12/28/2015

DebuggingABAPforFunctionalTeamsPart1|ITPartnersBlog

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DebuggingABAPforFunctionalTeamsPart1
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byadminonFebruary18th,2014

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AnthonyCecchiniisthePresidentofInformationTechnologyPartners(ITP),anSAP
consultingcompanyheadquarteredinPennsylvania.ITPofferscomprehensiveplanning,resourceallocation,
implementation,upgrade,andtrainingassistancetocompanies.Anthonyhasover17yearsofexperienceinSAP
R/3businessprocessanalysisandSAPsystemsintegration.HisareasofexpertiseincludeSAPNetWeaver
integrationALEdevelopmentRFC,BAPI,IDoc,Dialog,andWebDynprodevelopmentandcustomized
WeRecommendReading...
Workflowdevelopment.Youcanreachhimatajcecchini@itpsap.com.

WhylearnhowtousetheDebugger?

DebuggingABAPforFunctio
Part2

DebuggingisthewaytofindtherootcauseofSAPtransactionbehavior(e.g.,findingareasonwhyacertain
valueinafieldwasupdatedordeterminingwhyusersreceiveanerror,warning,orabnormal
terminationmessageduringtheprocessingofatransaction).Debuggingisnecessaryiftherootcausecannotbe
determinedfromfunctionalmethodssuchascheckingcustomizingormasterdata.
SinceABAPisthebackboneofSAP,atonepointoranother,everymemberofafunctionalteammusthavehad
todealwithSAPdevelopmenttechnicalitiesbehindthebusinessfunctionality.Thisneedfortechnicaldetailscan
occurduringvariousphases,suchaswritingfunctionalspecificationsoranalyzingaproductionenvironment
issues.
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InthisblogIllexplainbasicterminologyforABAPandvarioustoolsandtechniquesfordebugging.This
knowledgeishelpfulwhenyouaretryingtofindtherootcauseofanissueordesigninganeededfunctionalityto
fillaGAPinrequirements.Iwillyoushowthevariousobjectsfordebuggingwithsomeexamples,suchas
debuggingforanerrormessage,ordebuggingafunctionmodule.

HowtoTriggerDebugging
Letslookatsomebasicwaystotriggerdebugging..
Ifyouarenotsureaboutwhichlineofcodeyouwanttodebug,entertransaction/hinthecommandprompt,
sometimesrefereedtoastheOKCODE,whileexecutinganytransaction.PressEntertoactivatethedebugger.
(seebelow)

Youllseethemessage
inthestatuslineandnowifyouweretopressenter
again,orhitsave,orperformanyfunctiononthistransaction,youwillseetheDEBUGGERscreenappear(see
below).Youwillbepositionedatthefirstexecutableinstructionbasedontheuserinteractionyouperformed.If
youknewtheexactlineofcodeyouwantedtohavetheDEBUGGERscreenappearat,thenyoucouldusea
BREAKPOINT ,butwewillcoverthatalittlelater

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OK,letstakealookatthedebuggingscreenitself.letsstartwiththecontrolbuttons.

ControlButtons

Ifyoulookabove,youcanseefourbuttonsIhavehighlightedandnumbered14.Thebuttonscontroltheflow
ofthedebuggingsessionandaredescribedindetailbelow.
1. Singlestep(theF5key).Whenyouclickthisicon,thedebuggercontrolmovestothenextlineofcodein
debugging.Ifthenextlineisacalltoanotherprogram,(e.g.,thefunctionmodule),thenthecontrolshifts
tothatprogram.
2. Execute(theF6key).Whenyouclickthisicon,thedebuggercontrolmovestothenextlineofcodeinthe
sameprogramonly,withoutgoinginsidethecodeofthefunctionmoduleorprogrambeingcalledinthe
lineofcodeinwhichyouclickthisicon.
3. Return(theF7key).Whenyouclickthisicon,thedebuggercontrolreturnstothecallingprogram.This
iconisusefulwhenyouareinalooporinsideafunctionmoduleorprogramcalledfromthemainprogram
andyouwanttoreturntothemainprogram.
4. Run/Continue(theF8key).Whenyouclickthisicon,thedebuggercontrolmovestothenextbreakpoint
set,ifany.Otherwise,thedebuggingisswitchedoff,andtheprogramisexecutedcompletely.

FieldDisplay
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Duringdebugging,thefieldsdisplayshowsthefieldlist.Ifyouclickanyfieldintheprogram,the
debuggershowsthepresentvalueorcontentsofthatfield.Ifforsomereasonlikeduringtesting,youwanttouse
adifferentvalueforthefield,youcanchangethefieldvalueusingthechangeicon ,butthisaccessindebug
isgenerallygiventodevelopersonlyandNEVERinaproductionsystem.(seebelow)

TableDisplay
Nowweneedtoturntohowwecouldlookintotables.Why?Letssayyourlookingatasalesorder,orpurchase
ReqetcWelltheitemsarenormallystoredinwhatscalledanINTERNALTABLE.Thisisnottobeconfused
withaDATABASETABLElikeVBAK,orVBAP.TheDATABASETABLESarestoredontheBackend
DBMS(Oracle,DB2,evenHANA)andarePERSISTENT.WhiletheINTERNALTABLESareNOT
PERSISTENTandhaveashelflifeofthecurrentLUWinMemory.
First,likeanyfielddoubleclickonaninternaltableinthedebugger.Youwillseethetableappear,likeanyfield,
ontherighthandside.Thewayyouwillknowthisatableisbythe

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icon.(seebelow)

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Toseethecurrentcontentsorrowsoftheinternaltabledoubleclicktheicon.Iknowyouneedtoknowhowto
add,changeordeleterows,sothatswhenyouusetheObjectServicesicon .Dependingonwhatyouare
lookingat(Field,DatabaseTable,InternalTableetc),ifyouclickthisiconthenservicesrelatingtothetypeof
objectyouareworkingwithwillbeavailableforyouruse.Forinstanceyoucanadd,changeordeletearow.You
canalsoexporttheinternaltabletoEXCELbyusingtheicon

.(seebelow)

BreakPoints
NowisagoodtimetodiscussBreakPoints.Abreakpointcanbesetforalineofcodeeitherwhileinthe
debugger,orpriorwhileintheEDITOR(SE80/SE38/SE37/SE24).Theiconforabreakpointlookslikethis .
Incontrast,the iconshowsyouwhereyourareintheexecutionofanobject.Say,youused/htotriggerthe
debuggerandsinglesteppedonelineatatime.Wellthe iconwouldcontinuetomovedownwiththe
execution.
Whenyoudoubleclickonalineofcodeleftofthelinenumber,youwillsetaBREAKPoint.Thenwhenyou
runthetransactionorprogram,thedebuggerwillstopatthatspecificlineofcodeandpopupadebuggerscreen
thatbynowyouknowwell.(seebelow)

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Thereismorethanonewaytosetabreakpoint.OneofmypersonalfavoritesthatIhaveshownaboveistouse
themenupathBREAKPOINTS>BREAKPOINTAT.Herewehavemanyoptionstosetdynamicbreakpoints
basedoncommands,functions,methodsetc.OnewaytousethisistochooseBREAKPOINTATStatement,
andenterthecommandAUTHORITY_CHECK.

Thiswillcausetheobjecttostopanytimethiscommandisabouttobeexecuted.Thenwhenyoustop,F6to
execute.ThenusethefieldchangecapabilitytoalterthecontentsofSYSUBRCtozero,ifitisnotzeroalready.
ThisisagoodwaytobypassanduseSAPtransactionsyoumaynothaveauthorizationfor.Pleaserememberthat
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youmustusecautionwhendoingthis,andyouwillNOTbeabletodothisinProduction.

TheCallStack
LetsendthismonthsBlogwithalookatonemoreusefultool.TheABAPStack.
TheDESKTOP2TabinthedebuggerUIdisplaystheABAPcallstack.Itallowsyoutoswitchtothecontextof
eachstacklevelandnavigatetothesourcecodebyopeningtheABAPEditor,inordertostartadeeperanalysis
ofthecodeinaseparatewindow(justdoubleclick!).AlsonewwithSAPNetWeaver2004sistheabilityto
displaythescreen(Dynpro)stackaswell.Evenmoreimportant,youcandisplayacombinedABAPandscreen
stacktofindoutonwhichABAPlevelwhichscreenwascalled,andwhichscreeninvokedwhichABAPmodule.
Youcannavigatefromeachstacklinetothecorrespondingsourcelineintheeditorbydoubleclickingonthe
iconinthestacktypecolumn

IfyouwouldlikeacompleteanddetailedlookattheSAPDebugger,thenpleaseviewthepriorblogsbelow.You
willbeadebuggingexpertinshortorderandwowyourFunctionalassociateswithyourskillandprowess!
TheNewABAPDebuggerPart1
TheNewABAPDebuggerPart2
TheNewABAPDebuggerPart3

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InnextmonthsBlogwewilllookatspecificscenariosthatcauseRuntimeErrorDebugopportunities.Illshow
youhowtouseaDebugCommandevenintheBatchenvironment!Sostaytuned!

IfyouenjoyedthisblogonDebuggingABAPforFunctionalTeams,pleasefillouttheformbelowandsignup
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