SAP HANA development languages for ABAP Developer

Question

Hi I was just looking at some blogs on HANA. Can anyone tell me how to learn the new HANA programming languages SQLScript etc. As you know not many companies use HANA yet, so getting to use a real HANA box can be hard as of now.. What are the other options... Can I install the HANA software on my PC and use it with a few Excel files or MS-Access db just to workout what these programming languages actually do.. Ofcourse I dont have access to the HANA box(hardware that SAP talks about). I am an ABAP Developer I have access to ECC if that helps.
Also from what I can understand the HANA box sits on top of the ECC/BW systems etc  or would HANA replace some aspects of the Application Server and sit in the R3 architecture? if the second scenario is true would most of the ABAP reports etc written using traditional ABAP have to be replaced or modified to use HANA related code in them to improve performance(I know ABAP doesnt support this yet).
If companies start using HANA I would think most ABAP developments just querying to get data would need to be rewritten-even the webdynpro applications for performance.
Can HANA update DBs as well?
Would HANA programming be a required skill for most ABAP developers in future?
Edited by: sk123456 on Sep 29, 2011 3:21 AM
Edited by: sk123456 on Sep 29, 2011 3:35 AM

Answer 1

Hello Sk,
so far (with HANA 1.0 SPS 2), the only relevant languages to learn is SQL and SQL Script. Check http://service.sap.com/hana which has SQL and SQL Script Guides.
Since you know ABAP already, you will pick these things up rather quickly. There are as you noted some concepts you have to understand in order to make optimal use of the HANA features and get maximum performance (anyone could come up with SQL or SQL script that crawls to a halt even in HANA). One key is to process everything is sets of data rather than record by record. Another important item is to keep all processing within the column engine. Also avoid joins that lead to large intermediate results. We are currently writing some how-to guides which will be publised on http://www.experiencesaphana.com/. Stay tuned!
In terms of the architecture, I would say HANA as a database sits below the application server and/or client, for example, BW powered by HANA where HANA plays the role of the DBMS. The other option is to run side-by-side for example, connecting HANA to an existing ECC (that runs on MS-SQL). In either case, you are right; the logic (either in the application on top of HANA, or the models inside HANA) needs to be changed or created to take advantage of HANA.
Where can you learn more? Class room training TZHANA or come back regularly to the Try section of the Experience Site where we plan to publish other options.
Regards,
Marc
SAP Customer Solution Adoption (CSA)
PS: And we certainly have plans to integrate HANA features into ABAP