3
Defining an Interaction

This chapter describes how to configure Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect to access RFC and BAPI function modules, and ALE IDOCs in an R/3 system.

The Oracle Application Server Integration Adapter for SAP R/3 supports two Adapter Exchange Protocols in the inbound direction: ALE and RFC. For the inbound direction, R/3 makes a remote call and expects Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect to implement the function.

• ALE--ALE, or Application Link Enabling. This is a messaging protocol where the messages are big structures called Intermediate Documents or IDOCs. For the inbound direction, R/3 sends the IDOC into Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect.

• RFC--RFC, or Remote Function Call. This is a request/reply protocol which makes possible the remote execution of function modules.

In the outbound direction, there are three Adapter Exchange Protocols: ALE, RFC and BAPI.

• BAPI, or Business Application Programming Interface. This is similar to RFC except the hierarchy of functions is presented differently.

For ALE in the outbound direction, Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect sends the IDOC to R/3.

For RFC and BAPI in the outbound direction, Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect makes the remote call and expects R/3 to implement the call.

This chapter discusses the following topic:

• Adding an Interaction

Adding an Interaction

After defining a delivery channel for an R/3 system you can add interactions. Follow these instructions to add an RFC, BAPI, or ALE IDOC as an interaction in Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect.

See Also: Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect User's Guide for details about interactions in Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect

Before you can view ALE IDOCs in the browser you must have either:

• Downloaded the ALE IDOCs you want to use to an Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect machine

  See Also: "Manually Downloading an IDOC"

• Imported the Utility Function Modules into an R/3 system

  See Also: "Installing Oracle AS ProcessConnect Utility Modules in Your R/3 System".

  See Also: "AdvancedSend Versus Send"

All interactions have at most two arguments. The first argument is a structure that contains all input arguments. The name is fully scoped and ends with underscore Request. The second argument is a structure that contains all output arguments and the return value. The name is fully scoped and ends with underscore Reply.

1. Select Modeling > Interactions.

   

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2. Click Add to add an interaction.

3. Expand Oracle.

   

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4. Select SAP R/3 Adapter.

5. Select a delivery channel.

   

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6. Expand either the Inbound or Outbound folders depending on the type of interaction you would like to create. For this discussion, click Outbound.

   Outbound interactions generate a request and a reply. They are used when Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect is communicating with an R/3 system.

   Inbound interactions generate a request and are used when an R/3 adapter exchange protocol is sending messages to Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect.

   The Add Interaction: Select Interaction page displays the Remote Function Call (RFC), BAPI, and ALE adapter exchange protocols that you can access.

   

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7. Click ALE, RFC, or BAPI to display modules that you can access.

   ALE--Under ALE you can find a long list of available IDOCs. Every IDOC has the same two methods: Send and AdvancedSend. They function the same way, but the arguments for AdvancedSend are more complex and, therefore, give more control. In general, you should use Send for ALE outbound and AdvancedSend for ALE inbound.

   RFC--The RFC hierarchy starts with a letter, then a GroupName, and then the list of function modules in that group. This hierarchy reflects the R/3 native hierarchy.

   BAPI--The BAPI hierarchy is organized in groups that have more significant names. Within BAPI, the groups can also contain inner groups, with the interactions at the lowest level.

   The RFC and BAPI branches are provided as a convenience, depending on whether you are more familiar with the Business Object Repository (BOR) hierarchy or with the RFC groups. Both contain function modules capable of performing an operation.

   • The RFC folder contains function modules organized by group (BAPI modules). In the RFC folder, function modules are organized by function module groups. The areas are denoted by a letter, for example, A,B, ..., Z. Expanding the area folder displays its groups, and expanding a function group displays its function modules.

   • The BAPI folder contains function modules used by Business Object Repository (BOR), and is organized according to the BOR hierarchy.

     BAPI - BAPI Full Content contains an Application Components folder. Expanding Application Components displays other folders and application components. An application component contains function modules and corresponds to a business object.

   The ALE folder displays ALE IDOCs (if you loaded the enhancement Utility or downloaded the IDOCs manually).

8. Select a group and choose an interaction. For this discussion, expand RFC > V > Group2032 nodes and select the bapisdorder_getdetailedlist transaction.

   

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   If you were selecting an ALE Inbound interaction, you must select the AdvancedSend method.

   See Also: "AdvancedSend Versus Send"

   

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   The Add Interaction: Review page displays the details. For an Outbound selection, there is an InRecord Type and an OutRecord Type. For an Inbound selection, there is only an InRecord Type.

9. Click Apply.

   The Confirmation screen appears, allowing you to specify the Native Format of the request.

   

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10. Verify that the selection for the Native Format and the Extractor of the request is XSD and click Apply.

    The Confirmation screen appears, allowing you to specify the Native Format of the reply.

    

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11. Verify that the selection for the Native Format and the Extractor of the reply is XSD and click Apply.

12. The interaction continues into the Create Native Event Type wizard.

    See Also: Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect User's Guide for instructions on using the wizard

On completion, the new interaction appears in the Interactions list.

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You can click the interaction link for a complete view of the interaction details.

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