Screen Scraping

Screen Scraping uses the standard batch input recorder feature in your SAP system to record transactions, their screens and fields. The recorded data is available to you as a data source entry.

You then model the object using the data from the recorded transaction, screens and fields. Later, you can generate the model as a Data Model.

Data Model Generator creates a REST service from your Data Model which is then exposed to consumers in SAP Gateway, enabling them to retrieve the relevant data in the specific SAP system from which the recordings originated.

At runtime, the screens are run in the same way as they were run during the recording.

The following are some of the controls that Screen Scraping does not record:

• Self-programmed F1 - and F4 help (PROCESS ON HELP-REQUEST , PROCESS ON VALUE-REQUEST) are not recorded. The same applies to all commands in the System and Help menus.

• Error and warning dialogs are not recorded.

  Caution

  When errors occur during a recording, any Data Model which uses such recording may not work at runtime. For that reason, recordings in which error messages were detected are automatically discarded at runtime.

• Movements in the scroll-bar are not recorded.

You can quickly create a Data Model from a recording, for use as a service in SAP Gateway.

The following is an overview of the sequence of tasks in Screen Scraping:

1. Create your Data Model based on Screen Scraping.

   For more information, see Selecting the Data Source.

2. Create a recording group for storing and organizing your recordings.

   For more information, see Storing Recordings in Recording Groups.

3. Record the transaction, its screens and fields.

   For more information, see Recording a Transaction, its Screens, and Fields.

4. Get search help data entities to enable end users to perform queries at runtime about business entities for which they have incomplete information at their disposal.

   For more information, see Getting Search Help Data Source.

5. Map the data entities in your recordings and search help to specific operation types in your Data Model.

   For more information, see Creating the Mapping.

6. Set keys for the mapped operations.

   For more information, see Assigning Keys to Operations.

7. Generate the Data Model.

   For more information, see Generating the PS and DS Data Models.

8. Create a Consumption Model and add your model to it.

   For more information, see Manually Add Your Model to a Consumption Model.

9. Manually configure the system alias for the service document.

   For more information, see Configuring the System Alias for your Service Document.

Optionally, you test he generated service.

To create a Data Model using the Data Model Generator tool and to test the generated SAP Gateway service, see SAP Gateway Generators Cookbook.