Sap Mobile

SAP Mobile Development

Related Skills

• sap-s4hana-extensibility — Backend OData services consumed by mobile apps
• sap-security-authorization — Mobile app authentication and security policies
• sap-build-apps — Alternative low-code approach for mobile apps

Quick Start

Choose your mobile framework:

| Framework | Language | Offline | Best For | |-----------|----------|---------|----------| | MDK (Mobile Dev Kit) | Metadata/JS | Built-in | Cross-platform business apps | | BTP SDK for iOS | Swift | Built-in | Native iOS enterprise apps | | BTP SDK for Android | Kotlin/Java | Built-in | Native Android enterprise apps | | SAP Build Apps | No-code | Manual | Simple apps, citizen developers | | SAP Mobile Start | Config only | N/A | Unified mobile launchpad |

MDK Quick Start:

1. SAP Business Application Studio → MDK project from template
2. Define application → Pages → Actions → Rules → Services
3. Deploy to Mobile Services → Test with SAP Mobile Services Client

Core Concepts

SAP Mobile Services

Central management platform for all SAP mobile apps:

• App Configuration — Define app features, security, connectivity
• Push Notifications — APNS (iOS), FCM (Android) integration
• Offline Store — OData offline delta sync engine
• App Update — OTA (over-the-air) updates without app store
• Usage Analytics — User sessions, feature usage, crash reports
• Security Policies — Passcode, biometrics, jailbreak detection

Offline Architecture

Mobile App ──► Local SQLite DB ──► Offline OData Store
                                        │
                                   [Sync Engine]
                                        │
                              SAP Mobile Services
                                        │
                              Backend OData Service

Sync modes: | Mode | Description | Use Case | |------|-------------|----------| | Download | Server → device | Initial load, refresh | | Upload | Device → server | Submit local changes | | Delta sync | Changed records only | Incremental updates | | Defining requests | Subset of data per entity | Control offline data scope |

MDK Application Structure

MDKApp/
├── Application.app           # App-level config
├── Pages/
│   ├── Main.page             # Landing page
│   ├── CustomerList.page     # List page
│   └── CustomerDetail.page   # Detail page
├── Actions/
│   ├── Service/
│   │   ├── InitializeOffline.action
│   │   ├── SyncStartedMessage.action
│   │   └── UploadOffline.action
│   └── Customers/
│       ├── CreateCustomer.action
│       └── UpdateCustomer.action
├── Rules/
│   ├── OnWillUpdate.js
│   └── FormatAddress.js
├── Services/
│   └── MyODataService.service
├── Styles/
│   └── Styles.less
└── i18n/
    └── i18n.properties

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: MDK List Page with Search

// Pages/CustomerList.page
{
  "_Type": "Page",
  "_Name": "CustomerList",
  "Caption": "Customers",
  "Controls": [
    {
      "_Type": "Control.Type.SectionedTable",
      "_Name": "CustomerTable",
      "Sections": [
        {
          "_Type": "Section.Type.ObjectTable",
          "Target": {
            "EntitySet": "Customers",
            "Service": "/MDKApp/Services/MyODataService.service",
            "QueryOptions": "$orderby=CompanyName&$top=50"
          },
          "ObjectCell": {
            "Title": "{CompanyName}",
            "Subhead": "{CustomerID}",
            "Description": "{City}, {Country}",
            "StatusText": "{ContactName}",
            "AccessoryType": "DisclosureIndicator",
            "OnPress": "/MDKApp/Actions/Customers/NavToDetail.action"
          },
          "Search": {
            "Enabled": true,
            "Placeholder": "Search customers...",
            "BarcodeScanner": true
          },
          "EmptySection": {
            "Caption": "No customers found"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "ToolBar": {
    "Items": [
      {
        "_Type": "Control.Type.ToolbarItem",
        "_Name": "AddButton",
        "Caption": "Add",
        "SystemItem": "Add",
        "OnPress": "/MDKApp/Actions/Customers/NavToCreate.action"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Pattern 2: Offline Initialization Action

// Actions/Service/InitializeOffline.action
{
  "_Type": "Action.Type.ODataService.Initialize",
  "_Name": "InitializeOffline",
  "Service": "/MDKApp/Services/MyODataService.service",
  "ShowActivityIndicator": true,
  "OnSuccess": "/MDKApp/Actions/Service/InitializeOfflineSuccessMessage.action",
  "OnFailure": "/MDKApp/Actions/Service/InitializeOfflineFailureMessage.action",
  "DefiningRequests": [
    {
      "Name": "CustomersReq",
      "Query": "/Customers",
      "AutomaticallyRetrievesStreams": false
    },
    {
      "Name": "OrdersReq",
      "Query": "/Orders?$filter=OrderDate gt datetime'2026-01-01T00:00:00'",
      "AutomaticallyRetrievesStreams": false
    }
  ]
}

Pattern 3: MDK Rule — Custom Validation

// Rules/ValidateCustomer.js
/**
 * @param {IClientAPI} clientAPI
 * @returns {string} Empty string if valid, error message if invalid
 */
export default function ValidateCustomer(clientAPI) {
    const formProxy = clientAPI.getPageProxy().getControl('FormCellContainer');
    const companyName = formProxy.getControl('CompanyName').getValue();
    const email = formProxy.getControl('Email').getValue();
    const phone = formProxy.getControl('Phone').getValue();

    if (!companyName || companyName.trim().length 
                        callback.onError("Download failed: ${error.message}")
                    }
                )
            },
            failureHandler = { error ->
                if (error is OfflineODataException &&
                    error.errorCode == OfflineODataErrorCode.UPLOAD_CONFLICT) {
                    handleConflict(error, callback)
                } else {
                    callback.onError("Upload failed: ${error.message}")
                }
            }
        )
    }

    private fun handleConflict(error: OfflineODataException, callback: SyncCallback) {
        val errorArchive = offlineStore.getErrorArchive()
        for (entry in errorArchive) {
            // Strategy: server wins (discard local change)
            entry.cancelUpload()
            // Alternative: client wins — entry.retryUpload()
        }
        // Retry sync after conflict resolution
        syncData(callback)
    }

    interface SyncCallback {
        fun onSuccess()
        fun onError(message: String)
    }
}

Pattern 6: Mobile Security Configuration

// Mobile Services — App Security Config
{
  "security": {
    "passcode": {
      "enabled": true,
      "minLength": 6,
      "hasDigit": true,
      "retryLimit": 5,
      "lockTimeout": 300,
      "biometricEnabled": true
    },
    "certificatePinning": {
      "enabled": true,
      "pins": [
        {
          "host": "*.hana.ondemand.com",
          "pins": ["sha256/AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA="]
        }
      ]
    },
    "rootDetection": {
      "enabled": true,
      "action": "WARN"
    },
    "dataProtection": {
      "encryptDatabase": true,
      "preventScreenCapture": true,
      "clipboardTimeout": 60
    }
  }
}

Error Catalog

| Error | Message | Root Cause | Fix | |-------|---------|------------|-----| | Offline init failed | Cannot create offline store | Defining request error or backend down | Check OData service; validate defining request query | | Upload conflict | Entity modified on server | Concurrent edit during offline period | Implement conflict resolution (server/client wins) | | Push: Token invalid | APNS/FCM token rejected | App reinstalled or token expired | Re-register device token on app launch | | Sync timeout | Download timed out | Large dataset or slow network | Reduce defining request scope; increase timeout | | Certificate error | SSL handshake failed | Certificate pinning mismatch | Update pinned certificates; check cert rotation | | Passcode locked | Too many failed attempts | User exceeded retry limit | Admin reset via Mobile Services console | | MDK deploy error | Metadata upload failed | Invalid page/action JSON | Validate JSON syntax; check MDK version compatibility | | OData 413 | Payload too large | Offline store sync payload exceeds limit | Split defining requests; limit data scope |

Performance Tips

1. Defining requests — Scope offline data narrowly; don't sync entire entity sets
2. Delta tokens — Enable server-side delta tokens for incremental sync
3. Image handling — Download images on demand, not during sync; use thumbnail URLs
4. Batch size — Configure upload batch size (default 100); reduce for slow networks
5. Sync frequency — Don't auto-sync on every app resume; use manual or timed sync (every 15-30 min)
6. MDK page loading — Use lazy loading for detail pages; preload only list pages
7. SQLite optimization — Offline store uses SQLite; keep total offline data under 500 MB

Gotchas

• MDK vs. native SDK: MDK is cross-platform but less flexible; native SDKs offer full platform APIs
• Offline data scope: Defining requests determine what's available offline — missing data = blank screens
• iOS enterprise distribution: Apps need MDM or Apple Business Manager for enterprise deployment
• Mobile Services regions: Ensure Mobile Services instance is in same BTP region as backend
• OData version: Offline OData store supports V2 and V4; check backend service version
• App update strategy: MDK supports OTA updates for metadata; native apps need app store updates

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: efeumutaslan
• Source: efeumutaslan/SAP-SKILLS
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.