Purpose
Use external and internal data formats

The Open Call Interface provides and assumes all data to be in external format; this is normally the appropriate format for the UI layer. For particular cases you can use a special notation to exchange field values in the internal format.

Data format in the Remote Function Call

The standard SAP RFC interface uses the internal data format, e.g. you need to add leading zeros in customer numbers and specify and obtain date fields in the format YYYYMMDD.

This is not obvious when you work with the SE37 test environment, since you enter the test input in external format and also see the test results in external format. As an example let us look at the SE37 display of a customer order header in the function module BAPI_SALESORDER_DETAILBOS.

This is how it looks when your SAP logon language is English and your user defaults are "decimal point" and date format "MM-DD-YYYYY":

                 

Here DOC_ means "Document type".

A user with German logon language, decimal separator "comma" and date format DD.MM.YYYY will see a different test output:

 

In contrast to both screens above, the standard RFC returns internal values, e.g.

Document number: 0000000701
Rec_Date: 20190512
Document type: TA
Net Value: ########  (packed field, "unpack" option needed)

The SAP conversion exits are special function modules; they consist mainly of

  • Removing and adding leading zeros if the given string is numeric ("alpha" conversion)
  • Date reformatting according to user settings, e.g. MM-DD-YYYY
  • Number reformatting (decimal and group separators) according to user settings
  • Language dependent conversions, e.g. internal order type "TA" to English "OR" or French "CMD"
  • Database driven conversions, e.g. for a functional location "SWC-EC"  a database lookup is performed to find the internal value "?0100000000000005483", and vice versa
  • Configurable layout rules e.g. for the project number
  • Further conversions can be implemented such as a special material number layout

If you develop GuiXT scripts for users who work in different languages and with different settings for date and number display, the conversion rules need special attention and testing. Some rules are not obvious; for example, an order type "TA" will work in English with the same meaining as "OR" as long as no "TA" order type is created for English  (table TAUUM, transaction OVA3).

The Open Call Interface always provides the results in external format as shown in the SE37 environment, i.e. it automatically applies the appropriate conversion rules for input and output so that you can immediately work with the UI-format of all values.

There are cases where you prefer to send or receive a value in the internal format; this is supported with the notation "*xxxx" instead of "xxxx" in the definition of a GuiXT structured variable or table variable. You may also use both notations simultaneously in one stucture if you need a value both in internal and in external format.

Example
We want to read the "ship-to party" of a customer order using BAPI_SALESORDER_GETDETAILBOS.

The following Version 1 works well for users with English logon, but will not work in other logon languages if the partner role "SH" is not defined or has a different meaning in this language:

GuiXT 
// create structures/tables with the fields we need
CreateStructure V[orderpartner] partn_role itm_number customer
CreateTable V[orderpartners] include=V[orderpartner]

// read partner roles for given order number V[aufnr]
Call "BAPI_SALESORDER_GETDETAILBOS" _
  export.SALESDOCUMENT="aufnr" _
  import.ORDERPARTNERS="orderpartners"

// search "ship-to" partner
CreateStructure V[mysearch] partn_role itm_number
Set V[mysearch.partn_role] "SH"
Set V[mysearch.itm_number] "000000" // header partners

// search partner table
ReadRow V[orderpartner] table=V[orderpartners] match=V[mysearch]

if Q[ok]
  Message "Ship-to partner: &V[orderpartner.customer]"
else
  Message "Ship-to partner not found"
endif

 

 Version 2 uses the notation "*partn_role". This requests the internal value of the partner role and thereby will work in any language:

GuiXT 
// create structures/tables with the fields we need
CreateStructure V[orderpartner] *partn_role itm_number customer
CreateTable V[orderpartners] include=V[orderpartner]

// read order
Call "BAPI_SALESORDER_GETDETAILBOS" _
  export.SALESDOCUMENT="aufnr" _
  import.ORDERPARTNERS="orderpartners"

// search "ship-to" partner
CreateStructure V[mysearch] *partn_role itm_number
Set V[mysearch.*partn_role] "WE"   // WE from German "Warenempfänger"
Set V[mysearch.itm_number] "000000" // header partners

// search partner table
ReadRow V[orderpartner] table=V[orderpartners] match=V[mysearch]

if Q[ok]
  Message "Ship-to partner: &V[orderpartner.customer]"
else
  Message "Ship-to partner not found"
endif

Formatting rules in the case of *xxxx notation

  • All string type fields are assumed to be and are returned using the internal format, without applying any conversion rules
  • Numbers (e.g. decimal packed format or integer) are formatted as a series of digits, without group separator, but with a decimal point if decimal places are defined in the SAP data dictionary or for floating point values
  • Date fields use  the format YYYYMMDD

 

Components
InputAssistant