I am currently in discussion with a worldwide client of ours re the possibility of providing a front end to SAP / R3, as SAP is a pain and not as flexible as OI of course.

Has anyone out there had any experience with SAP /R3 or know where I can start to look at it.

Any feedback will be welcomed, maybe it will lead to replacing the current SAP systems.!!!!!

Thanks

Gerry van Niekerk

Csoft

I've done some work interfacing to SAP - but it wasn't pretty.

To give you an idea of how vast SAP is, when you change the middle name for an individual's personnel record, there are 80,000 table hits on the underlying database.

SAP has a procedural language called ABAP which is like BASIC+ and PL/1 on steroids.

Basically there are SAP DLLs which are addressable in VB and OI is addressable from VB and that's the direction which you should take if you're moving data from SAP to OI.

But in order to enter data into SAP from OI you have to "play the keystrokes into the relevant entry screens" practically. There are methods in SAP which you can call to do this.

I have so many adjectives to describe SAP. None of them fit to print here. Put politely, SAP is to IT what thalidomide is to pregnancy.

Very funny.

I have a brother-inlaw who works with SAP. I can't wait to pass your coments onto him.

Don't worry. I think he hates it too, but it pays.

This is o soooo encouriging.

Let me think about the answer to the client.

By the way the client is in Japan, where SAP cant seem to adapt to the locals. Maybe it needs some Saki or OI Injections.

Have to go and see some clients, maybe I'll go see SAP as well.

Thanks guys,

Gerry van Niekerk

Csoft

If you want to do order entry, start with downloading customer and SKU data and submit the orders through SAP EDI.

Gerry,

I'm informed by Chris Vaughan here (someone with extensive SAP and Revelation Software experience) that the XML is the way to go.

It's newish in SAP and in OI, but I reckon you'll make this work OK.

Gerry,

I second Steve's recommendation about XML.

( and, since XML is just EDI on steroids, I guess I'm agreeing with Karl too )

I do not know the SAP XML interface, but I recently completed an app that used the Quickbooks XML interface. It was pretty easy to do.

I used Xrev.dll to create a com object that Quickbooks uses to send messages to OI , an MFS on OI tables to send messages to Quickbooks, a 'commuter module' to manage the messages, then some configuration tables to store XML templates for each transaction type, map my tables onto the templates.

OI 7.1 will provide features to get and post http transactions, the ability to implement true external callback functions, and improved ability to manipulate OLE objects in code. These features will all work to help you implement a message based interface.

HTH

Bob

Steve,

can you recommend some links for (ad-free) readings on this topic?

I have not been involved so far, but I am interested in learning more about the driving forces behind the SAP phenomenon.

Wilhelm

Hi Bob,

I have been looking at it and it seems XML is the way to go.

Will pursue that further.

Thanks

Gerry

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