How to export repository to file system?

Question

Hello,
within my bachelor thesis I am engaged in parsing ABAP Objects to calculate different code metrics. The analysis tool and many of the known parser-apis do require source-files at the file system layer.
As SAP stores everything in a DB, I wonder if there is a way to export the repository to the file system. And if this is not possible, is there another practicable way to access the source code?
Another point is: Does anyone know a source for a complete grammar (like ebnf or so) for ABAP Objects? that could make my life quite a lot easier...
mfg
- clemens heppner

Answer 1

Thanks for your advice! I've written this report:
START-OF-SELECTION.
  DATA: source TYPE REF TO cl_oo_source,
        source_tab TYPE seop_source_string,
        classname TYPE seoclskey VALUE 'CL_OO_SOURCE'.
  CREATE OBJECT source EXPORTING clskey = classname.
* Copy source->SOURCE table because gui_download( ) needs a changeable
* argument and source->source is read-only.
  source_tab = source->source.
  cl_gui_frontend_services=>gui_download( EXPORTING filename =
'c:\source.ao' CHANGING data_tab = source_tab ).
But that approach has some serious drawbacks:
I have to save each class one by one (is there a way to automate that? P.e. find all classes in one package?)
I can not access the code of reports and such because cl_oo_source requires a classname.
Is there another way or an extension to this one, to solve those problems?
Thanks,
- clemens