If you recall from last month’s blog, the Function Module we are using follows a naming convention “IDOC_
IDoc Interface Technology
The message type determines the technical structure of the message, along with the data contained. Through configuration, it will also determine the process flow involved in a “Distributed environment”. The Message Type controls Process Code, which in turn drives a Function Module to derive the content of the message in an OUTBOUND scenario or execute the desired SAP process in an INBOUND scenario. Finally, it also controls how the IDocs will be processed (batch, immediately etc).
Standard SAP sends out or receives in data through IDocs using standard delivered Segments, Message Types and fields. But sometimes, these fields are not sufficient for a specific end-to-end business scenario as far as data transfer is concerned. So in such scenarios, we can add new segments with completely new structures to the standard IDoc as an extension. We create a brand new structure and insert it into existing delivered IDoc structure creating a whole new IDoc satisfying the requirement. This new IDoc is called an Extended IDoc
An IDoc is the run−time instance of an IDoc type. An IDoc consists of a control record, several data records,and a list of status records. The control record defines control information such as sender and receiver information. The data records contain the application data that is to be transferred via IDocs. The status records contain status information (success or failure) recorded at each point in the process.
A large enterprise’s networked computing environment is likely to connect many geographically distributed computers to the main database. These computers are likely to use different hardware and/or operating system platforms. An IDoc (for intermediate document) encapsulates data so that it can be exchanged between different systems without conversion from one format to another. IDocs are used for for electronic data interchange (EDI) between application programs written for the popular SAP business system or between an SAP application and an external program. IDocs serve as the vehicle for data transfer in SAP’s Application Link Enabling (ALE) system.