https://community.sap.com/t5/application-development-and-automation-discussions/why-odata/m-p/12259774#M1986966 <P>Hi community,</P> <P>this may sound like a very dumb question, and I am sorry for that, but I have failed to find a satisfying answer to why is SAP so adamant on using OData? </P> <P>I understand what OData is and what features are defined with it.</P> <P>What I do not understand is why it's adoption is basically limited to SAP and they seem to keep sticking to it no matter how API implementations of other IT companies look like ( I am not talking about providing it as an optional rendering, like Sharepoint, but OData being the only available choice )</P> Wed, 26 Aug 2020 06:56:03 GMT Former Member 2020-08-26T06:56:03Z https://community.sap.com/t5/application-development-and-automation-discussions/why-odata/m-p/12259774#M1986966 <P>Hi community,</P> <P>this may sound like a very dumb question, and I am sorry for that, but I have failed to find a satisfying answer to why is SAP so adamant on using OData? </P> <P>I understand what OData is and what features are defined with it.</P> <P>What I do not understand is why it's adoption is basically limited to SAP and they seem to keep sticking to it no matter how API implementations of other IT companies look like ( I am not talking about providing it as an optional rendering, like Sharepoint, but OData being the only available choice )</P> Wed, 26 Aug 2020 06:56:03 GMT https://community.sap.com/t5/application-development-and-automation-discussions/why-odata/m-p/12259774#M1986966 Former Member 2020-08-26T06:56:03Z https://community.sap.com/t5/application-development-and-automation-discussions/why-odata/m-p/12259775#M1986967 <P>Hi Sebastian</P><P>That's not a dumb question at all - far from it.</P><P>First off, I think some of it has to do with OData being very query-centric and the database being at the heart of the on-premise SAP system. Accessing the database is also at the core of the ABAP language, contrary to many other languages out there.</P><P>Second, OData has been in use at SAP for a <EM>long</EM> time. Alternatives like GraphQL and OpenAPI just weren't around at the time. And there is already one legacy web service technology still in use in the SAP world (SOAP), so I can understand any reluctance to introducing a new technology.</P><P>Third, using a protocol/language with programmatically accessible metadata is essential for e.g. tool support.</P><P>Just my two euro cents <span class="lia-unicode-emoji" title=":slightly_smiling_face:">🙂</span></P><P>Regards,</P><P>Morten</P> Wed, 26 Aug 2020 10:50:36 GMT https://community.sap.com/t5/application-development-and-automation-discussions/why-odata/m-p/12259775#M1986967 MortenWittrock 2020-08-26T10:50:36Z