Tools for ABAP Development

ABAP Development Tools integrates two different types of tools for ABAP development:

• Eclipse-based tools: Tools of this type have been created using Eclipse means and they integrate seamlessly into the Eclipse environment. They are characterized by the same look and feel and the same navigation setup that is typical of the Eclipse Workbench. Some striking examples of such native Eclipse tools are the different variants of ABAP Source Code editors, the integration in Outline, and the Tasks and Problems view.
• GUI-based tools: Not all ABAP development tools that are available in the new development environment are integrated into the native Eclipse environment. Some ABAP tools are made available in the new IDE through the SAP GUI, which is installed locally together with the Eclipse-based client. GUI-based tools represent, in the broadest sense, the tools and utilities of the traditional GUI-based ABAP Workbench. Typical examples are Package Builder tools and the utilities for maintaining text elements for ABAP programs. The particular strength of the integration of these tools is that navigation to them in SAP GUI for Java is normally seamless. Ask for the definition of a structure, and the Java GUI is automatically opened to the Data Dictionary structure editor.