Glossary

The small set of SAP RFC terms needed to use open-rfc safely.

RFC and RFM : Remote Function Call is the protocol family. An RFM is a remote-enabled ABAP function module that a client invokes.

SDK-free : The installed runtime does not load the SAP NW RFC SDK or a native addon. It does not imply complete SDK feature parity.

Classic sRFC : One synchronous request and response on an authenticated RFC session. This is the primary implemented call mode.

NI, APPC, and CPIC : The network framing and conversation layers used by the implemented direct classic-RFC path.

xRFC : An XML value representation used by selected deep interfaces. It is not part of the supported first-beta serializer boundary.

basXML : A distinct SAP serializer. It is not supported by the first beta.

Direct route : A gateway connection for one selected application server.

Message-server route : A route that selects an application server through the message server before opening RFC. It is not supported by the first beta.

SAProuter : An NI routing hop. Routing alone is not encryption or peer authentication.

Cloud Connector : SAP BTP connectivity infrastructure. A service binding or reachable mapping does not by itself make RFC proxying, WebSocket RFC, or principal propagation a supported open-rfc route.

Stateful and stateless sessions : A stateful session retains authenticated backend context across operations. A stateless session resets backend context between reusable calls while the physical connection may remain open.

SAP LUW : A logical unit of work. Business calls and commit or rollback must stay on one physical session lease.

Uncertain send : A failure after request bytes may have reached SAP. The connection is retired and the call is not automatically replayed.

Metadata : Function-parameter and DDIC structure definitions used to encode and decode RFC values. Metadata is bounded, validated, detached, and cached by its owning destination.

ABAP initial value : The type-specific empty value, such as an empty character field or a zero-valued numeric field. It is not always JavaScript undefined.

Declared ABAP exception : An exception declared by the function module. After a complete reply it can be reported as an ABAPError while the authenticated session remains usable.

Fatal transport or protocol failure : An outcome after which session reuse is unsafe. The physical connection is retired so late data cannot cross into another call.

Offline check : A deterministic result without an SAP connection. It cannot prove interoperability with a particular release.

Live check : A redaction-safe result from a selected SAP system and exact release artifact.

SAP, SAP BTP, ABAP, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP NetWeaver are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE or its affiliates. open-rfc is an independent project and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by SAP SE.