Hello World <add pithy code icon here>

[JimSpath]

Rather than replaying the "why does the site act different" book, I suggest two major tips for users in the new SAP Community platform, using the start-to-learn-a-new-language model of "Hello, World" famous from classic K&R C.

Hello = Community @

Right below each "create-a-post" window here are 2 hints: Pound or Hash sign to relate to a software product, and "AT" (or arroba) to relate to members.  

"Type 3 or more letters" is incorrect, right off, as simply typing the sign in places auto-populates up to 5 display names. The initial fill seems to be from people who participated in a thread already (try it on a popular topic, then cancel to remove your draft!).

Finding the display name needed to make the link to the correct person could be a simple step if their name is distinctive or the auto-suggestion result is smart/lucky. If you are trying to bring in a person or reference their prior work, either getting their attention or using their work as a model, you may not get their link easily. Why, and what to do?

As the display name is arbitrary (pick your own), each member has gone through some internal logic to decide their name. Spaces are not permitted, dashes and underscores are. Upper and lower case are fine, seeming not to mismatch search results (see note from Tammy ca. 2012). You can sometimes find them now with a few letters (JerryJ took 6 keystrokes). Why not always? If the other member created a display name that does not resemble their given/adopted/legal/handle then typing the latter will not locate them, in my experience.

 

6 characters!

 

Look, via search, for the people in the community you'd like to interact with or refer to, making note of their display name for later "@-ing".

Tammy, after a prior Community site basis change:

Search me!

Go to the search bar, filter on users, type characters. If the match fits, you have the keys to the right "@". If not, then you need to cast a wider search net.

(I greyed out my own email and IP addresses; the Piscataway reference is pre-colonial: more profile features on the roadmap ahead)

I will pick on another SAP Influencer I have interacted with over time. Neither their surname nor other parts of how I know them came up. I used google with their name and "sap.com", getting at least one thread link wherein their valid "@" string, including letters and numbers showed up.

Try your larger search here first though, since that might stock the breadcrumb piles better for later forays by others. Spotting the person's reply with a photo in community.sap.com is the quick visual trick I use to spot the needle through the returned haystacks.

Why emphasize these workarounds as a new site feature?

Community first, as in "hello" is the first word in this post title. 

World

We use this site to network on SAP software, at the core, and sharing code snippets is a key communication tool when discussing a feature, or a bug, or an algorithm. Prior to the 2024 site migration, I made random guesses about the post-migration experience. Correct style when posting of ABAP is expected of questioners has been a primary campaign of @Sandra_Rossi (e.g.'"please format your code like below (press the buttons "..." and "</>")' and I concur.

The prior platform had multiple language choices in the code entry screen, including ABAP of course, but Perl, Python, SQL and a few others. This platform has more choices, except all code gets line numbers, via the style cascade.

DO NOT use "PERFORMATTED" unless you are quoting a data stream or other non-code expression.

10 HELLO WORLD

DO use the </> menu.

The "old" system with ABAP style:

Ye Olde Way

The "new" system with ABAP style:

The New Way

/*** SQL comment ***/

koan

Zen Master Unmon said: "The world is vast and wide. Why do you put on your robes at the sound of a bell?"

[retrieved from https://buddhaland.me/zen-koans-the-art-of-contemplation/ among other places on the web]