SAP HANA vs FIORI vs ODATA

[asuji20]

Hello Experts,

I am an SAP ABAP developer and I want to learn something new now.

I like programming a lot, coming up with solutions etc, So I want choose something which involves that and which is beneficial to US job market at present. Could someone help me decide which is best? I have just brief ideas about all three of them, hence your knowledge will help me  a lot in making the correct decision.

Should I go for SAP ODATA or FIORI or HANA.

Also, can someone refer good online classes/courses and certifications for them, they need not be SAP certification.

Thank you very much.

[Former Member]

Hi Madhu,

that depends on how much time you have and how interested you are in learning the basics.

If you have time and want to learn the basics:

Learn Javascript:

JavaScript is the basis for Fiori and UI5 apps and you'll definitely be able to use it in a modern SAP stack.

JavaScript: The Good Parts is a very good book for that purpose. There are also multiple tutorials on the internet and Mozilla (JavaScript reference - JavaScript | MDN) has a good reference.

Learn HTTP, especially REST services:

Ultimately, OData is a HTTP based REST service built upon the HTTP protocol. Read up on HTTP, especially the HTTP verbs GET, POST, PUT and http headers. This will be very handy in troubleshooting OData services.

The HTTP spec is actually pretty good, if a bit dry (RFC 7230 - Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing). This primer (http://www.w3c.it/education/2012/upra/documents/httpprimer.pdf) seems to be pretty good, too.

Learn OData:

As OData is a standardized protocol you should also take some time to look at the specs from OData - the Best Way to REST

Learn Node.js:

Have a look at node.js. This will help you to build quick prototypes for the topics mentioned above and will allow you to implement front-end and back-end in JavaScript, greatly enhancing your exposure to the language and it is a great prototyping tool.

Finally, if you got this down, go to open SAP Courses and look for the specific technology you want to learn.

Best regards,

Frank

[asuji20]

Hello Frank,

Thank you very much for the reply.

So, are you saying that SAP ODATA (is it related to interfaces) is more related to programming and ABAP than SAP HANA (is it more database related?) or SAP FIORI ( is it more related to UI )

Could you please share a 1 line on them from your point of view.

I am interested in getting to know the basics (at least in brief) and then move on to either FIORI or ODATA.

I have heard that SAP certification is quite expensive, so are you aware of any other online programs / certifications ( courses and tests ) that I can take so I can learn in an organized way (basics -> technology ) and also get myself serious about learning something new.

Also, I did check out open.sap.com and most of the courses were related to SAP HANA.