Getting Started with ABAP Core Data Services (CDS)

[CarineTchoutouo]

ℹ This blog post is regularly updated. | Last edit: 2024-05

This page offers a collection of getting started materials - such as presentations, blogs and videos - about the ABAP Core Data Services (CDS) which provide the next generation data modeling infrastructure for defining and consuming semantically rich data models on the ABAP platform as of SAP NetWeaver AS for ABAP 7.4 SP05. ABAP CDS is a core technology within SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) ABAP Environment, and the ABAP development for SAP HANA in general.

---

 Latest News: 
2024-05: Check out the new ABAP CDS Cheat Sheet🔥
2024-05: ABAP CDS Glossary now available in the ABAP keyword Documentation 🔥
2024-05: Updated ABAP CDS Overview (pdf) 🔥
2024-02: How to reuse access control from a released SAP CDS entity in ABAP Cloud? 
2024-01: ABAP CDS Annotation Documentation Available in the SAP Help Portal 
2024-01: RAP BDL Feature Tables in the ABAP Keyword Documentation 
2023-12: SAP Fiori elements feature showcase App for RAP and CDS - Release 2308 
2023-11: CDS View Performance Best Practice – NOT NULL preserving LEFT OUTER JOIN
2023-11: ABAP Cloud at SAP TechEd in 2023 (📺replays available)
2023-09: ABAP Cloud at Devtoberfest 2023 (📺replays available)
2023-07: ABAP CDS Simple Types | 📺Video
2023-07: ABAP CDS View Performance Best Practices 

 Overview

Introduction to ABAP CDS (pdf) CDS - One Concept, Two Flavors  ABAP CDS Feature Availability Matrix

 Documentation

• ABAP Data Models Guide 🔥
• ABAP CDS Glossary 🔥
• ABAP CDS Development Tools Guide 
• ABAP CDS in the ABAP Keyword Documentation: On-Premise | Cloud
• ABAP - Release News: On-Premise 

 Basics for Beginners

• What is Code Pushdown? (Code-to-Data paradigm) 
• Spotlight on ABAP for SAP HANA (Get the big Picture)
• Introduction to ABAP CDS (Overview presentation)
• ABAP CDS Feature Availability Matrix
• ABAP CDS Cheat Sheet
• ABAP CDS Cheat Sheet (von brandeis.de)

Additional Information

• ABAP Platform Releases and Consumers

Advanced Topics

CDS Associations

• From Open SQL Joins to CDS Associations

CDS Symple Types

• ABAP CDS Simple Types | 📺Video

CDS View Entities

• New generation of CDS views: CDS view entities
• CDS view entities – The new CDS views
• CDS view entities are feature complete: New features, improvements, and differences
• How to migrate your CDS DDIC-based views to CDS view entities
• How to build composition tree with CDS view entities
• CDS Views with Parameters

CDS Projection Views

• New type of CDS entity available: CDS projection views
• CDS Projection Views in ABAP CDS: What’s Your Flavor?
• CDS Analytical Projection Views – the new Analytical Query Model

CDS Hierarchies

• Beginners guide for CDS Hierarchies – Part 1
• Beginners guide for CDS Hierarchies – Part 2
• Working with Hierarchies in ABAP SQL

CDS Table Functions

• CDS Table Functions for SAP HANA breakout scenarios

CDS Annotations

• Framework-specific CDS Annotations
• CDS Annotations for Metadata-Driven UIs
• ABAP CDS Annotations - Keyword Documentation
• SAP Fiori elements Feature Showcase App for RAP and ABAP CDS:
     º Overview
     º  What's new in Release 2302?
     º What's new in Release 2308?

Access Control

• Access Control with CDS Data Control Language (DCL) roles

Modification-free extensions 

• CDS Entity Extensions
• CDS Metadata Extensions (MDEs): Blog post | Documentation

Testability

• ABAP Unit Testing with the ABAP CDS Test Double Framework (TDF)

Implementation Patterns & Naming Conventions

• Implementation patterns of CDS in SAP S/4HANA (blog post)
• Virtual Data Model (VDM) and CDS Views in SAP S/4HANA (incl. naming conventions):
  On-Premise | Cloud

Custom CDS Views

• The Custom CDS Views App
• Custom CDS Views - Using Multiple Data Sources
• Custom CDS Views – FAQ
• Custom CDS Views – What’s New in 2108
• Custom CDS Views – What’s New in 2111
• Custom CDS Views – What's New in 2202
• Custom CDS Views – What's New in 2208
• Custom CDS Views – What's New in 2302
• Check out more blog posts by Andreas Riehl 

Embedded Analytics with ABAP CDS

• Developing for Analytics with the SAP BTP ABAP Environment
• Embedded Analytics with ABAP Cloud – A Brief Overview (Part 1)
• Embedded Analytics with ABAP Cloud – The Multidimensional Cube (Part 2)

Get Your Hands Dirty

You can get yourself familiar with ABAP CDS on SAP BTP ABAP Environment or SAP S/4HANA.

Prerequisites:

• Latest version of ABAP Development Tools (ADT) for Eclipse is installed.
• Access to an SAP BTP ABAP Environment system or appropriate SAP S/4HANA system.
  You can, for example, create a free user on the SAP BTP ABAP Environment trial

Various tutorials are provided in the SAP Developer Center.

FAQs, Best Practices, Cheat Sheets, ...

Tips & Tricks / Cheat Sheets

• Tips and Tricks for ABAP CDS Tools
• ABAP CDS Cheat Sheet: Amounts and Quantities in ABAP CDS

Performance Best Practices & Guidelines

• Performance considerations when using ABAP CDS in SAP Business Suite on anyDB
• Optimize Your Custom ABAP Code for SAP HANA [CAA104@SAP TechEd 2019] 📹
• Safeguard Performance of ABAP CDS Views
     º Part 1 – CDS View Complexity
     º Part 2 – SAP HANA SQL Optimizer and Plan Cache (Analysis)
     º Part 3 – Rules for Good Performance of CDS Views
• Best Practice Guides about
     º ABAP CDS in SAP Business Suite
     º ABAP CDS in SAP S/4HANA
• Db2 LUW Optimized for SAP Core Data Services
• ABAP CDS View Performance Best Practices 🔥
• CDS View Performance Best Practice – NOT NULL preserving LEFT OUTER JOIN 🔥

Performance Analysis

• How to analyze Query Performance for ABAP CDS Views
• The SAP HANA Plan Visualizer (PlanViz) – Quick and Easy
• HANA PlanViz Analysis on CDS views
• The Plan Visualizer (PlanViz) in the SAP HANA Performance Guide
• Analyzing Performance Degradations in SAP BTP ABAP environment
• Analyzing SQL Statements of Your Application | SAP Help Portal

Further Information

• Getting Started with the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP) | SAP Community
• Analytical Data Modeling & Live Data Connection to SAP Analytics Cloud | SAP Helps
• Getting Started with ABAP Programming Model for Fiori Apps (based on CDS & BOPF) | SAP Blogs
• 📺Videos 
     º ABAP for SAP HANA playlist @YouTube
     º CAA104@SAP TechEd 2019 – Optimize Your Custom ABAP Code for SAP HANA
     º Finding the right CDS Extractor in SAP S/4HANA

ABAP Cloud

• What is ABAP Cloud? | ABAP Cloud FAQ
• ABAP Cloud Sessions at Devtoberfest 2023
• ABAP Cloud Sessions at SAP TechEd 2023

Learning Materials & Courses

• SAP Tutorials Navigator - Filter entries by topics (e.g. ABAP Development)
• Free openSAP courses:
     º ABAP Development for SAP HANA (retired in October 2023)
     º Buildings Apps with RAP
• SAP Learning Journeys, such as
     º Learn the Basics of ABAP Programming
     º Acquire Core ABAP Skills
• Instructor-led SAP Trainings such as
     º [S4D430] Data Modelling Data Dictionary and ABAP CDS 
     º [HA400] ABAP Programming for SAP HANA 
     º Other SAP materials

---

Last edit: May 2024

[former_member230528]

Hi Carine,

the link for "Create your first ABAP CDS view" is pointing to same link used for "New Data Modeling Features", is it correct?

[CarineTchoutouo]

Hi Fernanda,

yes, that was the state. I've lightly changed the structure to avoid the confusion.

Kind regards, Carine

[former_member244496]

Hi Carine,

This is amazing!  Thank you for such a thorough and organized collection of knowledge sources.

Is there an ABAP CDS home page?  If not, this should be the basis for it.  Well done!

Best regards,

Kimberly

 

[former_member287987]

Hi Corine,

This is a great resource blog! Thank you!

All the best,

Dennis

 

[Abhinav1]

Thanks. This is really a good collection.

[former_member236308]

This is amazing!  Thank you for such a thorough and organized collection of knowledge sources.

[RaymondDu]

Thank you very much for such as amazing blog!!!

[lloydfernandes]

Great content Carine! I find myself coming back to this blog occasionally, to check for updates and new features in CDS.

[Former Member]

https://blogs.sap.com/2016/02/25/abap-core-data-services-sap-teched-2015/

Hi Carine - I see that the presentation in the above link is not showing anything. Can you please help with this. Thank you.

[li_aiping]

• Enhanced ABAP Development with CDS (SAPinsider article)    can't access. Thank you.

[CarineTchoutouo]

Hi Bharath,
the presentation is no longer online. Instead, you can have a look at the Introduction to the ABAP Core Data Services (CDS).
Kind regards,
Carine

[CarineTchoutouo]

Hi Aiping,
This article is no longer available on the SAPinsider website. Therefore, I've removed the referenced from the blog. You can have a look at the presentation Introduction to the ABAP Core Data Services (CDS).

Kind regards,
Carine

[MartinSommer]

Dear Carine, appreciate if you could repair the broken link to the document here Performance of ABAP CDS on SAP HANA at SAP TechEd 2017 | SAP Blogs. Thanks and best regards

[zfiori]

Hi Carine,

Much awaited info.

Thanks for sharing info.
It help us a lot.
Thank you.

ZFiori.

🙂