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Background documentation Designing the BAPI  Locate the document in its SAP Library structure

After the scenario and the business object types used in it have been identified in the analysis of the scenario, the BAPI signature is defined conceptionally within the design phase. The content should be described and the parameter names and the parameter structure must be defined.

Since BAPIs represent business interfaces and not technical ones, the following central requirement for developing BAPIs arises:
In an external application, users must be able to correctly implement a BAPI call using their knowledge of the application and the BAPI documentation alone. Users are not expected to have any knowledge of SAP, so that they can view the SAP System as a "black box".

In this phase you also have to decide from the BAPI's functions, whether the BAPI is an instance method or a class method and whether it can be implemented as a standardized BAPI.
Instance methods refer to a specific instance of a business object type; for example, the BAPI Flight.GetDetail retrieves the details of precisely one flight. These methods are defined as instance-dependent in the BOR.
Class methods do not refer to a specific instance of a business object type; for example, the BAPI Flight.GetList supplies a list of all the existing flights that match specific criteria. Standardized create methods also belong to class methods. A create method creates a new instance. The BAPI FlightBooking.CreateFromData() creates a new flight booking in the SAP System, for example. These methods are defined as instance-independent in the BOR.

The specific instances of a business object type are identified by their key fields which is why they play a special role in this context. In the design phase, the keys of instance-dependent BAPIs should be identified as special parameters. For more details see Defining the Interface.

When designing the BAPI signature you should keep in mind:

  1. The design of the method (BAPI) and the parameters must comply with certain conventions See also Conventions.
  2. There are a range of standard methods and parameters that provide basic functions. If the BAPIs and their parameters fall into this category, they must be structured according to specified rules. For an overview see Standardized BAPIs and Standardized Parameters.
  3. So that the signature is clearly structured and easy to use, you should follow the design recommendations.