Serialization Using Message Types (SAP Library

Serialization Using Message Types

The ALE serialization function module Serialization_Check flags each IDoc that has been overtaken. An overtaken IDoc is defined as follows: assuming IDocs A and B contain information about object/document X (e.g. order number 4711). If A is created by the R3 sending system before B, but B has already been successfully processed by the R3 receiving system, A is said to have been overtaken.

To use serialization you need to:

Define the serialization object for your message type - ALE extracts the object/document number from the IDoc’s data segments, and hence needs to know which field to use.
Call the function module Serialization_Check at the beginning of your inbound function module.
Handle overtaken IDocs according to your needs.
Ensure that the inbound function module’s export table SERIALIZATION_INFO contains the serialization table from the function module Serialization_Check (see the example below).

Example

The Example Program for Serialization shows the additional coding necessary in the function module Idoc_Input_Xample to recognize overtaken IDocs and to return an appropriate error message. The example assumes that overtaken IDocs need to be manually dealt with, i.e. they cannot be automatically processed.