rfc-connector

rfc-connector

Remotely call abap2UI5 apps via RFC. The browser talks to a consumer system, which forwards every request through an SM59 RFC destination to the source system where the abap2UI5 apps run. For landscapes where users should reach the apps of another system through one entry point.

Part of abap2UI5-addons - addons and apps for abap2UI5, installed with abapGit.

Browser ── GET/POST ──> Consumer System                     Source System
                        /sap/bc/z2ui5_rfc                   Z2UI5_FM_RFC_CONECTOR
                        Z2UI5_CL_RFC_CONNECTOR_HANDLER        │
                          │                                   │
                          └── RFC (SM59 destination) ────────>└──> z2ui5_cl_ui5_http_handler

Why

The abap2UI5 apps live on one system, but the browser should call another one. The rfc-connector puts a thin ICF handler on the consumer system that passes each roundtrip on to the source system by RFC - the apps themselves stay where they are and run unchanged.

Same approach as the http-connector, just with an RFC connection instead of HTTP.

Installation

The connector is installed on two systems: the consumer system the browser talks to and the source system the apps run on.

Requirements

• Standard ABAP 7.50 or higher on both systems
• abap2UI5 1.143.0 or newer on both systems - the connector calls z2ui5_cl_ui5_http_handler, which first shipped with that release. URL parameters (?z2ui5-bundle, app_start for the user exit, …) are forwarded only when the consumer runs an abap2UI5 release newer than 1.146.0; on an older one they stay behind, as before.
• On the consumer system: a destination in SM59 (type 3) pointing to the source system, with login data maintained

Steps - with abapGit:

1. Install abap2UI5 on both systems.
2. Install this repository on both systems — the same version on each: consumer and source exchange the DDIC structures of this repository over RFC.
3. On the consumer system, replace in the HTTP handler Z2UI5_CL_RFC_CONNECTOR_HANDLER the destination NONE with your source system destination.
4. On the consumer system, activate the ICF node /sap/bc/z2ui5_rfc in transaction SICF. The source system needs no ICF node - it is called through the RFC-enabled function module Z2UI5_FM_RFC_CONECTOR.

Start - call the endpoint .../sap/bc/z2ui5_rfc of the consumer system in your browser.

Usage

Approach

The consumer system receives the browser request, forwards method, body, path and query string via RFC to the source system and returns body and HTTP status of the response. All abap2UI5 apps run on the source system.

Limitations

• Stateless apps only. A stateful app (client->set_session_stateful( )) needs the ICF session of the system the app runs on, and every RFC call gets a fresh context on the source system. Apps keeping their state in the draft table — the abap2UI5 default — work unchanged.
• The consumer forwards method, body, path, query string and status — not headers. Everything abap2UI5 needs for a roundtrip travels in the body and the URL; a request header an app reads through the user exit on the source system does not.

Development

npm ci
npm run check

npm run check runs exactly what CI runs: abaplint (abap-standard.yaml) and the abap2UI5-linter (check-abap2ui5.yaml).

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome - see CONTRIBUTING.md for what CI checks. Whether you're fixing bugs, adding new functionality, or improving documentation, your contributions are highly appreciated.

License

MIT - see LICENSE.