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Use

The classes of the SAP schema, the software components and their versions, and the products and their versions are the basis for the component information.

This section describes the connection between these terms as shown in the following figure:

  • Product

    A collection of all versions of a product. A product is a unit that is delivered, visible to the customer, and is installable and renewable. In an SAP environment, a product corresponds to an SAP technical component.

  • Product version

    A particular version of a product.

  • Software component

    A collection of all versions of a software component. Software components represent the reusable modules of a product. You can upgrade them or install patches on them.

  • Software component version

    A particular version of a software component.

  • Software unit

    A particular aspect of the product functions that is always installed as a bundle. It is a logical link between the product version and the software component version.

As shown in the figure above, a product version consists of multiple software units. These units are implemented by various software components (or versions).

Example

The product SAP R/3 Enterprise, which represents an SAP technical component, has, among other things, a product version SAP R/3 Enterprise Core 4.7. The software unit that represents the functions of this product version has the same description as the product version. Various software components (or versions) fill the functions of this software unit. These software components (or versions) are, among others, SAP Basis 6.20, SAP HR 4.70, and SAP Enterprise Retail 1.10.

The data about SAP software components and SAP products is maintained by SAP. You cannot change this data. You can add current data to your SLD by using the data import function (see Updating the Software Catalog ).