identify patches on BOBJ’s BOE XI 3.X platform and earlier.  In version BI 4.0, SAP adopted standard SAP naming: Patches and Support Packs.  Not a full installation only partial installation delivering subset of SP. In BOBJ’s world while installing  FxP make sure you you install it over correct SP. If FxP releases for SP (full version) 8.00c.08.00, it would be numbered 8.00c.08.01.

Therefore don’t be confuse if you come across notes like following :-)

1602665 - SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite 4.0 Support Pack 2 Release Notes

1685879 - SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite 4.0 Feature Pack 3 Release Notes

1727458 - SAP BusinessObjects BI Suite 4.0 Support Pack 4 Release Notes

Fact check for Oracle

On last week there was big event happening – Oracle’s Open World. It is Oracle’s conference for business people, IT decision makers, partners and customers held on annual basis. We can compare this to SAP’s SAPPHIRE. As always Larry Ellison gave his key note and a lot of funny remarks on SAP were heard. It is not very common for SAP to answer on competitor’s remarks by ads in newspaper. But this time SAP did it. I’ve seen in October 4^th edition of Wall Street Journal following ad:

 

So SAP prepared fact check for Oracles’s fact checkers :-) Similarly Vishal Sikka prepared blog on topic of comparing SAP’s HANA with Oracle Exadata.

Make up your own opinion on this matter and in few years we might see who’s right.

Enhanced consistency check of BW transport

BW transports are not easy to handle. Transport BW objects is usually big pain. Especially in cases of large development with many developers, where objects are spread across the system in different transport requests (TR). We all know it; SAP knows it as well. Although there were promises to improve it; BW transport system has still long way to go.

However in BW 7.3 there are some updates on this topic. I found in presentation of BW 7.3 from March 2011 following statement:

Enterprise Data Warehousing Administration:

Support of complex development landscapes:

Before Export Check

Enhanced consistency check at the end of releasing the transport including checks on dependent objects which are not directly included in the transport request to prevent import errors in the target system (due to missing metadata objects)

I was wondering where I can find this functionality. Seems there is no special button incorporated in SE10, SE03 or transport connection (RSOR). Functionality takes in place when you do Release of transport in SE10. Then I found ABAP report RSO_TLOGO_CHECK_REQUEST which actually it does this check. All you need to do is to specify TR no. on selection screen:

If there is no error you just get green message in status bar. If there are errors you get popup informing you e.g. about missing objects (routines), inactive objects, objects which are no present in your TR but in some other TR, etc.

Of course it would be nice to have some extra button for that as well somewhere in SE10 :-) 
 

- update later on same day -

Always use sub task of your TR for this report. Otherwise system checks just TR and if you have no object in TR just in subtask your transport will be always positive but real objects won’t be checked!

- update 17/08/2015 -

I found that report RSO_TLOGO_CHECK_REQUEST is mentioned in official SAP online documentation: Consistency Check for Transport Requests

How to unlock objects locked in transport request

BW developers are usually using Transport Connection to manage the transport process. This tool helps in order to collect objects that were developed and that need to be imported into target BW systems. Transport Connection is available in “RSA1-> Transport Connection” on lest side pane or use TA RSOR. Sometimes it happens depending in its settings that the tool collects a lot of other objects. In case you put them to Transport Request (co called CTS no) and you do not want them to be transported you need to remove them from your TR.

 

To do this you can go to TA SE10 and remove them one by one. First switch to change mode of your TR. Then using minus button you can remove it.

But before you do so you need to unlock it:

If there are so many objects this might be quite time consuming. Therefore you can use TA SE03-> Unlock Objects (Expert Tool) to do the same job for all entries in particular TR.

Something about BEx’s variables

Someone may say that everything was already said about BEx’s variables. In my opinion; truth is that there is always something new on this topic. Recently I came across useful SAP Notes discussing this topic. And guess what? I learned a lot from those notes. Therefore I’m sharing it here.

121291 - Tips and tricks for the use of variables; Discuss hints related to “shifted variables (offset based)”. Useful for year to year data, comparison of cumulative values (e.g. CO-PA data). Efficient Business Content variables: 0CYEAR - refers automatically to the current year; 0CYTCM - Current year to current month;

199014 - Tips & tricks with variables II; Describes behavior of following Business Content variables: 0FYTCFP - Current year to current fiscal month; 0FYTLFP - Current year to previous fiscal month

339476 - Tips & tricks for variables part III; Depicts a function to override input of variables (given on variable screen). This can be achieved by activating setting 'Can be changed in query navigation' in variable maintenance for characteristic variables.

381709 - Tips and tricks for variables part iV; Describes cases when variable values cannot be changed even it is dynamically changeable variable based on a compounded characteristic.

629697 - Variable exit: Fields SIGN and OPT; Discuss combinations of SIGN and OPT as components of internal table E_T_RANGE that are allowed for the different variable types.

492504 - Dependent customer exit-type variables; Discuss various values of I_STEP parameter which controls when BW: Enhancements for global variables in reporting (RSR00001) is called:

1 - Call directly before the variable is entered

2 - Call directly after the variable is entered. Only if same variable could not be filled for I_STEP = 1 and it is not ready for input.

3 - To check values of variables.

0 - Enhancement is not called from variable screen. Call can come from the authorization check or from the monitor.

PS: If you want to make sure that your variable is executed in particular I_STEP, put code similar to following:

IF I_STEP = 1.

        RAISE no_processing.

ENDIF.

Other posts on BE’x variable topic:

Checking BW’s BEx variables

Where to see code for Business Content SAP exit variable?