In the past, the SAP ActiveX Controls and the SAP DCOM Connector were the only options available for writing Windows-specific applications that communicate with ABAP-based SAP components like R/3. SAP has now released a new product for the Microsoft platform, the SAP .NET Connector, which has several advantages over the SAP ActiveX Controls and the SAP DCOM Connector, including full integration with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. This article introduces you to the SAP .NET Connector using C# as the programming language for the sample code, but you can apply what you learn here to any .NET-compliant language.
Thomas G. Schuessler
Thomas G. Schuessler is the founder of ARAsoft (www.arasoft.de), a company offering products, consulting, custom development, and training to a worldwide base of customers. The company specializes in integration between SAP and non-SAP components and applications. ARAsoft offers various products for BAPI-enabled programs on the Windows and Java platforms. These products facilitate the development of desktop and Internet applications that communicate with R/3. Thomas is the author of SAP’s BIT525 “Developing BAPI-enabled Web Applications with Visual Basic” and BIT526 “Developing BAPI-enabled Web Applications with Java” classes, which he teaches in Germany and in English-speaking countries. Thomas is a regularly featured speaker at SAP TechEd and SAPPHIRE conferences. Prior to founding ARAsoft in 1993, he worked with SAP AG and SAP America for seven years.
You may contact the author at thomas.schuessler@sap.com.
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