About this approach #

The following article describes how user-defined runtime parameters in Xtract Universal can be transferred to the SAP Reader (Theobald Software) of a KNIME workflow.

The background is the reduction of transaction costs as well as the use of a delta-mechanism on standard SAP tables.

In this example, the following field AEDAT - Changed On of the standard table EKKO - Purchasing Document Header is used.

Through this procedure, only changed entries from the SAP table EKKO are extracted from the SAP source system and processed into the existing SQL Server database table.

Note: Basic knowledge of T-SQL, KNIME Analytics Platform and the creation of table extractions in Xtract Universal is required.

Requirements #

The following BI architecture must be available and configured:

• Latest version of the KNIME Analytics Platform.
• Installed KNIME extension SAP Reader (Theobald Software).
• Existing table object in a Microsoft database (SQL-Server).
• Latest version of Xtract Universal, obtained from the Theobald Software website.
• Existing table extraction of table EKKO - Purchasing Document Header in Xtract Universal, see Defining a Table Extraction.
• Use of a WHERE condition with user-defined variables of the table extraction in Xtract Universal e.g.: EKKO~AEDAT > @maxAEDAT.

KNIME Analytics Platform Workflow #

1. Configuration of the KNIME node Microsoft SQL Server Connector.
2. Configuration of the KNIME node DB Table Selector.
3. Use the following SQL statement (2) for the table object EKKO in the Custom Query (1).

   SELECT MAX(REPLACE(AEDAT, '-', '')) AS maxAEDAT FROM #table#
   

4. Using the KNIME node DB Reader to read the result value of the Custom Query maxAEDAT to propagated to all connected nodes.
5. Configuration of the KNIME node Table Row to Varaiable (3).
6. Right-click on the node SAP Reader (Theobald Software) to display the flow variable ports.
7. Configuration of the KNIME node SAP Reader (Theobald Software), see KNIME Integration via SAP Reader (Theobald Software).
8. In the Parameters tab, use Fetch Parameters (4) to add the user-defined variable to the WHERE condition (5) and enter a default value (6).
9. In the Flow Variables tab, select the variable maxAEDAT in the Custom Parameters section using the drop-down menu (7).
10. Finally, pass the results of the extraction in the workflow to the KNIME node DB Writer and execute the workflow.

Tip: Check the correct execution of the extraction with user-defined runtime parameters in the Extraction Log of Xtract Universal.

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Releated Link

• KNIME Integration via SAP Reader (Theobald Software)
• Read or download documentation for KNIME Software
• KNIME Flow Control Guide