Create a Simple Proxy Interface

In order to have a destination for your newly created objects, you need to create a package.

If you’ve completed other tutorials for SAP Application Interface Framework, you might already have created a package and can skip this step.

Open your system. Go to the Object Navigator (transaction code SE80). From the drop-down menu, select Package, enter the name ZDEMO, and press Enter or select Display or Create Object. Confirm the dialogue window, enter a meaningful short description for your new package, and select Confirm. If prompted, enter a workbench request and confirm again.

You have successfully created a new package named ZDEMO.

Next, you need to assign a new namespace to the Backend Metadata Repository.

Run transaction Assignment Namespace Generating Application (transaction code SPXNGENAPPL). Switch to Edit mode, add a new entry, and enter or select the following details for your new namespace:

Save your changes.

To create a new service interface, run the proxy editor (transaction code SPROXY_START).

In Enterprise Services: Initial Screen, select Create with Wizard and carry out the following configuration steps:

1. As Object Type, select Service Provider. Click Continue.
2. As Kind of Service Provider, select Backend. Click Continue.
3. As Name, enter FlightBooking_01_In and namespace http://tutorial.com/aif. Click Continue.
4. For the transport options, enter your package ZDEMO, select a workbench request, and enter the prefix ZAIF_. Select Continue.
5. Select Complete to finish the wizard.

You can now see an overview of your service provider.

Next, you need to add an operation and a fault message type in the proxy editor.

1. Switch to the Internal View tab. Right-click your service provider and select Add Operation. Enter the operation name PostBookings_01. With the new operation selected, switch the Pattern of the operation to Not Reliable to simplify testing.

   

2. Right-click the operation and select Set Request > Select Existing Message Type from the context menu. In the upcoming Restrict Value Range dialog, remove all filters. Enter the message type SXIDAL_FBO_REQUEST_MT in the ABAP Name search filter, and the namespace http://sap.com/xi/XI/Demo/Airline in the Namespace search filter, then press Enter. In the search result, select the found entry, and select Copy.

3. Right-click the operation and select Add Fault > Select Existing Fault Message Type. Similar to the message type search, remove all filters. Then search for the fault message type CX_SXIDAL_TECHNICAL_PROBLEMS.

4. Save and activate the proxy.

Finally, to book the flights in your test scenario, the proxy class method needs to be implemented.

Switch to the Properties tab. Double-click the implementing class ZAIF_CL_FLIGHT_BOOKING_01_IN and then double-click the method ZAIF_II_FLIGHT_BOOKING_01_IN~POST_BOOKINGS_01. Maintain the implementation of the method by copying and pasting the following:

method ZAIF_II_FLIGHT_BOOKING_01_IN~POST_BOOKINGS_01.

    DATA: lv_bookkey  TYPE bapisbokey,
          lv_bookdata TYPE bapisbonew,
          lt_bapiret  TYPE TABLE OF bapiret2.

* Convert input data
    lv_bookdata = VALUE #( airlineid  = input-flight_booking_order_request-flight_id-airline_id
                           connectid  = input-flight_booking_order_request-flight_id-connection_id
                           flightdate = input-flight_booking_order_request-flight_id-flight_date
                           customerid = '1'
                           class      = input-flight_booking_order_request-class_code
                           agencynum  = input-flight_booking_order_request-agency_data-agency_id
                           passname   = input-flight_booking_order_request-passenger_name
                           passform   = input-flight_booking_order_request-passenger_form_of_address
                           passbirth  = input-flight_booking_order_request-passenger_birthdate ).

* Call internal flight booking function
    CALL FUNCTION 'BAPI_FLBOOKING_CREATEFROMDATA'
      EXPORTING
        reserve_only  = ' '
        booking_data  = lv_bookdata
      IMPORTING
        airlineid     = lv_bookkey-airlineid
        bookingnumber = lv_bookkey-bookingid
      TABLES
        return        = lt_bapiret.

* error case
    IF line_exists( lt_bapiret[ type = 'E' id = 'BAPI' number ='001' ] ).

      CALL METHOD cl_proxy_fault=>raise
        EXPORTING
          exception_class_name = 'CX_SXIDAL_TECHNICAL_PROBLEMS'
          bapireturn_tab       = lt_bapiret.

    ENDIF.

endmethod.

Save and activate the class.

As interfaces in SAP Application Interface Framework are grouped using namespaces, you must create a namespace.

Go to Customizing for SAP Application Interface Framework (transaction code /n/AIF/CUST) and navigate to Interface Development > Define Namespace.

Select New Entries and enter the following name and description for your new namespace:

While still in Customizing (transaction code /n/AIF/CUST), navigate to Interface Development > Define Interfaces.

In the upcoming dialog, enter your previously created namespace DEMO_2 and press Enter.

Select New Entries and enter the following parameters based on your proxy class and implementation. You can double-check this information in transaction code SPROXY.

Be aware that entering the Proxy Class Inbound automatically fills in Raw Data Structure, Record Type in Raw Structure, and Proxy Method.

Save your changes.

Next, you have to select the engines that should be used to handle the messages that are processed. If you create a new interface, by default, SAP Application Interface Framework handles the messages as proxy messages, so you can keep the default settings.

To double-check the settings, go to Customizing for SAP Application Interface Framework (transaction code /AIF/CUST) and navigate to Interface Development > Additional Interface Properties > Specify Interface Engines.

In the upcoming dialog, enter your beforehand created namespace DEMO_2, and press Enter. Check that the following engines are preselected:

It’s recommended to implement an interface-specific single index table to ensure full flexibility, especially if you expect a high load of messages or if you plan to define key fields for your interface (now or later).

You can also switch the single index table later, but when you do, all processed messages stored in the old single index table will no longer be visible in the Interface Monitor. The information for the newly incoming messages is stored in the new single index table of the interface.

1. Create a table via transaction SE11. You can use table /AIF/STD_IDX_TBL as a template by entering /AIF/STD_IDX_TBL in the field Database table, right-clicking it and selecting Copy…. Enter the name ZFLBOOK_MON_IDX for the new table and select Continue. When prompted, enter package ZDEMO, which you created earlier.

2. After creating the single index table, activate it by selecting Display and then Activate.

   

3. Go to Customizing (transaction code /n/AIF/CUST) and navigate to SAP Application Interface Framework > Error Handling > Define Namespace-Specific Features. Enter your namespace DEMO_2 and select Continue.

4. Select New Entries to create a new entry in Define Interface-Specific Features. Enter your interface name FLBOOK and version 1 and enter the name of the newly created single index table ZFLBOOK_MON_IDX in the field Message Index Table.

   

5. Save your changes.

If you want to monitor the newly created interface in the Interface Monitor of the Message Dashboard app, you require a recipient for the interface.

Go to Customizing (transaction code /AIF/CUST) and navigate to SAP Application Interface Framework > Error Handling > Define Namespace-Specific Features. Enter or select your namespace DEMO_2 and select Continue.

In the menu on the left, navigate to Define Recipients by double-clicking it. Select New Entries, enter the name ZPROXY_TEST_RECIPIENT for your new recipient, and add a meaningful description.

Save your changes.

To be able to see any data in the Interface Monitor or the Message Dashboard, a recipient must be assigned to the interface you want to monitor.

Go to Customizing (transaction code /AIF/CUST) and navigate to SAP Application Interface Framework > Error Handling > Define Interface-Specific Features. Enter or select your namespace DEMO_2, as well as your interface name FLBOOK and interface version 1. Select Continue.

In the menu on the left, double-click Assign Recipients Without Key Fields and create a new entry. Enter or select the namespace and the recipient you created before.

Save your changes.

Now the users in charge of monitoring the proxy must be assigned to the recipient.

Run transaction /AIF/MYRECIPIENTS and create a new entry. Select the namespace DEMO_2 and recipient ZPROXY_TEST_RECIPIENT you created in the steps before. Check the boxes for Overview and Technical User.

Save the new entry.

Before you can create flight bookings, you need to generate test data.

To do so, run transaction BC_DATA_GEN, select the standard data record, and execute the report.

Open the Data Browser (transaction code SE16), select the table SFLIGHTS, and choose Execute. The generated flight data entries are displayed.

If you run the requests in step 15, select existing flights from this table. Ensure that the flight date is in the future, or your requests will fail.

To be able to send booking requests to the proxy interface, you need to define a service and a service binding in the SOA Management.

Open the SOA Management in your browser by running transaction code SOAMANAGER. In the tab Service Administration, select Web Service Configuration. Search for your service definition FlightBooking_01_In and click it to open its details.

On the Configurations tab, create a new service as follows:

1. Maintain a Service Name and a New Binding Name, then click Next.

2. In step Provider Security, go to Authentication Settings > Authentication Method > Transport Channel Authentication and select the User ID/Password flag. Click Next.

3. On the next screen, click Finish. A new service and binding are displayed.

4. In the Actions column, select the Open Binding WSDL Generation icon to access the Binding WSDL URL that you may need to setup your test client. Copy it for later use.

   

You can find the WSDL URL for binding on the bottom of the upcoming dialog.

If you open the WSDL URL for binding in your internet browser, scroll down to find the end point URL of your service interface.

Use a test client of your choice to send a sample request to the proxy interface. This tutorial specifies the steps for using either SoapUI or Postman.

1. If you use SoapUI, create a new SOAP project.

2. Enter a project name and enter your WSDL URL for binding into the initial WSDL. You are prompted to authenticate to your backend system.

   In the request, a sample request is created. The end point URL of the service interface is automatically added.

3. Enter your username and password in the request properties to authenticate to your backend system. Then, enter some existing flight data from table SFLIGHTS, and post the request.

   

4. If you use Postman, create a new POST request, and enter the end point URL of your service interface into the address field.

5. In the Authorization tab, enter the user credentials to log on to your backend system.

6. In the Headers tab, enter the key content-type with value text/xml.

   

7. Switch to the Body tab and select raw and the type XML. Paste the XML sample request (see below) including the SOAP envelope into the Postman request body. Maintain existing flight data from table SFLIGHTS, and select Send to send the request.

   

The following is an example of a booking request:

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:air="http://sap.com/xi/XI/Demo/Airline">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <air:FlightBookingOrderRequest>
         <AgencyData>
            <AgencyID>109</AgencyID>
            <OrderNumber>1</OrderNumber>
            <ItemNumber>1</ItemNumber>
            <OrderType>Single</OrderType>
         </AgencyData>
         <FlightID>
            <AirlineID>AA</AirlineID>
            <ConnectionID>0017</ConnectionID>
            <FlightDate>2022-02-25</FlightDate>
         </FlightID>
         <ClassCode>Y</ClassCode>
         <PassengerName>Luke</PassengerName>
         <PassengerBirthdate>1978-06-01</PassengerBirthdate>
         <!--Optional:-->
         <PassengerFormOfAddress></PassengerFormOfAddress>
      </air:FlightBookingOrderRequest>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

You have successfully sent in a sample request you can monitor in the next step.

Finally, you should test your settings and verify that the proxy monitoring is working as planned.

If you’re using SAP GUI, check the results of your test in the Interface Monitor (transaction code /n/AIF/IFMON). You’ll only be able to see the new interface if you correctly assigned your user to the recipient.

When you select the summary line for your recipient, you’re forwarded to Monitoring and Error Handling, where you can see your selected test message(s).

Alternatively, if you have set up Message Monitoring in the SAP Fiori launchpad, you can check the test results there. For more information, see How to configure the SAP Fiori Apps for SAP Application Interface Framework.

Congratulations! You’ve created a simple proxy interface and set up monitoring for it in SAP Application Interface Framework.