SAP Fiori tools 2202 release bring new features and makes troubleshooting easier

[tashley]

As this is my first blog post in 2022, I would like to start by reflecting on 2021 before sharing the latest and greatest capabilities in SAP Fiori tools. 

SAP Fiori tools evolved significantly in 2021 

I am very proud of what the SAP Fiori tools team accomplished in 2021. We kicked off the year with the consolidation of the two project generators to create SAP Fiori applications.  We delivered a single project generator to offer the same convenience and consistent user experience, whether you are building an SAP Fiori elements or SAPUI5 freestyle app. 

Unified project generator for SAP Fiori apps

Throughout 2021, we continuously invested in the completeness and robustness of our migration tool to cover different use cases for projects that were created in SAP Web IDE. I am pleased to say that the tool was used by our customers and internal SAP S/4HANA development teams to migrate thousands of projects. On the other end of the development cycle, choosing a deployment target and generating the necessary deployment artifacts is now possible in the Application Generator. The deployment CLI (command line interface) has also been enriched with extensive options to deploy the app to Cloud Foundry or ABAP. 

We lived up to our promise to simplify the development experience with numerous convenience features. Just to name a few:   

• We introduced an Application Information page for all users to see the project status and commands in one page.  


• Experimental features in the page editor make it easy and fast to add SAP Fiori elements features that require annotations.  


• We continued to expand the collection guides in Guided Development and introduced input validation to accelerate development of the apps.  


• We added a data editor so you can quickly build an app with meaningful and realistic data for demos and sample apps. 

From the very beginning, we envisioned a vibrant community for SAP Fiori app development. We took our first step toward open source with the templates for SAPUI5 freestyle applications. 

What is planned for SAP Fiori tools during 2022? 

In the first release of 2022, we built on the topics we started in 2021. 

Experimental features in Page Editor 

We continue to work on our commitments to make annotation simpler. In the Page Editor, you will find many new properties for filter fields, value helps, and columns that reduce the amount of typing you need to do and make development less error prone. 

Adding multiple filter fields in one go

 

Troubleshooting destinations in SAP Business Application Studio 

Connecting to the respective system, whether it is SAP BTP, ABAP environment, or SAP S/4HANA, is an essential part of any SAP application development project. In SAP Business Application Studio, this is managed through destinations defined in the SAP BTP cockpit. The Application Generator in SAP Fiori tools relies on the destinations to connect to the OData service. When it fails to connect, it is often challenging to identify the cause. In this release, we introduced a new command “Fiori: Open Environment Check” to help you to isolate problem. We took this a step further to enable you to save the results of the check so you can send the zip file to SAP if the issue cannot be addressed on your end and you need to create a support incident with SAP. 

 

Validate destination in SAP BAS  

Manage system connections in Visual Studio Code 

In Visual Studio Code, SAP Fiori tools added the capability to save system connection information such as URL and user/password when you entered them at the time of project generation. The systems can be seen in the System view in the SAP Fiori pane. Passwords often needed to be updated after reaching validity date. With this release, you can also change the password and test the connection in the same view. 

Edit SAP system connection in VSC

Bring light to the minimum SAPUI5 version 

As much as we all want to embrace the latest version of the software, the reality is that this is often not possible. The minimum UI5 version is an important and conscious decision that needs to be considered by the developer, based on the business requirements and system landscapes. For this reason, the Application Generator will no longer default to `latest` for the minimum UI5 version. Instead, it will be smarter about it. It will first check the UI5 version of the backend system and use that as the default. Of course, the developer can still change this, based on the intent and purpose of the app.  

Features can vary between SAPUI5 versions. As SAP Fiori elements development teams continue to offer new capabilities and enrich the frameworks, there may be changes to how a feature is configured in a newer SAPUI5 version. While such change is documented, it is not trivial for the developers to clearly identify the changes needed in the project when upgrading the app to a newer SAPUI5 version.  

I am pleased to introduce SAPUI5 variant in Guided Development. With a SAPUI5 variant, you can clearly see the difference and apply the necessary update. You will find this update in the “Enable table to auto-load data” guide in this release. We plan to add SAPUI5 variant to other applicable guides. 

Guides highlight changes in between SAPUI5 versions

Mock Server and Data Editor 

We continue to enrich mock server capabilities to support offline development as well as scenarios where testing the app against a backend is not possible. The mock server now supports multiple services and is capable of handling multiple annotation files in the project. The Data Editor now supports SAPUI5 freestyle projects in addition to SAP Fiori elements OData V4 using an ABAP-based service. Stay tuned for news on support on SAP Fiori elements OData V2. 

We are focused on continuous improvement 

For the remainder of 2022, you can expect that we will stay true to our commitments to simplify SAP Fiori development and remain focused on delivering new capabilities and building an open-source community. On the simplification front, we plan to add configuration of the analytical chart capabilities in the Page Editor and make it easy for you to harness the power of the Flexible Programming Model in SAP Fiori elements OData V4. The mission of SAP Fiori tools is to accelerate development. While convenience functions are great to save you time from repetitive tasks, we believe that the learning and troubleshooting aspects of the app development experience are equally important. You can expect to see more on that front in 2022 as well. 

  

  

 

[former_member5334]

Thanks, Ashley.

Great blog.

What about extension project ? Now this type of project available only in WebIde. Any plans about that?

[alex_telitsin]

Ashley,

thank you for the blog.

Regarding the minimum SAPUI5 version, is it possible to set this as 1.38 and configurate the local project to use SAPUI5 version 1.38 for preview an application?

 

Thank you,

Alex

 

[tashley]

Hi Aleksandr,

Thanks for the comment. Please let a look at https://tools.hana.ondemand.com/#sapui5 for the support on extension project. SAP recommends upgrading UI5 version if possible .

[alex_telitsin]

Hi Ashley,

SAP recommends upgrading UI5 version if possible .

Is that your answer for my question about support SAPUI5 version 1.38?

My issue is that 1.38 has a Long-Term Maintenance status and there are systems that are still using that version.

I'd like to use your great SAP Fiori tools for such systems. 

[former_member5334]

Thanks Ashley.

But my question was about Fiori tools and type of project - Extension project for extending existing Sapui5 application. This project type available inly in WebIDE. Any plant to add this type of project to BAS or Fiori Tools?

[richard-bruenni]

Hi,

nice Blog and Overview thank you!

Is there a place where we can place feature requests?

In the Service Modeller in VSCODE if you actualize the OData service meta data, you have to provide the authentication every time. I would like to request that the authentication is somehow stored? When you develop like Change CDS -> Reload Meta Data it would be nice.

Best regards Richard

[OliverGraeff]

Hello Aleksandr,

'Adaptation projects' are the improved 'Extension projects', leveraging capabilities of SAPUI5 flexibility. Adaptation projects are supported in BAS, see e.g. Developer Adaptation. Hope this helps.

Cheers, Oliver

[former_member5334]

Thanks, Oliver.

I will try 'Adaptation projects'.

Best Regards, Alexander Karpov

[tashley]

Hi Alexey,

SAP Fiori tools supports development of SAP Fiori elements and SAPUI5 freestyle applications with minimum SAPUI5 version 1.65 or higher. However, there is a workaround to use a lower version for previewing the application. Please refer to https://help.sap.com/viewer/42532dbd1ebb434a80506113970f96e9/Latest/en-US

Hope this helps.

Ashley

 

[tashley]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the kind comments. We are aware of the missing functionality in the Service Manager to use the system connection information stored locally in the keychain or credential manager. The Application Generator already does that. It is in our backlog to add similar capability to the Service Manager when connecting to the backend to do the sync. Stay tuned for future updates on this.

Also, we had been investing to make it easy to manage system connections in VSC. Please refer to our documentation for more information. 

Best regards,

Ashley

[former_member5334]

Hello Oliver.

I use local development mostly. VScode + Fiori tools. Are there any plans to add Extension project type to Fiori tools?

[OliverGraeff]

Hello Aleksandr,

Yes, we plan to provide adaptation projects also for a local VSCode environment in Q4/2022. This will show in the SAPUI5 road map soon. As usual with such forward looking statements: This is the current status of planning and subject to change.

Regards, Oliver

[former_member5334]

Thanks for answer, Oliver

[TiagoAlmeida]

Hello.

Sadly the roadmap is showing this has been pushed to Q2/2023.

[OliverGraeff]

I want to give you a prompt update on a decision we had to take this week. Our engineering team is working on this topic and some features are completed as of today, e.g. the generator to create the project. Other features are in process, such as the destination handling, the app preview (pulling coding from the workspace as well as the backend system), deployment capabilities, and the SAPUI5 Visual Editor itself, which all require a new implementation for running in the VSCode infrastructure. Developing these, we align the adaptation projects more with the SAP Fiori tools to achieve a harmonized delivery & consumption experience and leverage synergies.

SAP is well aware of the priority of this topic for customers and also the fact that a reliable road map is expected. Nevertheless, we are faced with a considerable effort and necessary alignments, forcing us to communicate a planned availability of Q4 2023. (We strive to deliver as early as possible and will communicate in the usual UI5 channels.)

I will also reflect this change in the respective item of the SAPUI5 Road Map.

Thank you for your understanding.