Difference between XS classic and XS advanced

[former_member651643]

Hello Experts,

I checked everywhere and not able to understand the difference between HANA XS classic and HANA XS advanced, everyone tell bookish language the concept etc. but i want to know what exactly you cannot built on HANA XS classic and that you can built on HANA XSA, I know there are some more security features added in XSA.

Kindly provide me an example where XS classic cannot be used and that requirement can only be fulfill with XS advanced.

I have also completed Software Development on SAP HANA (Delta SPS 11) - Thomas Jung and Rich Heilman | openSAP but it was not clear from it that other than the security there is something else that we cannot built in the XS classic anyhow and XS advanced should be the only option, Kindly provide me any case like this.

[lbreddemann · Accepted solution]

XS advanced tries to solve several problems that XS (classic) brings with it:

- if you want to add application worker nodes, e.g. because your application needs more processing power, then you have to add a full-blown HANA node to your system if you use XS classic.
XSA allows deploying (install) and running the applications on separate servers that are independent of the HANA database nodes. These servers don't have to be configured like HANA database nodes, but their hardware/software can be optimized for the application workload.

- XS classic allows for just a single "runtime": the JavaScript that comes with the HANA version that is installed on the server. There is no option to upgrade to another version, a different JavaScript engine or even to another language like Java or Python.
It is not even possible to individually upgrade single libraries, say UI5 to a newer version without upgrading the whole HANA system.
With XSA you can do just do all these things.

- taking XS classic applications and installing them on a system with a different version level can be very difficult/tedious.
XSA has a deployment approach where the applications are practically self-contained (mtars) and can be installed "anywhere".

If your question is about the kind of software one can write with XSc vs XSA then the answer is pretty much: there is not much difference. The target type of application for both environments is the data-intensive application that works with the HANA database.

[former_member651643 · Accepted solution]

Thanks @Lars, The answer is pretty much clear now, The answer i was looking was developing something in xsc and xsa is not much changed now, Although the background architecture is completely reconfigured with new capabilities.

[former_member620738 · Accepted solution]

That's a helpful information Lars. But all those advantages are valid for application development using XSA. what is the benefit if I am using only DB side objects (hdb module only).

I understand the security model is changing a lot in XSA. what else we get from development point of view or end user point of view when we are using only HDB Module.

[lbreddemann · Accepted solution]

@Ram Yagryaganti9:

"But all those advantages are valid for application development using XSA."

That's precisely the point of XSA!

"what is the benefit if I am using only DB side objects (hdb module only)."

Benefit compared to what? XSC? And what scenario? DB-level modelling based on a single shared SAP schema?

In that case, I'd say the net benefit is close to zero.

You may want to dig out some discussions and blog posts of e.g. @wdaehn or yours truly from a year or so ago.

We've argued strongly that for the typical "I want to build analytics on top of my BW or ECC"-scenario, XSA offers many hoops to jump through for little in return.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

the main benefit of XSA, in my mind, comes in WebIDE's Explorer low-code db dashboard and I think it's headed for some monetization.

[former_member480631]

In SAP HANA, there are two different types of calculation views: XSC (classic) and XSA (advanced). Here are the key differences between the two:

1. Development Environment:

   • XSC (classic): Developed using the SAP HANA Studio, which is an Eclipse-based IDE.
   • XSA (advanced): Developed using the SAP Web IDE for SAP HANA or other compatible web-based tools.

2. Metadata Model:

   • XSC (classic): Uses a graphical interface for defining the data foundation, projection, and aggregation nodes.
   • XSA (advanced): Utilizes the Calculation Model Editor (CME) for defining the calculation logic, which allows for more complex calculations and transformations.

3. Calculation Capabilities:

   • XSC (classic): Provides basic calculation capabilities like joins, filters, aggregations, and projections.
   • XSA (advanced): Offers advanced calculation capabilities such as decision tables, text analysis, time-dependent calculations, and integration with predictive models.

4. Reusability and Modularity:

   • XSC (classic): Calculation views are stored as individual artifacts and can be reused across multiple applications.
   • XSA (advanced): Supports the creation of reusable calculation views, which can be used as building blocks for creating more complex views.

5. Deployment Options:

   • XSC (classic): Can be deployed on SAP HANA XS (Extended Application Services) runtime.
   • XSA (advanced): Supports deployment on SAP HANA XSA (Extended Services Advanced) runtime, which provides additional features like multitenancy and containerization.

Overall, XSA (advanced) calculation views offer more flexibility and advanced features compared to XSC (classic) calculation views. However, it's worth noting that SAP has been transitioning away from the XSA development model in favor of the Cloud Foundry-based SAP BTP (Business Technology Platform) environment, which provides even more advanced development capabilities.