#93: ABAP Cloud, StackOverflow, What's in a Name
In this issue:
Cloudy With a Chance of ABAP
If you’re confused about what “ABAP Cloud” actually means, you’re not alone. If it’s a development model, then what happened to ABAP RAP (also a development model)? Did ABAP Cloud eat it? Is it just a nerfed version of ABAP to force everyone to use SAP BTP? Or, as some folks on Reddit want to know, is it like Web Dynpro?
I don’t think it’s like Web Dynpro at all, but as always, SAP marketing concoctions like “ABAP Cloud, part of SAP Build” are not helping to add clarity.
Recently, SAP published the Developer Guide: From Classic ABAP to ABAP Cloud. It is definitely a guide, just not one that delivers on the “from - to” promise. A guide like that should, I think, be more along the lines of “this is how you’ve done X before, and this is how you can do X now” or “instead of X, we now do Y.” An excellent example of this style is the good ole ADT for SE80 fans. The ABAP Cloud guide chose as an example of a… BAPI wrapper. And I’m just thinking: shouldn’t SAP do that? Shouldn’t every BAPI (and more) already be a public API? Why would the customers do that?
This prompted me to revisit some older posts on the subject (check out 2023 Devtoberfest videos; they’re still accurate). And the clearest post on the topic is still the OG one from 2022: simple questions, simply answered by a real human, not a committee.
In any case, I suspect interest for ABAP Cloud in the wild right now is a lot lower than SAP assumes. If it picks up, I’d expect better grassroots educational content to surface, as it usually happens. Stay tuned. JP
Goodbye, Green Checkmarks
Before the joke was everyone copy-pasting from ChatGPT, it was that everyone copy-pastes from StackOverflow. I was there from the beginning of SO, having been an avid follower of Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky before they started it, and I loved watching it grow to be something that truly accomplished its mission. You really could either find an answer already created or get a nerd to help you bonk around on a hairy problem.
If you’ve paid attention in the second half of its life, you probably know that a lot of people began to dislike some of the SO moderation and community directions. As lots of answers accumulated, the game gradually shifted from creating the pile to managing the pile. Looking at the chart above, I speculate that along with a larger accumulation of good answers that there was also a degrading sense of community. I mean, surely there were still many unique programming questions to answer after 2016! The final nail in the coffin, it should be obvious, was ChatGPT and its later cousins. Look at the way that graph plummets right at the end of 2022.
I have complicated feelings about SO’s death. Part of me wants there to be a clear successor, so that we can all gather around a new bonfire and reminisce about the old times. But another part of me realizes that there’s a sea change happening in technology right now, and maybe that’s an opportunity to create something even more incredible. PM
Good News, Everyone!
In the first working weeks of 2026, there was a weird explosion of LinkedIn posts that are supposed to bear exciting, breaking news for ABAPers. First, there was a sudden influx of “influencer” posts about the updated READ TABLE syntax. This information is at least a year old, which makes one wonder what’s up with that.
Then, we got an announcement that there is a solution “to any ABAP development problem you may have”: Joule Capability Documentation Chat. I hope it has access to some vast untapped documentation deposits because whatever is already available so far somehow doesn’t solve all problems. And not because developers don’t know how to RTFM good but usually because there simply isn’t TM to FR.
Coincidentally, I stumbled upon this post from eminent community member Marian Zeis that talks about potential competition for Joule (and not just for developers). Comparing it side-by-side with SAP’s offering, frankly, I just don’t see where Joule would be a winning proposition (other than the brand name). I’m beginning to think that instead of sinking more resources into Joule “capabilities”, SAP should just cut their losses and invest in what no one else can do: APIs and functionality that does business stuff for customers.
Now, onto the actual great news. Alejandro Kinsbrunner delivered on his promise and started series of videos on how to develop an ABAP RAP application, step by step. The series is not complete yet but looks very promising because it is a real-life scenario and none of that SFLIGHT and “BAPI wrapper” bull hockey. Add to your bookmarks! JP
Ask Us How We’re Doing
Bring it back, please! Like #OLD_FASHION_TREND_REFERENCE, the SAP Developer Insights Survey seems to have stopped being a thing. The 2025 version was a survey but never had a results release. Count me a member of the Riley Rainey fan club for his work here (and his ability to wax nerdy about Apollo space program computing devices).
Unlike my commentary on StackOverflow above (“it might be gone but we can make something better”), I really think we have to get something like this survey back into the world. As long as humans do something like software development, it’ll be fantastically important for us to have a grasp on how our peers are doing it. We are staring a new paradigm for software right in the face (YES I AM TALKING ABOUT AI, SORRY / NOT SORRY), and it’s vital that we share information with one another. The pace of change continues to accelerate, and we have to be able to lean on each other more than ever.
Bring it back. PM
My Name is, Chka-Chka
In his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie wrote: “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Or, in the timeless words of Eminem, “Hi, my name is, huh?” Indeed.
As someone who’s been blessed with a last name that is challenging to get right even in my native language, I’ll totally give you a pass for not getting it right. Heck, most of the time I prefer to go by my first name only, like Madonna or Cher (I’m in great company here).
And considering that my Russian name in Latvian spelling (otherwise it would be spelled “Yelena”) presents difficulties for many English-speaking folks, I’m willing to overlook being called the whole spectrum from “Helena” to “Juliana.” Knife, sword, whatever.
But what is incredibly annoying is this: even with my name written right there - in my LinkedIn profile, email signature, or Slack message - people still somehow manage to butcher it. And this is where I draw the line. Can’t spell? Just copy-paste it, bro. It ain’t that hard.
Pay attention to other person’s sweetest sound, folks. It’s not like we are keeping a score of offences or anything, ahem. But I promise 100% that your effort or lack thereof doesn’t go unnoticed. JP
Drifting
So far in this issue I’ve mourned the death of a platform and begged for a connection point to come back to life. Pretty bleak. I’m doing this because I want my fellow nerds to be prepared for the pace of change happening to us all. When connection points die off (and I think many more than StackOverflow and the Developer Insights Survey have gone the way of the dodo), people can be left feeling adrift.
Here are things you SAP nerds can do, right now, that help this adrift-ness.
Contribute to open-source in the SAP ecosystem. Visit dotabap, find a project you think is interesting, and improve something. Write some tests, fill a gap in the documentation, or just donate. You’ll connect with interesting and amazing people!
If you’re feeling the social media thing (not everyone does!), make it a goal to actually click “like” or “repost” on the interesting things. People will notice that and connect with you.
If you’re not feeling the social media thing (completely understandable!), reach out to a trusted colleague for an off-the-record “bitch sesh”. I guarantee that if you’re feeling adrift, you’re not alone…and there’s nothing in the world that works better than personal conversation.
Human connection is the answer to being adrift. The tech job market continues to rattle around and up-leveling your marketable skills is a constant struggle. I work at the cutting edge of what’s just becoming possible in software, and I feel like my crystal ball is completely broken for what comes next. Fellow humans are the solution to all of these problems. PM
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This hit home hard. The point about connection points going the way of the dodo really captured someting I've been feeling lately. When StackOverflow started dying, I actualy felt that drift - like losing a familiar place to gather. Your suggestion about reaching out for personal conversation is spot-on, it's those direct human connections that keep us grounded when everything else is shifting.