The SAP TechEd content is great, isn’t it?! Especially the Developer Keynote. That’s what I (Wim Snoep) thought when I saw it listed again on the TechEd agenda. A must-see! My enthusiasm did wane a bit, though, when I saw the time: 1:30 a.m. Dutch time. Fortunately, all the sessions are available to watch on demand.
This year went just a little differently than last year. Last year, there was a cohesive scenario that was further developed by various developer advocates. This year was very different—and, of course, also because TechEd could once again take place in person on stage. This time, during the keynote, speakers took turns discussing new developments, the day’s hands-on sessions, and the various demos. The famous “Bluebeard,” developer advocate Josh Bentley, served as the emcee. SAP TechEd Keynote: What Was Covered?
The BTP Setup Automator
The BTP Setup Automator is a very handy open-source tool that allows you to define various BTP resources in JSON files. You can then share these “definition files” with others and use them to automate further setup tasks, such as setting up 10 trial accounts and getting them ready for a training session. DJ Adams presented this feature and compared it to the boosters already available in BTP, which serve a similar purpose.
It’s great to see that you can define this in JSON and also automate it using scripts. Incidentally, SAP itself uses the Setup Automator to set up BTP accounts for the TechEd hands-on exercises.
Free
In addition to the many demos, there was also a focus on the BTP free tier. There was also a shout-out about the BTP Free edition, where you can use SAP Analytics and Data Warehouse Cloud for free—yes, really free. Numerous services are available for free within this tier. The advantage of the free account over a trial is that a trial cannot be used in a production environment. With the free tier, however, this is possible—you only start paying once you exceed the limits of free usage.
Easy UI5 Generator
Let’s continue with some demos. The Easy UI5 Generator. The name says it all. This helps you generate a UI5 app very easily by asking a few questions.
Next, we got to see what “Fiori tools” can do in VS Code. Just a few clicks later, a custom control appeared in the app.
Testing
Two more open-source tools were showcased in the UI5 field: Wdi5 and the UI5 Journey Recorder. With the UI5 Journey Recorder, you can easily record a test (journey)—such as clicking a button, entering a value, or navigating to a page. It’s very simple: just perform these actions as a user within the browser-based application. Are you done? Then press the stop button, and the scenario is recorded. Wdi5 can then run the recorded test for you. You can then write your test conditions in code around it to specify what you would expect.
Did this happen? If so, you can run a test. To do this, use the WebDriver. If you want to run the test automatically, the tool will launch your browser, perform the steps you recorded earlier, test the conditions you specified, and then close the browser.
Artificial Intelligence
In this demo, BTP’s various AI components were used to recognize poker cards! These included AI Launchpad, SAP AI Core, and SAP AI Business Services.
CAP on Kyma
A truly fascinating technical demo showed how to deploy a CAP model on Kyma. Kyma is the Kubernetes-based runtime that runs alongside Cloud Foundry.
DevToberFest
A great way to wrap up the Developer Keynote was the announcement of the DEVToberFest winners. This contest takes place leading up to SAP TechEd. You can earn points in various categories by completing challenges. These challenges are accompanied by many informative presentations on the latest SAP technologies. If you didn’t get a chance to attend these sessions, they’re all available to watch on demand, just like the SAP TechEd presentations.
In closing
It was another great developer keynote. For me personally, it was a highlight of SAP TechEd and definitely a session worth keeping. It was great to see so much hands-on coding, as well as a brief look back at the earlier keynote and the role of the developer advocates in it.
Would you like to read the highlights of the TechEd keynote that was held at the beginning? Then read ” A Look Back at the SAP TechEd Opening Keynote”
