In the ever-evolving application development landscape, staying ahead of the curve is critical to the success of organizations in any industry.
SAP UI5, a cutting-edge user interface development framework developed by SAP, has emerged as an innovative tool that revolutionizes the way users design, create, and deploy applications across their entire SAP landscape. With its intuitive user interface design capabilities and robust development environment, SAP UI5 has become a game-changer for developers and organizations alike.
In this article, we will explore the significance of SAP UI5 in application development, uncovering its core components, features, and advantages, and discuss where our expert SAP consultant team can come in to help optimize application development and maximize your technical investment.
Let’s dive in!
What is UI5 in SAP?
SAP UI5 is an intuitive user interface development toolkit that allows developers to create cross-application web applications for HTML5 and enable consistent user experiences across the SAP system.
The SAP User Interface (UI5) uses the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. It offers a set of libraries to build responsive web applications that accelerate the development lifecycle by creating business logic and data representations on multiple devices.
SAP UI5 provides the core coding language for SAP Fiori, and it leverages SAP Web IDE functionality to create and modify SAP UI5 code across the SAP landscape.
Core Components of the SAP UI5 Architecture
By leveraging the MVC development concept, SAP UI5 comprises a three-part application, including models that contain critical data, controllers that handle interactions between users and data sources, and views that represent the data and the user interface. This way, users can access, manage, and consume important application data from any service.
Here are the main components that make up the SAP UI5 architecture:
1) Views
A view refers to the front-end display of data by an SAP application. Views are the area of the software that end-users interact with the most, making it a critical area for incorporating consistent design principles and best practices into its core development.
2) Models
Models act as containers for data, storing all the business-critical data an application will use. SAP’s User Interface (UI5) offers multiple different pre-defined model classes, including JSON and other resource models, to facilitate more consistent application design and development across teams.
3) Libraries
Libraries refer to specific areas of SAP UI5 that allow users to access pre-built application controls.
Here’s a closer look at the main libraries included in the user interface:
- Main Library (m): Includes basic controls for desktop and mobile applications
- Layout (ui.layout): Includes structure controls for element display in SAP applications
- Table (ui.table): Includes data controls for larger volumes of application data
- Core (ui.core): Includes the core functionality that’s essential for all SAP UI5 app operations
- Suite: Includes a set of three libraries with certain templates and data types
- Comp (ui.comp): Includes data for smart content, including SmartField and SmartTable functions
- Unified (ui.unified): Includes all mobile and desktop controls for SAP UI5 applications
4) Controls
Controls, also referred to as elements, components, or widgets, refer to the decision-making parts of a line of code. In the modern SAP User Interface environment, there are more than 200 controls for application development, and each one holds a different purpose in telling the application what to do whenever an important choice needs to be made.
5) Controllers
Controllers are tools in SAP UI5 that implement the business logic that brings Models and Views together in the same area of the application.
Key Capabilities of the SAP UI5 User Interface
SAP UI5 not only provides a more consistent user experience for operations across the entire SAP Business Suite, but it also helps companies eliminate the need to navigate in complex and unintuitive user interfaces.
Here are a few of the main capabilities included in SAP Fiori UI5:
Accessibility and Localization
SAP UI5 provides advanced tools that allow developers to write easy-to-read code that can be accessed by all users with authorized access. Improved accessibility, paired with localization in SAP Fiori apps, makes it easier for users to detect where data is being accessed and how it is being used.
Localization initiatives also help users adapt data, including currencies, dates, and more, to the local convention. They allow SAP applications to leverage language translation capabilities to translate it to the relevant language automatically.
Cross-Browser Compatibility
With cross-browser compatibility, SAP UI5 responds to a number of different factors, including device type, browser, OS, screen size, and more, to create applications that can be accessed from multiple different mobile devices.
This way, application developers can adjust controls to maintain a pleasant user experience and create applications that automatically adapt to portrait or landscape views as needed.
SDK and Documentation
The SAP UI5 Software Development Kit (SDK) allows developers to build applications that can integrate with other systems or software environments.
With extensive documentation for individual app components and design guidelines for SAP Fiori elements, users can understand how each component can be used and combined to create mobile apps that facilitate a more responsive user experience.
Open Source Technology
The SAP User Interface (UI5) is compatible with multiple open-source technologies, such as the Datajs library for existing OData service connections, JQuery frameworks, and Handlebars template language.
SAP Fiori Integration
With UI5 Web Components, developers can leverage predefined SAP Fiori elements and templates to design, deploy, and manage new SAP Fiori applications, regardless of their framework.
SAP UI5 provides the coding language for SAP Fiori, meaning an SAP Fiori application cannot be built without integration into the underlying SAP UI5 framework.
How Can We Help?
Whether you need help outlining plans to build new web applications with SAP UI5, additional support consolidating SAP UI5 applications in the SAP Fiori launchpad, or just an extra hand understanding the difference between SAP UI5 and Fiori, Surety Systems is here to help.
Our senior-level, US-based SAP consultant team has the knowledge, skills, and experience to handle all your SAP project needs — whenever and wherever you need them.
And, in the past three years, our team of SAP consultants has been engaged on more than 100 consulting projects, making us the perfect fit for all your unique SAP project needs!
Getting Started with Us
Interested in learning how SAP UI5 can facilitate more efficient development and deployment for new business applications or where our experienced SAP consultant team can fit in your organization?
Contact us today to get started!
