SAP Fiori Architecture Map: From Tile to Database

L1 · Entry point & experience

Where users start: the SAP Fiori Launchpad or an SAP Build Work Zone site, My Home and SAP Mobile Start. This layer decides what users see first, not what apps do.

• SAP Fiori Design GuidelinesThe SAP Fiori Design Guidelines are SAP's public design-system documentation for SAP Fiori, covering design principles, floorplans, UI elements, patterns and visual foundations for web, iOS and Android. The SAP Fiori Design Guidelines define SAP Fiori as a user experience standard rather than a single product; technologies such as SAPUI5 implement that standard in code.
• SAP HorizonSAP Horizon is the current visual theme family of SAP Fiori, succeeding Quartz and Belize, and is delivered in SAPUI5 as Morning Horizon, Evening Horizon and two high-contrast variants. SAP Horizon changes colors, shapes, typography and the shell header across SAP Fiori apps and classic UIs, but does not change app layouts, floorplans or business logic.
• SAP Fiori ClientSAP Fiori Client is a retired native mobile container app that opened an organization's SAP Fiori Launchpad and added asset caching, push notifications and device access such as the camera and barcode scanner. The end of SAP Fiori Client concerns only this wrapper app; SAP Fiori apps and the launchpad continue in browsers.
• SAP Mobile StartSAP Mobile Start is SAP's native mobile entry-point app for iOS, iPadOS and Android that gives users access to SAP Fiori apps, to-dos and notifications from SAP Build Work Zone or SAP Start sites on SAP BTP. In May 2026 SAP Mobile Start evolved into the Joule Work mobile app, which adds Joule conversations.
• SAP Fiori Apps Reference LibraryThe SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library is SAP's online catalog of SAP Fiori apps and classic SAP GUI and Web Dynpro applications, listing for each app its ID, application type, intents, business roles, catalogs, OData services and required product versions per release. The SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library is a planning and implementation reference, not a runtime component.
• UI Integration CardsUI integration cards are SAPUI5 cards defined declaratively in a manifest.json file that describes the header, content, data source and actions, so a host such as SAP Build Work Zone or My Home can render them without a full app. UI integration cards show concise, actionable content and link to the app behind it.
• SAP Fiori LaunchpadThe SAP Fiori Launchpad is the role-based shell through which users start SAP Fiori apps, SAP GUI for HTML transactions and Web Dynpro applications in SAP S/4HANA. The SAP Fiori Launchpad provides shared services such as intent-based navigation, search, notifications and personalization, and shows each user only the content assigned through that user's roles.
• App FinderThe app finder is the SAP Fiori Launchpad function in which users browse all apps their roles grant, grouped by business catalog, and add them to their pages or My Home. The app finder reflects existing access rather than granting it: an app appears only when a business catalog containing it is assigned to one of the user's roles.
• My HomeMy Home is the personal entry page of the SAP Fiori Launchpad in spaces mode. In SAP S/4HANA, My Home combines sections for to-dos, news, pages, favorite and recent apps, insights tiles and insights cards, which each user can show, hide and rearrange. My Home summarizes work across apps; it does not replace the apps themselves.
• SAP Build Work ZoneSAP Build Work Zone is an SAP BTP service for building central business sites that give users one entry point to SAP S/4HANA apps, SAP BTP apps and third-party applications. SAP Build Work Zone comes in a standard edition, the former SAP Launchpad service, and an advanced edition that adds workspaces, collaboration and knowledge content.
• TileA tile in the SAP Fiori Launchpad is the visual representation of an app on a page: static, dynamic or custom, such as an SAP Smart Business KPI tile. A tile starts the app by firing an intent; the tile does not contain the app, and a matching target mapping decides which application actually opens.
• My InboxMy Inbox is the SAP Fiori app (app ID F0862) in which users process workflow tasks: approve, reject, claim, release or forward them. My Inbox reads tasks through the Task Gateway service, typically from SAP Business Workflow and flexible workflow in the connected SAP S/4HANA backend, and shows the decision options that each task defines.
• SAP Task CenterSAP Task Center is an SAP BTP service that federates tasks from SAP and non-SAP applications, such as SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Build Process Automation, into one task list. SAP Task Center keeps a cache of those tasks, and users process them in the SAP Task Center Web app, SAP Start or the Joule Work app.

L2 · Content, navigation & access

The configuration that decides which apps each user can see and open: business roles, catalogs, spaces and pages, tiles, semantic objects and target mappings.

• TileA tile in the SAP Fiori Launchpad is the visual representation of an app on a page: static, dynamic or custom, such as an SAP Smart Business KPI tile. A tile starts the app by firing an intent; the tile does not contain the app, and a matching target mapping decides which application actually opens.
• Spaces and PagesSpaces and pages are the SAP Fiori Launchpad layout model: a space is an entry in the launchpad navigation bar that holds one or more pages, and a page arranges apps as tiles or links in sections. Spaces and pages reach users through roles and replace the deprecated groups-based home page; they shape layout, not access.
• Catalogs (Technical and Business)Catalogs in the SAP Fiori Launchpad are containers of tiles and target mappings that decide which apps a user can reach. Technical catalogs hold the original tile and target mapping definitions per application area; business catalogs reference a task-specific subset of them and are assigned to business roles, never directly to users.
• Business RoleA business role in SAP S/4HANA is the role object that gives users access to SAP Fiori content: it bundles business catalogs, launchpad spaces and the authorizations behind them. On-premise and in Private Edition, a business role is a PFCG role; in Cloud Public Edition, it is maintained in the Maintain Business Roles app.
• Target MappingA target mapping in the SAP Fiori Launchpad is the rule that resolves a navigation intent — a semantic object plus an action, such as PurchaseOrder-display — to a concrete application: a SAPUI5 app, an SAP GUI for HTML transaction, a Web Dynpro ABAP application or a URL. Without a matching target mapping, a tile cannot open anything.
• Semantic ObjectA semantic object in SAP Fiori is the name of a business entity, such as PurchaseOrder or SalesOrder, that forms the first half of a navigation intent. Combined with an action, as in PurchaseOrder-display, the semantic object lets the launchpad find a matching target mapping without the calling app knowing which application will open.
• Intent-Based NavigationIntent-based navigation is the SAP Fiori navigation model in which a tile, link or app requests an intent, a semantic object plus an action written as #SemanticObject-action, instead of a concrete application. The launchpad resolves the intent at runtime through the target mappings in the user's roles, so one link can open different apps per role or device.
• Launchpad Content ManagerThe launchpad content manager is the SAP Fiori Launchpad administration tool for business catalogs: it creates, copies and deletes catalogs, adds or removes references to existing tiles and target mappings, and checks role assignments and service activation. The launchpad content manager does not create original tiles or target mappings; the launchpad app manager does.
• Launchpad DesignerThe launchpad designer is the deprecated browser-based SAP Fiori Launchpad tool that created catalogs, tiles, target mappings and groups, in client-specific (/UI2/FLPD_CUST) and cross-client (/UI2/FLPD_CONF) variants. SAP states that the launchpad designer must no longer be used for new content; the launchpad app manager and launchpad content manager replace it.
• /UI2/FLIA/UI2/FLIA is the transaction for Fiori Launchpad Intent Analysis, an SAP Fiori Launchpad support report that shows, for a given intent, device type and user, which authorization roles and catalogs carry the intent and which tile and target mapping belong to it. /UI2/FLIA is the first check when a tile is visible but navigation fails.
• /UI2/FLC/UI2/FLC is the transaction for Fiori Launchpad Checks, a report that lists SAP Fiori launchpad content by development package and flags consistency errors in catalogs, groups, tiles and target mappings. /UI2/FLC finds broken references before users do, but SAP documents it as deprecated from ABAP platform 2025 in favor of newer content tools.
• Launchpad Cache InvalidationLaunchpad cache invalidation is the set of reports and steps that clear the caches of the SAP Fiori launchpad, mainly the server-side UI2 cache with /UI2/INVALIDATE_GLOBAL_CACHES and browser-side resources with /UI2/INVALIDATE_CLIENT_CACHES. Launchpad cache invalidation is a targeted fix for stale content after transports, upgrades or support packages, not a routine first step.
• PFCG and SAP Fiori RolesPFCG is the SAP role maintenance transaction that grants SAP Fiori access on-premise and in Private Edition. A PFCG role menu holds business catalogs and launchpad spaces, and the role's authorizations include the start authorizations for the OData services the apps call, checked through the authorization object S_SERVICE.
• SU53 and STAUTHTRACESU53 and STAUTHTRACE are the SAP transactions for analyzing authorization failures: SU53 displays failed authorization checks for a user, and STAUTHTRACE records every authorization check during a reproduction. SU53 and STAUTHTRACE together show which authorization object, field and value an SAP Fiori app or its OData service was denied, so the PFCG role can be fixed precisely.
• Rapid Content Activation (STC01 Task Lists)Rapid content activation is the set of SAP S/4HANA task lists, run in transaction STC01, that activate SAP Fiori launchpad content in bulk: OData services, ICF nodes, business roles and optionally test users. Rapid content activation works per business role or per catalog and replaces hundreds of manual activation steps, but it does not design roles.
• App Descriptor (manifest.json)The app descriptor is the manifest.json file of a SAPUI5 app, component or library: a JSON document that declares the app's ID, version, data sources, models, routing, library dependencies and cross-navigation inbounds and outbounds. The app descriptor is what SAPUI5, the SAP Fiori Launchpad and SAP Build Work Zone read to load, connect and launch the app.
• SAP Fiori Apps Reference LibraryThe SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library is SAP's online catalog of SAP Fiori apps and classic SAP GUI and Web Dynpro applications, listing for each app its ID, application type, intents, business roles, catalogs, OData services and required product versions per release. The SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library is a planning and implementation reference, not a runtime component.
• App FinderThe app finder is the SAP Fiori Launchpad function in which users browse all apps their roles grant, grouped by business catalog, and add them to their pages or My Home. The app finder reflects existing access rather than granting it: an app appears only when a business catalog containing it is assigned to one of the user's roles.
• Responsibility ManagementResponsibility Management is an SAP S/4HANA framework that determines the responsible agents for workflow tasks, situations and other activities through teams, member functions and responsibility rules. Flexible workflow, SAP Business Workflow and Situation Handling ask Responsibility Management who should act, so recipients follow business attributes such as plant or company code instead of named users.

L3 · UI applications

The applications that open behind tiles: standard SAP Fiori apps, apps generated with SAP Fiori elements, freestyle SAPUI5 apps, SAP GUI for HTML transactions, Web Dynpro ABAP and low-code apps.

• SAPUI5SAPUI5 is SAP's enterprise JavaScript UI framework for building SAP Fiori apps that run in the browser, using a model-view-controller structure and data binding to OData services. SAPUI5 is the SAP-licensed distribution of the same core as open-source OpenUI5, plus additional libraries, such as charts and annotation-driven smart controls, that ship only with SAP products.
• OpenUI5OpenUI5 is the open-source edition of SAP's UI5 JavaScript framework, released under the Apache 2.0 license and developed publicly on GitHub. OpenUI5 shares the core runtime and the most used control libraries, such as sap.m, with SAPUI5, but leaves out SAP-only libraries such as SAP Fiori elements, smart controls, charts and the launchpad shell.
• UI5 Web ComponentsUI5 Web Components are an open-source library of framework-independent web components, built on the browser standards Custom Elements and Shadow DOM, that implement the SAP Fiori design. UI5 Web Components work with React, Angular, Vue or plain HTML and complement SAPUI5: they provide SAP Fiori controls, not an application framework with models, routing or floorplans.
• SAP Fiori toolsSAP Fiori tools is a set of extensions for SAP Business Application Studio and Visual Studio Code that generates, configures, previews and deploys SAP Fiori elements applications. SAP Fiori tools covers the front-end project, from the application wizard and Page Map to mock-data preview and deployment, while the OData service behind the app is built with other tools.
• App Descriptor (manifest.json)The app descriptor is the manifest.json file of a SAPUI5 app, component or library: a JSON document that declares the app's ID, version, data sources, models, routing, library dependencies and cross-navigation inbounds and outbounds. The app descriptor is what SAPUI5, the SAP Fiori Launchpad and SAP Build Work Zone read to load, connect and launch the app.
• Transactional AppsTransactional apps are SAP Fiori apps that let users create, change or process business objects, such as entering a purchase requisition, approving a request or posting a document. Transactional apps write to the system of record through OData services and are one of the original SAP Fiori app types, alongside analytical apps and fact sheets.
• Analytical AppsAnalytical apps are SAP Fiori apps that give users insight into SAP S/4HANA business data through KPI tiles, analytical list pages, overview pages, multidimensional reports and embedded stories. Analytical apps mostly read operational data through ABAP CDS analytical queries instead of a separate data warehouse, so the figures reflect the current state of transactions.
• Fact SheetsFact sheets are a legacy SAP Fiori app type that displays key information about one business object, such as a purchase requisition item, and links to related objects, transactional apps and back-end transactions. Fact sheets were built on search models and reached mainly from launchpad search; in SAP S/4HANA, object pages largely took over their role.
• Freestyle SAPUI5 AppA freestyle SAPUI5 app is a custom SAP Fiori app whose views, controllers and UI logic developers write directly with SAPUI5 controls, instead of generating the screens from OData annotations as SAP Fiori elements does. A freestyle SAPUI5 app gives full control over layout and behavior, and maintenance of that code stays with the customer or partner.
• SAP GUI for HTML (Web GUI)SAP GUI for HTML, also called Web GUI, is the browser rendering of classic SAP GUI transactions: the Internet Transaction Server built into the ABAP kernel converts each dynpro screen into HTML on the server. SAP GUI for HTML lets SAP Fiori Launchpad tiles open transactions that have no native SAP Fiori app, with no desktop client installed.
• Web Dynpro ABAPWeb Dynpro ABAP is SAP's server-side UI technology for building web applications in the ABAP environment, based on the model-view-controller approach and developed in the ABAP Workbench. Web Dynpro ABAP applications are not SAPUI5 apps, but the SAP Fiori Launchpad can start them through target mappings, and many appear in the SAP Fiori Apps Reference Library.
• SAP Smart Business KPIsSAP Smart Business KPIs are key performance indicators defined in the SAP Smart Business framework on analytical OData services over ABAP CDS views, shown as KPI tiles in the SAP Fiori Launchpad with targets, thresholds and trends. Each KPI tile opens a drill-down app, and SAP Smart Business KPIs are now created with the Manage KPIs and Reports app.
• Custom Apps (Z-Apps)Custom apps, or Z-apps, are applications and extensions that a customer builds in the customer namespace, where object names start with Z or Y, such as freestyle SAPUI5 apps, SAP Fiori elements apps on custom CDS views or copies of SAP apps. Custom apps belong to the customer, who tests and maintains them across every upgrade.
• SAP Fiori ElementsSAP Fiori elements is a SAPUI5 framework that renders SAP Fiori apps from OData service metadata, UI annotations and an app descriptor, using predefined floorplans such as the list report and the object page instead of hand-written views and controllers. SAP Fiori elements trades layout freedom for consistent design, built-in enterprise features and less UI code to maintain.
• List ReportA list report is an SAP Fiori elements floorplan for finding, filtering and acting on large sets of business objects, built from a filter bar, variant management and a table or chart that the framework generates from OData annotations. A list report usually serves as the entry page of an app and hands single objects to an object page.
• Object PageAn object page is an SAP Fiori elements floorplan that displays, edits and creates a single business object, built from a header with key facts, a navigation bar and content sections that the framework generates from OData annotations such as UI.HeaderInfo and UI.Facets. An object page is usually reached from a list report and supports draft handling.
• WorklistA worklist is an SAP Fiori elements floorplan for processing a known collection of work items in a table without a full filter bar, often split into status tabs with item counts. A worklist focuses on completing or delegating items, and in SAP Fiori elements for OData V4 it is a list report configured without a filter bar.
• Analytical List Page (ALP)An analytical list page (ALP) is an SAP Fiori elements floorplan that combines visual filters, an interactive chart and a table on one page, so users can analyze data, drill into a root cause and act on the underlying items. In SAP Fiori elements for OData V4, an analytical list page is a flavor of the list report.
• Overview Page (OVP)An overview page (OVP) is an SAP Fiori elements floorplan that summarizes one business area in a grid of cards, each bound to its own data set and rendered from annotations, so a role can see priorities and jump into the right app. An overview page aggregates several sources on one screen but leaves detailed work to other apps.
• Form Entry Object PageA form entry object page is a variation of the SAP Fiori elements object page that hides the header and the navigation bar, leaving a form for entering one business object. A form entry object page uses the same annotations as a standard object page and can replace the list report as the starting page, often opening in create mode.
• Flexible Column LayoutThe flexible column layout is an SAP Fiori page layout that shows up to three levels of related information side by side, typically a list, an object and a sub-object, in columns whose widths adapt to the screen. The flexible column layout is implemented by the SAPUI5 control sap.f.FlexibleColumnLayout and can be switched on in SAP Fiori elements apps.
• Flexible Programming ModelThe flexible programming model is the SAP Fiori elements for OData V4 approach that combines metadata-driven building blocks, extension points, controller extensions and custom pages with freestyle SAPUI5 code in one app. The flexible programming model removes the all-or-nothing choice between a generated floorplan and a fully hand-written SAPUI5 app.
• SAP Build AppsSAP Build Apps is SAP's visual low-code tool on SAP BTP for building web and native mobile applications, formerly called SAP AppGyver. SAP Build Apps combines a drag-and-drop UI editor, visual logic and an optional visual backend. Since March 2026, SAP Build Apps is deprecated as a standalone product in favor of the unified SAP Build offering.
• UI Adaptation (Adapt UI)UI adaptation is the SAPUI5 flexibility capability that lets key users change the layout of SAP Fiori apps at runtime, for example by moving, hiding, renaming or adding fields, for all users, while end users personalize views for themselves. UI adaptation stores these changes separately from the app, so the original app stays unmodified and upgrade-safe.
• My InboxMy Inbox is the SAP Fiori app (app ID F0862) in which users process workflow tasks: approve, reject, claim, release or forward them. My Inbox reads tasks through the Task Gateway service, typically from SAP Business Workflow and flexible workflow in the connected SAP S/4HANA backend, and shows the decision options that each task defines.
• SAP Fiori Design GuidelinesThe SAP Fiori Design Guidelines are SAP's public design-system documentation for SAP Fiori, covering design principles, floorplans, UI elements, patterns and visual foundations for web, iOS and Android. The SAP Fiori Design Guidelines define SAP Fiori as a user experience standard rather than a single product; technologies such as SAPUI5 implement that standard in code.
• UI AnnotationsUI annotations are metadata terms from SAP's OData UI vocabulary, such as UI.LineItem, UI.SelectionFields and UI.HeaderInfo, that describe how data should be presented: which columns a table shows, which fields appear in the filter bar and what an object page header displays. SAP Fiori elements reads them at runtime and renders the page accordingly.
• Draft HandlingDraft handling is a mechanism in SAP Fiori apps, RAP and CAP that stores unsaved changes to a business object as a server-side draft, separate from the active data. Draft handling lets users resume interrupted work, run validations while editing and see when someone else is changing the same object, until Save turns the draft into the active version.
• UI Integration CardsUI integration cards are SAPUI5 cards defined declaratively in a manifest.json file that describes the header, content, data source and actions, so a host such as SAP Build Work Zone or My Home can render them without a full app. UI integration cards show concise, actionable content and link to the app behind it.
• Target MappingA target mapping in the SAP Fiori Launchpad is the rule that resolves a navigation intent — a semantic object plus an action, such as PurchaseOrder-display — to a concrete application: a SAPUI5 app, an SAP GUI for HTML transaction, a Web Dynpro ABAP application or a URL. Without a matching target mapping, a tile cannot open anything.
• Key User ExtensibilityKey user extensibility is the set of in-app tools in SAP S/4HANA that lets trained key users add custom fields, custom logic, custom business objects, reports and UI adaptations to standard applications through SAP Fiori apps. Key user extensibility works only at extension points SAP has released for this purpose, which keeps the resulting extensions upgrade-stable.

L4 · Services & APIs

The OData services and APIs that UI applications call to read and write data, exposed through SAP Gateway, RAP service bindings or CAP services.

• UI AnnotationsUI annotations are metadata terms from SAP's OData UI vocabulary, such as UI.LineItem, UI.SelectionFields and UI.HeaderInfo, that describe how data should be presented: which columns a table shows, which fields appear in the filter bar and what an object page header displays. SAP Fiori elements reads them at runtime and renders the page accordingly.
• ODataOData (Open Data Protocol) is an open, REST-based protocol for querying and changing data over HTTP, and the standard channel through which SAP Fiori apps read and write business data in SAP S/4HANA and on SAP BTP. SAP uses two versions, OData V2 and OData V4, which differ in features, tooling and app support.
• SAP GatewaySAP Gateway is the ABAP framework that exposes OData services from SAP systems such as SAP S/4HANA and SAP ERP, handling service registration, routing, authorization checks and error logging for SAP Fiori apps. SAP Gateway runs either embedded in the backend system or on a separate hub system, a deployment choice with lasting operational consequences.
• Service Binding (RAP)A service binding is the ABAP repository object in RAP that binds a service definition to a communication protocol, such as OData V2, OData V4 or InA, and to a consumption type, UI or Web API. A service binding also publishes the service endpoint and offers an SAP Fiori elements preview for UI services.
• Released APIs and SAP Business Accelerator HubReleased APIs are SAP objects and services, such as OData and SOAP services, events, CDS views and ABAP classes, that SAP has marked with a release state and a release contract promising stability across upgrades. The SAP Business Accelerator Hub is SAP's public catalog where the remote APIs and events are documented and can be tested.
• /IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE/IWFND/MAINT_SERVICE is the SAP Gateway transaction for registering, activating and maintaining OData V2 services, including their system aliases and ICF nodes, on the system that serves SAP Fiori apps. OData V4 services are published separately, as service groups in /IWFND/V4_ADMIN, so activating an app often involves both transactions.
• /IWFND/ERROR_LOG and /IWBEP/ERROR_LOG/IWFND/ERROR_LOG and /IWBEP/ERROR_LOG are the SAP Gateway error logs: /IWFND/ERROR_LOG records failed OData requests on the Gateway hub side, and /IWBEP/ERROR_LOG records errors raised in the backend service implementation. Together, the two SAP Gateway error logs are the first diagnostic stop when an SAP Fiori app shows an error or no data.
• /IWFND/GW_CLIENT/IWFND/GW_CLIENT is the transaction for the SAP Gateway Client, an HTTP test tool inside SAP Gateway that sends OData requests directly to a service, without the SAP Fiori app. /IWFND/GW_CLIENT shows the raw response, replays failed requests from the error log and stores repeatable test cases, which separates service problems from app problems.
• SICF Service ActivationSICF is the transaction for maintaining the Internet Communication Framework (ICF) service tree, which maps every HTTP path of an ABAP system to a handler. SICF service activation matters for SAP Fiori because all ICF nodes ship inactive, and the launchpad, each SAPUI5 app and each OData V2 service load only when their nodes are active.
• Gateway Metadata Cache CleanupGateway metadata cache cleanup is the procedure that clears cached OData service models in SAP Gateway: /IWFND/CACHE_CLEANUP clears the cache on the hub, and /IWBEP/CACHE_CLEANUP clears it in the backend. Gateway metadata cache cleanup is needed when an SAP Fiori app keeps showing old fields, labels or annotations after a service change.
• Custom Apps (Z-Apps)Custom apps, or Z-apps, are applications and extensions that a customer builds in the customer namespace, where object names start with Z or Y, such as freestyle SAPUI5 apps, SAP Fiori elements apps on custom CDS views or copies of SAP apps. Custom apps belong to the customer, who tests and maintains them across every upgrade.
• ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP)The ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP) is SAP's programming model for building transactional business objects, OData services and SAP Fiori apps in ABAP. RAP combines ABAP CDS data models, behavior definitions that declare operations, validations and draft, ABAP behavior implementations, and service definitions and bindings that expose the result as OData V2 or V4.
• SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP)The SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP) is SAP's framework for building enterprise services and applications, mainly on SAP BTP. Developers declare data models and services in CAP's own Core Data Services (CDS) language, and a Node.js or Java runtime serves them as OData, REST or GraphQL endpoints, with generic handlers for standard operations.
• BAPIA BAPI (Business Application Programming Interface) is a standardized SAP interface, defined as a method of a business object type in the Business Object Repository and implemented as an RFC-enabled ABAP function module. BAPIs give programs and external systems access to SAP business processes and data, and remain common in SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA integrations.

L5 · Business logic & data model

The data models and business logic behind services: ABAP CDS views, RAP business objects and behavior, CAP models, BAdIs and custom ABAP code.

• Draft HandlingDraft handling is a mechanism in SAP Fiori apps, RAP and CAP that stores unsaved changes to a business object as a server-side draft, separate from the active data. Draft handling lets users resume interrupted work, run validations while editing and see when someone else is changing the same object, until Save turns the draft into the active version.
• ABAP CDS ViewsABAP CDS views are data models defined with Core Data Services, the SQL-based data definition language of the ABAP platform. A CDS view declares fields, joins, associations to other entities and annotations, and the database executes it. In SAP S/4HANA, CDS views form the virtual data model behind many SAP Fiori apps, analytics and APIs.
• ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP)The ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP) is SAP's programming model for building transactional business objects, OData services and SAP Fiori apps in ABAP. RAP combines ABAP CDS data models, behavior definitions that declare operations, validations and draft, ABAP behavior implementations, and service definitions and bindings that expose the result as OData V2 or V4.
• SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP)The SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP) is SAP's framework for building enterprise services and applications, mainly on SAP BTP. Developers declare data models and services in CAP's own Core Data Services (CDS) language, and a Node.js or Java runtime serves them as OData, REST or GraphQL endpoints, with generic handlers for standard operations.
• Virtual Data Model (VDM)The virtual data model (VDM) is SAP's layered set of ABAP CDS views in SAP S/4HANA that turns database tables into business-oriented entities: basic and composite interface views for reuse, and consumption views for specific apps and queries. The virtual data model is the common data foundation for SAP Fiori apps, embedded analytics and APIs.
• BAPIA BAPI (Business Application Programming Interface) is a standardized SAP interface, defined as a method of a business object type in the Business Object Repository and implemented as an RFC-enabled ABAP function module. BAPIs give programs and external systems access to SAP business processes and data, and remain common in SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA integrations.
• ABAP CloudABAP Cloud is SAP's development model for building cloud-ready, upgrade-stable ABAP applications, services and extensions. ABAP Cloud combines ABAP CDS, the ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model, a restricted ABAP language version and released SAP APIs only. ABAP Cloud is not a product: it runs in the SAP BTP ABAP environment and inside SAP S/4HANA.
• Clean CoreClean core is SAP's principle for keeping an SAP S/4HANA system close to standard so that upgrades stay predictable: extensions use released APIs and stable extension points, run on-stack with ABAP Cloud or side-by-side on SAP BTP, and avoid modifying SAP code. Clean core is a governance target measured over time, not a product.
• Key User ExtensibilityKey user extensibility is the set of in-app tools in SAP S/4HANA that lets trained key users add custom fields, custom logic, custom business objects, reports and UI adaptations to standard applications through SAP Fiori apps. Key user extensibility works only at extension points SAP has released for this purpose, which keeps the resulting extensions upgrade-stable.
• Analytical AppsAnalytical apps are SAP Fiori apps that give users insight into SAP S/4HANA business data through KPI tiles, analytical list pages, overview pages, multidimensional reports and embedded stories. Analytical apps mostly read operational data through ABAP CDS analytical queries instead of a separate data warehouse, so the figures reflect the current state of transactions.
• SAP Smart Business KPIsSAP Smart Business KPIs are key performance indicators defined in the SAP Smart Business framework on analytical OData services over ABAP CDS views, shown as KPI tiles in the SAP Fiori Launchpad with targets, thresholds and trends. Each KPI tile opens a drill-down app, and SAP Smart Business KPIs are now created with the Manage KPIs and Reports app.
• Custom Apps (Z-Apps)Custom apps, or Z-apps, are applications and extensions that a customer builds in the customer namespace, where object names start with Z or Y, such as freestyle SAPUI5 apps, SAP Fiori elements apps on custom CDS views or copies of SAP apps. Custom apps belong to the customer, who tests and maintains them across every upgrade.
• UI AnnotationsUI annotations are metadata terms from SAP's OData UI vocabulary, such as UI.LineItem, UI.SelectionFields and UI.HeaderInfo, that describe how data should be presented: which columns a table shows, which fields appear in the filter bar and what an object page header displays. SAP Fiori elements reads them at runtime and renders the page accordingly.
• SAP Business WorkflowSAP Business Workflow is the workflow engine embedded in the ABAP platform beneath SAP ERP and SAP S/4HANA. Developers model workflow definitions in the Workflow Builder (SWDD), business events start them at runtime, and the engine creates work items that agents process in the Business Workplace or in My Inbox. Flexible workflow builds on this engine.
• Flexible WorkflowFlexible workflow is an SAP S/4HANA framework that lets key users configure approval workflows for specific business documents, such as purchase requisitions or supplier invoices, through SAP Fiori apps instead of ABAP development. Key users define start conditions, approval steps and recipients, and approvers act on the resulting tasks in My Inbox.
• Situation HandlingSituation Handling is an SAP S/4HANA framework that detects exceptional business situations, such as a contract about to expire or a blocked supplier invoice, and informs the responsible users with context and suggested actions. Situation Handling evaluates business objects or system messages against configured conditions and determines recipients through Responsibility Management.

L6 · System of record

Business documents and master data in SAP S/4HANA or SAP ERP. Every layer above exists to read, change or present this data.