Puneet Asthana, David Haslam SAP" Certified Application Associate ABAP with SAP NetWeaver" 7.0 15 Acknowledgments We wrote this book primarily as a way of teaching. We both recognize that whereas your experience grows with every engagement or project, few take the time to revisit subjects they have already mastered. One of us went through his original training with the "brand new" Release 2.1 F of SAP R/3 back in the last millennium. We know that learning new techniques and new abilities within a subject can be difficult. SAP used to offer delta courses to identify the differences, but these appear to have fallen out of favor. Instead, the material is incorporated into the class mate- rial, and those who took the class prior to the change are no wiser to the change. The only place for you to obtain this information is the release notes in the doc- umentation or through word of mouth. As the abilities within ABAP continue to expand and more capabilities arc added, it is very easy to become accustomed to doing things the same way even if there are better ways of doing it. Even the terminology changes, sometimes faster than the capabilities. We know this because there were many discussions from our first chapter to our last about the correct phrase or name. So our goal for this book was twofold. The primary effort was spent on providing you. the developer, with the information we believe is necessaiy to successfully become an SAP Certified Development Associate — ABAP with SAP NetWeaver 7.0. Our secondary goal was to identify the best techniques or recommendations from SAP. This is not an altogether altruistic motive, because the certification examinations (especially the professional level) becomes more focused on the best way of performing a task. This book was much more effort than either of us thought it would be. Fortu- nately, we had help. We would like to acknowledge Christine Arundell and SAP Education for their invaluable assistance. Her notes regarding the proper way of explaining a tech- nique or acting as a technical advisor were very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and effort. 16 Acknowledgments We would also like to acknowledge Stefan Proksch, our senior editor at SAP PRESS. He led us through this very unfamiliar world of publishing, guiding us through the process. As our guide through this world, he kept us focused on the task at hand. His encouragement and words of praise were much appreciated. As with program development, time spent upfront designing simplifies the end tasks and provides a much needed target. Thank you for your assistance. Additionally David would like to thank his family for their support and under- standing during this endeavor. I would like to thank my grandchildren, Jordan, Alexis, Kyle. Emily, Woo, and Tiystin, for their unconditional love and under- standing. The words of encouragement and support from one in particular were most appreciated; you and I both know who you are (and I know that you are a veiy special child). More than any other, I would like to thank my wife. Patti, for understanding my long hours and supporting the project. She is my foundation, the haven in my life. Without her, I would be lost. I am forever grateful for meet- ing her. Additionally Puneet would like to express sincere appreciation to the following individuals for their invaluable contribution throughout his journey in writing this book: I would like to thank to my dear wife, Anita, for her unflinching love, support, and inspiration. Though taken to her wits' end with this seemingly never-ending book project, she not only managed our family single-handedly for the past several months, but also, she chose to smile and encouraged me to fulfill my dream of writing this book. Thanks to my lovely children, six-year-old daugh- ter Amishi and three-year-old son Anchit, for being a constant source of unend- ing happiness and joy and for their love and understanding that Daddy couldn't play with them as he had to complete this project. Thanks to my dear parents, who nurtured me and instilled in me a strong sense of values and principles, and who have profoundly influenced who I have become. Thanks to my brothers and sisters for providing me a loving and encouraging environment during my foun- dational years. Finally, I would like to thank my co-author David Haslam. for the opportunity to work together on this project. David Haslam Principal Platinum Development Consultant Puneet Asthana Principal Consultant Preface The SAP PRESS Certification Scries is designed to provide anyone preparing to take an SAP certified exam with all of the review, insight, and practice they need to pass the exam. The series is written in practical, easy-to-follow language that provides targeted content focused just on what you need to know to successfully take your exam. This book is specifically written for those preparing to take the SAP Certified Development Associate — ABAP with SAP NetWeaver 7.0 exam, so if you've purchased this book, you're obviously interested in learning how to successfully pass the certification exam, and you've come to the right place. This book will help you become an SAP Certified Development Associate in ABAP. It is your first step to propel your career by setting yourself apart from your peers. The cer- tification exam verifies your knowledge of the fundamentals of Release 7.0 of the SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP. This includes knowledge obtained from attending SAP training courses in the ABAP curriculum and project experi- ence. To help prepare you to pass the exam, we'll cover the facts and applications of each topic discussed in this book. You'll find all of the practical, real-world information you need to get a clear understanding of the topics that will be covered on the exam and insightful tips about the types of questions you'll encounter and the strategies to use to answer correctly. The book is closely aligned with the course syllabus and the exam structure, so all of the information provided is relevant and applicable to what you need to know to prepare for the SAP Certified Development Associate — ABAP with SAP NetWeaver 7.0 exam. We explain the SAP products and features using practical examples and straightforward language, so you can prepare for the exam and improve your skills in your day-to-day work as an ABAP developer. Each book in the series has been structured and designed to highlight what you really need to know. The chapters begin with a clear list of the learning objec- tives for the chapter such as this example: 18 Preface What You'll Learn: • How to prepare for the exam • Understanding the general exam structure • Practice questions and preparation From there, you'll dive into the chapter and get right into the test objective cov- erage. So let's take a look at how the book is structured. Structure of This Book Let's discuss how you can use this book to prepare for the exam. This book is divided into two sections: • Part 1 contains the general introduction to this book and the certification ex- aminations. This section will provide you with an overview of the certification process and the benefit to you and to your customer or company. We'll discuss both the purpose of this certification examination and provide information on additional certification examinations that are available beyond this one. • Part 2 of this book is a breakdown of the topics covered in the certification examination for C_TAW12_70, the SAP Certified Development Associate — ABAP with SAP NetWeaver 7.0. Each chapter contains a similar structure to assist with understanding that portion of the certification examination. Part 2 is the core of the book and discusses each exam topic and determines the key concepts. These key concepts are then explained along with important infor- mation that will provide the context for understanding. Each chapter is broken down into one or more subtopics according to complexity. Illustrations and dia- grams are included throughout to ensure that you understand important con- cepts. Throughout the book, we've also provided several elements that will help you access useful information: • Tips call out useful information about related ideas and provide practical sug- gestions for how to use a particular function. • Notes provide other resources to explore or special tools or services from SAP that will help you with the topic under discussion. The following is an exam- ple of such a Note box. Structure of This Book 19 Note The content provided in each chapter and subtopic does not exhaustively cover everything that appears on the exam. In other words, the certification guide does not cover every exam question, but rather it acts as a refresher to highlight the major points for each topic. In addition, it points out areas where further review is needed. Each chapter that covers an exam topic is organized in a similar fashion so you can become familiar with the structure and easily find the information you need. Here's an example of a typical chapter structure: • Introductory bullets The beginning of each chapter discusses the techniques you must master to be considered proficient in the topic for the certification examination. • Topic introduction This section provides you with a general idea of the topic at hand to frame future sections. It also includes objectives for the exam topic covered. • Real-world scenario This part shows a scenario that provides you with a case where these skills would be beneficial to you or your company. • Objectives This section is followed by one, but often more than one. section reviewing the material the authors feel provides you with the necessary information to pass this portion of the test. This section provides the material you must understand to successfully pass the certification examination. • Key concept refresher This section is followed by a key concept refresher where the major concepts of the chapter are identified. This section identifies the tasks you will need to be able to perform properly to answer the questions on the certification examination. Note You should pay particular attention to the points raised in the key concept refresher section and those from the objectives section. 20 Preface • Main part The next section provides the objectives of the this section of the test. This in- cludes identifying major points of this topic that are discussed in the chapter. Often we identify a general weighting SAP uses for this topic. To simplify the discussion, we have produced a general group of three categories or ranges (high, average, and low weighting). You should use this information to assist you in determining which chapters you should spend your time studying to maximize your score. Those chapters that are designated as low have the fewest number of ques- tions on the certification examination. Those with a designation of average have an average or medium number of questions on the certification exami- nation. The chapters with a high weighting have more questions than the other chapters. The chapter with the highest weighting contains significantly more questions on the certification examination than any other. Unsurprisingly, Chapter 9, Basic ABAP Programs and Interface Creation, which discusses general ABAP program design, has the highest weighting of the examination. • Important terminology Just prior to the practice examination, we provide a section to review impor- tant terminology. This may be followed by definitions of various terms from the chapter. • Practice questions The chapter then provides a series of practice questions related to the topic of the chapter. The questions are structured in a similar way to the actual questions on the certification examination (see below). • Practice question answers and explanations Following the practice exercise are the solutions to the practice exercise ques- tions. As part of the answer, we discuss why an answer is considered correct or incorrect. Whereas some of the questions in the practice reference actual code, you will find that in the actual certification examination there is a slightly higher num- ber of questions related to actual code solving. However, we feel that an understanding of actual processes will allow you to identify and correctly solve these types of questions. As a consequence, we have attempted to explain processes that occur and what we consider the best way of solving Glimpse into the Exam Structure 21 issues. These techniques can be useful to you in your normal work in addition to passing the examination. • Take away This section provides a take away or review section identifying what areas you should now understand. The refresher section identifies the key concepts in the chapter. We also provide some tips related to the chapter. • Summary Finally, we conclude with a summary of the chapter, which again provides a summary of the content covered in the chapter. Note You should be aware that the practice exercise questions are for self-evaluation purposes only and do not appear on the actual certification examination. Answering the practice exercise questions correctly is no guarantee that you will pass the certification exam. Glimpse into the Exam Structure To understand the structure of this certification success guide, it is important to understand the base structure of the exam. We only touch upon the topic here because Chapter 1, ABAP Development Certification Track — Overview, covers the exam structure in detail. Two basic elements define the exam structure for the associate and various levels of certification available. These elements are as follows: • Competency level Competency is what you are expected to be able to do at a specific level described. In simple terms, if you have reached a competency, then you can do the tasks described by that competency. SAP Education has developed a set of progressive competency levels. As you become more experienced, your competencies move in sequence from level A to D. The competencies include: • Accomplish defined tasks (level A) • Build proposed solutions (level B) • Conceptualize complex processes (level C) • Design integrated strategies (level D) 22 Preface For example, a simple definition of the level A competency is the ability to accomplish defined tasks during system implementation. As an associate, you should be able to carry out defined tasks given to you when little to no ambi- guity exists. For level D. you may devise a roadmap and recommendation to a particular solution or issue. • Exam topic This element is much more familiar. ABAP is a complex programming lan- guage for business applications with many parts. A team of experts devised which topics should be tested in each exam. This allows a target for the test development, but in addition it provides you a list of focus areas to prepare. Tip The chapter that follows dives into great detail for each level of the exam, includ- ing a topic and competency breakdown. Please reference Chapter 1, A8AP Development Certification Track — Overview, for additional information. You should understand the concept of competency and exam topics now. It is important to understand that they work together. The competency areas are applied to separate topics in the exam. Likewise, this book is also broken down by these same topics to set the focus and align content for exam preparation. The exam topics may overlap between the competency areas in terms of a subject such as objects, but they are unique in content according to the competency. For example, activity at level A is considered more of a design element and explores unique construction of objects. Activity at level B examines a more fundamental understanding of classes and methods. Thus, it's possible to discuss operational solutions for objects in one topic, whereas a separate topic covers more strategic problems or concepts. This will become evident in the chapter content and prac- tice questions. Practice Questions We want to give you some background on the test questions before you encoun- ter the first few in the chapters. Just like the exam, each question has a basic structure: Practice Questions Question stimulus The question stimulus varies with the different questions, but its intention is to present a situation or scenario as context for the question. The stimulus complexity depends on the competency level. Actual question The question comes next and relates to the stimulus. Read the question care- fully and be sure to consider the details from the stimulus because they can impact the question. Question hint This is not a formal term, but we call it a hint because it will tell you how many answers are correct. If only one is correct, normally it will tell you to choose the correct answer. If more than one is correct, like the actual certifi- cation examination, it will not indicate the correct number of answers. Answers The answers to select from depend on the question type. The following ques- tion types are possible: • Multiple response More than one correct answer is possible. • Multiple choice Only a single answer is correct. • True/false Only a single answer is correct. These should be minimal, especially as you experience the more advanced exams. • Fill in the blank This type is of question is nearly not found on the associate examination, but is found on the professional-level exam. Although capitalization does not matter, only a limited number of answers are considered valid. You should therefore be careful with typing and spelling. • Sequence/ranking This type of question will also have a single correct answer. The answers will provide the same options in different order, and you must select the correct sequence.