Hi,
IDoc or Intermediate Document is a standard SAP document format. IDocs allow different application systems to be linked via a message-based interface.
There are three main aims behind the use of IDocs:
The structured exchange of business documents so that they can be processed automatically.
The various degrees of structural complexity as displayed by different application systems can be reduced to a structure which is as simple as possible.
Example: the structure of an SAP application document and the structure of the corresponding EDI message under the UN/EDIFACT standard.
IDocs allow for extensive exception handling before the data are posted to the application.
IDocs are defined and considered on two levels, the technical and the business level. The former allows them to support application-independent functions, e.g. routing and handling technical exceptions.
Technical level
Defined by the three record types compatible with the IDoc interface:
Control record
Data record
Status record
Business level
Defined by the segments of an IDoc. Segments are structures used to interpret field SDATA in the data record. An IDoc type is defined by the relevant:
Segments
Attributes of these segments
(e.g. maximum usage, hierarchical sequence, segment status)
IDoc Types
The messages exchanged between systems are of various message types. The message type depends on the data contained and the process involved. It determines the technical structure of the message, the IDoc type. For example, the FIDCMT message type is used for journal messages.
The IDoc type indicates the SAP format that is to be used to interpret the data of a business transaction.
An IDoc type consists of the following components:
· a control record
This is identical for each IDoc type.
· several data records
One data record consists of a fixed key part and a variable data part. The data part is interpreted using segments, which differ depending on the IDoc type selected.
· several status records
These are identical for each IDoc type and describe the statuses an IDoc has already passed through or the status an IDoc has attained.
Regards,
Maha
Bluesky
