SAP JCo 3 Connector

The Bonita SAP Java Connector 3 allows Bonita to communicate with any SAP system using the SAP JCo 3 toolkit.

Prerequisite

You must have an SAP license and an SAP server to use the connector.

Overview of the SAP Java Connector (SAP JCo 3) underlying toolkit

  • The SAP JCo3 connector can be used to call a SAP function (BAPI, RFC or ZBAPI).

  • High-performance JNI-based RFC middleware.

  • Supports R/3 3.1H and higher.

  • Supports inbound (Java client calls BAPI or RFM) and outbound (ABAP calls Java server) calls.

  • Supports synchronous, transactional (important for IDocs), and queued RFC.

  • Supports client pooling (good for web servers).

  • Has monitoring capabilities.

Download and install the SAP connector .zip files

To connect to an SAP system from Bonita Studio, and have the correct graphic display, you must install the SAP .dll and .jar files onto your (Windows) machine. You must have an SAP User ID and password to enter the SAP Support Portal to download the files.

Go here (you will need to login first) SAP Service marketplace.

JCo 3: sapjco3-ntamd64-3.0.3

Contents of sapjco-ntamd64-3.0.3.zip

  • Readme.txt: contains instructions

  • sapjco3.jar: must be installed in the /endorsed directory of your Bonita Studio installation and in class path of the bonita web server.

  • sapjco3.dll (libspajco3.so): must be installed in the native library search path:

    • Windows: usually the dll file is stored in C:\windows\system32

    • Linux: usually the dll file is stored in /usr/lib

  • javadoc: contains the .html help pages for installation

  • examples: contains some examples

How to use the contents of the sapjco-ntamd64-3.0.3.zip file with an application server?

1. Install the system library.

Windows

  1. Copy the sapjco.dll file in the C:\windows\system32

  2. Reboot

Linux

Copy the libspajco3.so file in /usr/lib

2. Configure the application server

It is assumed that both the Tomcat and the Bonita Engine were already successfully started once.

  1. Stop Tomcat

  2. Copy the sapjco3.jar file into BonitaSubscription-7.8.3\server\lib directory

  3. Start Tomcat

Studio: How to import the SAP JCo3 library and make a request with an example function using the graphic display

There is below a step by step procedure on Windows. It is assumed that the Studio had been started at least once successfully.

  1. Store the sapjco.dll in the C:\windows\system32 directory

  2. Reboot

  3. Start the Studio

  4. Open a diagram

  5. Add a SAP JCo 3 connector on a task or a pool

  6. Use import sapjco3.jar button to add it to the embedded runtime environment

  7. Restart the Studio

  8. Fill in all the connection fields with the correct settings.

Note: SAP JCo 3 connector supports a single destination for all connector instances in Bonita Engine. You also need to restart the web server when changing its value.

  1. Once all the fields are filled, test the connection by clicking on the _test _button.

  2. In the function definition window, only the function name is required.

  3. Click on the arrow at the end of the field to display a dropdown list of functions.

  4. Click on GET_SYSTEM_NAME for example

  5. Click Next

  6. This will display the Input Parameters window

  7. Click Next

  8. This will display the Output Parameters window

  9. The GET_SYSTEM_NAME is displayed to confirm the input is this function. Note: You can create a blank .html file on your c: drive, which will be filled with the output information from the SAP connector

  10. Enter the path to the .html file in the field called "HTML File"

  11. Click Next

  12. This will display an Ouput operations window

  13. Click Finish

Advanced features in Subscription Editions

In the Subscription editions, the SAP wizard has advanced features: You do not need to know the names of the functions by heart, as the functions are suggested in a dropdown menu.

  • Filter functions by group: a dropdown list listing all the functions by group

  • Function description: a dropdown list listing all the functions. Auto complete (just type the first letter e.g. G to give a list of Get functions

  • Function name: dropdown list