Setting Up the Development Environment - Agentry Toolkit

Included within the SAP® Mobile Platform SDK are components for Agentry development, which make up the Agentry Toolkit. These components are intended for developers, implementors, and administrators.

With the exception of the Agentry SAP Framework Foundation, all the components described here can be found in the SAP Mobile Platform SDK. This SDK is available on the SAP Service Marketplace. After extracting archive that contains all tools available for the SAP Mobile Platform SDK, there are several different items available in various folders. For those components relative to Agentry development, this includes the installers and resources discussed here, as well as the Agentry Client installers.

The Agentry SAP Framework Foundation is an ABAP add-on installed to the SAP system to which the mobile application is to connect and with which it will synchronize data. Since this component is not installed to the same system as the other components of the Agentry development tools, but instead to the SAP system, it is provided as a separate download within the list of SAP Mobile Platform components on the SAP Service Marketplace website.

Each of these components is described briefly below and includes the location of the component with a path relative to the location where the SAP Mobile SDK archive was extracted.

Agentry Editor

File locations:
  • 32 bit build: AgentryToolkit\32-bitAgentryEditor\Agentry_7.0.x.x_EditorPlugin_x86.zip
  • 64 bit build: AgentryToolkit\64-bitAgentryEditor\Agentry_7.0.x.x_EditorPlugin_x86_64.zip

The Agentry Editor is the primary development tool for mobile applications built using the Agentry archetype within the SAP Mobile Platform. This is provided as a plug-in to the Eclipse IDE. The proper version of Eclipse must be installed and configured first, followed by the installation of the plug-in to the Eclipse implementation. The Agentry Editor provides a point and click development environment, within which the mobile application can be built or an existing mobile application can be modified for specific implementation needs.

Agentry OpenUI SDK & Android and iOS Agentry Client Rebranding

File locations:
  • Agentry OpenUI SDK for Android: AgentryToolkit\AgentryOpenUISDK\SMPAgentryClientFramework-Android-7.0.x.x.zip
  • Agentry OpenUI SDK for iOS: AgentryToolkit\AgentryOpenUISDK\SMPAgentryClientFramework-iOS-7.0.x.x.tgz
  • Agentry OpenUI SDK for Windows - Sample Project Only: AgentryToolkit\AgentryOpenUISDK\Agentry_7.0.x.x_OpenUISampleDotNET.zip

The Agentry OpenUI SDK is introduced in the SAP Mobile Platform SDK 3.0 release. This SDK is available for Android, iOS, and Windows client platforms. It is provided to allow developers to create custom controls for the Agentry Client. These custom controls will then override the standard field edit types within the Agentry Client at runtime.

For both Android and iOS the client framework archives listed above provide the needed resources to develop custom controls using the OpenUI SDK. For the Agentry Client for Windows devices, this is not necessary. Rather, a project is created in Visual Studio targeting .NET 4.5 Framework, and which uses reflection to obtain information about the loaded assemblies for the OpenUI interface.

Additionally, the resources provided in these same SDK files also provide the necessary interface to support rebranding of the Agentry Client for Android and iOS. Windows clients are rebranded using the Agentry Device Client Branding SDK, as in previous versions of SAP Mobile Platform and/or Agentry Mobile Platform.

Agentry Test Environment

File location:
  • Installer: AgentryToolkit\AgentryTestEnvironment\Agentry_7.0.x.x_Test_Environment.exe

The Agentry Test Environment provides an Agentry Client which runs within a test and monitoring interface. This interface provides tools to inspect data stored on the client device, including objects, transactions, complex tables, and data tables. Actions and transactions can be debugged as they are executed or instantiated. Client devices hardware features including barcode scanners and GPS units can be mimicked within the Agentry Test Environment to support full functional testing of client-side behavior of the mobile application. The Agentry Test Environment can also mimic various client device types and form factors.

Agentry Java API

File location:
  • Agentry Java API: AgentryToolkit\AJAPI\Agentry-v5.jar
  • Agentry Java API Javadoc: AgentryToolkit\AJAPI\Agentry-v5-doc.zip

The Agentry Java API is provided for development of mobile applications with a Java system connection. This API provides the interface between the Agentry Server and the Java synchronization logic. This interface supports passing data between this logic and the Agentry Server, and also provides state, user, and other runtime information. Base classes for step definition logic, complex table and data table synchronization logic are included within the API and are extended by the logic written specific to the mobile application. The Agentry Java API is contained in a single Jar file, named Agentry-v5.jar. Also included is a ZIP archive containing the associated Javadoc content, which can be referenced as a resource within the Eclipse Java project. Details on creating a Java project in Eclipse, including how to add the associated documentation, are provided in a later procedure.

Agentry Branding SDK

File location:
  • Windows CE Client Branding SDK: AgentryToolKit\BrandingSDK\Agentry_ClientWinCE_Branding.exe
  • iOS and Android: This functionality is encompassed by the OpenUI and the associated Agentry client framework resources provided as a part of the OpenUI SDK. Creating the projects as instructed for each of these will also provide the necessary framework to rebrand these clients.
  • Windows WPF and Windows Desktop: The Branding SDK is provided from the standard client installers for each these, with special command line switches provided during execution. See the instructions provided for details.

Rebranding the Agentry Client for Windows devices begins with the installation of the needed rebranding resources. For the Windows desktop Agentry Client builds, this is provided by running the Agentry Client installer with specified command line arguments. This may either be the Agentry Client installer for Windows 7 desktop or earlier, or the .NET Windows Client installer for Windows 8 desktops and tablets.

Rebranding of the Agentry Client for Windows mobile devices begins with the installation of the Agentry Branding SDK, which provides the necessary resources to rebrand and then package the Agentry Client executable for you application.

Rebranding the Agentry Client for both Android and iOS devices is accomplished within the framework provided by the OpenUI SDK. Icon images and UI text can be overridden within the framework and the Agentry Client rebuilt to include these branded resources using the framework provided as a part of the OpenUI SDK for these two platforms.

Agentry SAP Framework Foundation and Related Resources

Note: This component is not provided in the SAP Mobile Platform SDK. It is an ABAP Add-On and is installed only to SAP Systems and is available on the SAP Service Marketplace.

The Agentry SAP Framework Foundation is an ABAP Add-On that is installed to the SAP system with which the mobile application is to connect and synchronize. This component is only used for SAP systems; other back end systems will not use this component. The Agentry SAP Framework Foundation provides the framework within which the needed synchronization support for the mobile application is implemented. This includes exchange data model components such as triggers, mobile data objects, rules, filters, and other similar pieces.

This component of the SAP Mobile Platform is provided on SAP Service Marketplace as an available download. However, if the intention of your installation is to deploy a packaged mobile application built on Agentry, this component should not be installed. Rather, the Agentry SAP Framework ABAP Add-On provided with that application, which will include application-specific components, should instead be installed. The Agentry SAP Framework Foundation is provided for user cases in which a new mobile application for an existing SAP system is being developed form the ground up.

Agentry SDK

The Agentry SDK installer is provided for two development scenarios. The first is when it is desired to develop ActiveX controls for use on Windows Mobile devices. The second is when it is necessary to develop interprocess communications between the Agentry Client and another process running on the mobile device. If neither of these scenarios are applicable to your environment, this component need not be installed. If the Agentry SDK is to be installed and used, see the installation procedure provided in the SAP Mobile SDK installation guide, as well as the information on the structure and usage of the API’s within this SDK provided in the Developer Guide: Agentry Applications.