From Classic ABAP to RAP: A Learning Path That Holds Up at Work
A sequenced path from SE80 habits to CDS, behaviour definitions, and Fiori Elements — without pretending the old world has vanished.
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Engineering Editors
Classic ABAP is still in production landscapes. New S/4HANA work is not written that way. If you are an SE38 / SE80 developer, you do not need to throw away debugging skill. You do need a new default stack.
Learn in this order
1. ADT in Eclipse. If you cannot create a package, a class, and a CDS view in ADT, RAP tutorials will feel like magic.
2. CDS views. Start with interface views, then projection views, then associations. Annotations are not decoration — they drive Fiori Elements and authorisation.
3. RAP behaviour. Understand draft, determinations, validations, and actions before you memorise syntax. The model is: data definition, behaviour, service binding.
4. OData V4 and Fiori Elements. A RAP service that nobody can preview is unfinished work.
What to stop doing on new objects
- Direct table access to unreleased objects when a released CDS view exists.
- GUI status and dynpro for net-new UX.
- Copy-paste BAPIs wrapped in a custom report when an action on a business object would do.
How to show this on a CV
Hiring teams look for a repository story: “I modelled a CDS view, exposed a RAP service, added a validation, and generated a Fiori Elements list report.” One complete object beats ten buzzwords.
If you only have time for one certification-adjacent practice, build a small RAP app on a trial system and write down the decisions you made. That write-up is more useful in interview than a course completion PDF.
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