ATC Quality Checking
The ABAP Test Cockpit (ATC) is the main ABAP tool for quality assurance.
Using the ATC, you can check your ABAP programs for many types of problems, including syntax errors, potential problems in performance, sub-optimal or potentially faulty programming, adherence to standards, errors in ABAP Unit testing, and many others.
Here are the main features of the ATC for developers working in the ABAP Development Tools (ADT):
- Local quality check of your ABAP programs directly in in your development environment, starting from Project Explorer or the ABAP source editor
- Display of ATC findings, finding-specific details, and help directly in the ATC Problems view
- Notification of high-priority ATC findings from central ATC quality checks through an ABAP feed
- Display of complete central ATC results originating from mass regression check runs in your quality system in a specific ATC Result Browser view in ADT
- Tool integration for handling exemptions for ATC findings.
The ATC reports problems as findings, messages that describe the problem. Findings have a priority, whereby priority 1 and 2 usually indicate a serious problem that needs to be corrected quickly. All findings offer context- sensitive help, which includes details of each finding that may not appear in the finding messages themselves.
In the ADT, you can use the ATC to check your programs as you work, directly from the Project Explorer or the ABAP Editor. In this case, the findings are for your own use.
Your quality manager can use the ATC to run central "official" quality checks, usually in your integration or consolidation system. You can see your priority 1 and 2 ATC findings from the active central ATC runs with an ABAP feed.
You usually need to clear central ATC findings by correcting your program with the ADT in your development system, and then transporting the changes to the integration and consolidation systems, or wherever central ATC testing takes place. Should you not be able to clear an "official" ATC finding, you can apply to the quality manager for an ATC exemption. An exemption masks a problem reported by the ATC either temporarily or permanently.
The ATC Result Browser is provided in ADT for applying for exemptions and for working with the complete set of ATC findings in central ATC runs. Quality managers can set up the ATC so that findings from central runs are replicated to development systems. The ATC can also be set up to let you apply for central exemptions from the ATC Result Browser in your development system.