/sap-btp-developer-guide

name: sap-btp-developer-guide
description: |
  Develops business applications on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) using CAP (Node.js/Java) or ABAP Cloud. 

  Use when: building cloud applications on SAP BTP, deploying to Cloud Foundry or Kyma runtimes, integrating with SAP HANA Cloud, implementing SAP Fiori UIs, connecting to remote SAP systems, building multitenant SaaS applications, extending SAP S/4HANA or SuccessFactors, setting up CI/CD pipelines, implementing observability, or following SAP development best practices.

  Keywords: SAP BTP, Business Technology Platform, CAP, Cloud Application Programming Model, ABAP Cloud, Cloud Foundry, Kyma, SAP HANA Cloud, SAP Fiori, SAPUI5, CI/CD, observability, multitenant, SaaS, SAP BTP ABAP environment, SAP Business Application Studio, SAP Cloud SDK, SAP Integration Suite, SAP Event Mesh, SAP Connectivity Service, SAP Destination Service, XSUAA, OAuth, OpenID Connect, OData, CDS, Core Data Services, ABAP CDS, ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model, RAP, ABAP development, SAP BTP development
license: GPL-3.0
metadata:
  maintainer: "Eduard Jiglau"
  maintainer_email: "hello@sap-ai-skills.com"
  website: "https://sap-ai-skills.com"
  version: "2.4.1"
  last_verified: 2025-11-27
  source_last_updated: 2025-11-21
  review_status: "Complete - Phase 1-14 audit"

SAP BTP Developer Guide Skill

Related Skills

• **sap-btp-cloud-platform**: Use for platform fundamentals, account management, and runtime configurations
• **sap-btp-best-practices**: Use for architectural guidance, governance models, and production patterns
• **sap-cap-capire**: Use for CAP development details, service definitions, and database integration
• **sap-fiori-tools**: Use for UI development, Fiori application setup, and frontend deployment
• **sap-abap**: Use for ABAP Cloud development, RAP patterns, and ABAP Environment specifics
• **sap-btp-connectivity**: Use for implementing secure connections to on-premise systems
• **sap-ai-core**: Use for AI Core platform setup, model deployment, and orchestration
• **sap-cloud-sdk-ai**: Use for SDK-level AI integration in CAP applications

Comprehensive guidance for developing, deploying, and operating business applications on SAP Business Technology Platform.

Table of Contents

Quick Navigation

• [Table of Contents](#table-of-contents)
• [When to Use This Skill](#when-to-use-this-skill)
• [Runtime and Programming Model Selection](#runtime-and-programming-model-selection)
• [Development Workflow](#development-workflow)
• [Key Services and Tools](#key-services-and-tools)
• [Security Implementation](#security-implementation)
• [Connectivity Patterns](#connectivity-patterns)
• [CI/CD Implementation](#ci-cd-implementation)
• [Observability Implementation](#observability-implementation)
• [Tutorials and Missions](#tutorials-and-missions)
• [Partner/ISV Development](#partner-isv-development)
• [Common Errors and Solutions](#common-errors-and-solutions)
• [Bundled Resources](#bundled-resources)
• [Quick Reference Links](#quick-reference-links)
• [Version Information](#version-information)

When to Use This Skill

Use when:

• Building new applications on SAP BTP (Cloud Foundry or Kyma runtime)
• Developing with SAP Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP)
• Building ABAP Cloud applications in SAP BTP ABAP Environment
• Deploying SAP Fiori or SAPUI5 user interfaces
• Connecting applications to SAP S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, or on-premise systems
• Building multitenant SaaS applications
• Implementing side-by-side extensions for SAP solutions
• Building AI-powered extensions (LLM analysis, document processing, intelligent automation)
• Setting up CI/CD pipelines for SAP BTP
• Implementing observability with SAP Cloud ALM or SAP Cloud Logging
• Using SAP HANA Cloud for data persistence

Runtime and Programming Model Selection

For detailed runtime comparison: See `references/runtimes.md`

Decision Matrix

| Criteria | CAP (Cloud Foundry/Kyma) | ABAP Cloud | |----------|--------------------------|------------| | **Languages** | Node.js, Java, TypeScript | ABAP | | **Best For** | New cloud-native apps, extensions | Organizations with ABAP expertise | | **Runtime** | Cloud Foundry or Kyma | SAP BTP ABAP Environment | | **Persistence** | SAP HANA Cloud, PostgreSQL | SAP HANA Cloud (ABAP-managed) | | **UI Framework** | SAP Fiori Elements, SAPUI5 | SAP Fiori Elements, SAPUI5 | | **IDE** | SAP Business Application Studio, VS Code | ABAP Development Tools (Eclipse) |

CAP Application Development

CAP provides three operational profiles:

• **Development**: Mock services, minimal setup, SQLite/H2 for local testing
• **Hybrid**: Local app connected to cloud services
• **Production**: Full cloud deployment with SAP HANA Cloud

Key capabilities:

• Domain-driven design with CDS (Core Data Services)
• Built-in multitenancy support
• Automatic OData/REST service generation
• Platform-agnostic design (no vendor lock-in)

For CAP details: See `references/cap-development.md`

AI-Powered Extensions with CAP

Build intelligent side-by-side extensions by combining CAP with SAP AI Core:

1. **Bind AI Core** to your CAP app via MTA (service: `aicore`, plan: `extended`) 2. **Use SAP Cloud SDK for AI** (`@sap-ai-sdk/orchestration`) in CAP event handlers — never raw HTTP calls 3. **Process asynchronously**: LLM calls can take 30-60 seconds. Return `202 Accepted` and use `cds.spawn` for background processing to avoid BTP load balancer timeouts 4. **Store vectors**: Use HANA Cloud `Vector(1536)` type in CDS entities for RAG scenarios 5. **Externalize prompts**: Store in JSON files or CDS entities for updates without redeployment 6. **Allocate memory**: At least 512MB for Node.js containers with AI SDK

For complete code examples, see **sap-cap-capire** skill (AI Integration section) and **sap-cloud-sdk-ai** skill (CAP Integration subsection).

ABAP Cloud Development

ABAP Cloud uses four foundational technologies: 1. **Core