btp-developer-guide

name	btp-developer-guide
description	SAP BTP Developer Guide — runtime selection, CAP/ABAP Cloud/SAP Build, integration patterns, CI/CD, monitoring
trigger	{"keywords":["btp developer","runtime selection","cap vs abap","btp architecture","cf vs kyma","build app on btp"],"intent":"Designing and building applications on SAP BTP"}
prerequisites	["BTP cockpit access (global account + subaccount)","cf CLI logged in (`cf login -a api.cf.<region>.hana.ondemand.com`)","Node.js 20+ (for CAP) or ABAP Cloud dev environment","BAS or VS Code with CDS plugin (for CAP)"]

SAP BTP Developer Guide

1. Choose Runtime

Runtime	Best For	Languages
Cloud Foundry	CAP apps, microservices, stateless APIs	Node.js, Java, Python, Go
Kyma	Event-driven, custom Docker stacks	Any container
ABAP Environment	RAP Cloud extensions, Steampunk	ABAP (clean core)
SAP Build	Citizen dev, low-code process automation	LCNC

2. CAP Quick Start

cds init my-project && cd cds-project
cds add mta && cds add app --ui5 && cds add sample
cds watch                    # http://localhost:4004
npx cds add xsuaa            # authentication
npx cds add hana             # production DB
mbt build                    # → mta_archives/*.mtar
cf deploy mta_archives/*.mtar

3. Integration Patterns

Pattern	BTP Service	Protocol
REST/OData Proxy	API Management	HTTP
Async Events	Event Mesh	MQTT, CloudEvents
B2B/EDI	TPM	AS2, OFTP2
File Transfer	CPI	SFTP
Scheduled Jobs	Job Scheduling	Cron-triggered REST

4. CI/CD Pipeline

# .pipeline/config.yml
stages:
  - Build: mbt build
  - Test: cds test --coverage
  - Lint: eslint src/ && abaplint --format json
  - Deploy DEV: cf deploy mta_archives/*.mtar -f
  - Deploy PRD: manual approval → cf deploy mta_archives/*.mtar

5. Monitoring

Service	What It Monitors
Cloud Logging	Centralized logs via OpenSearch + Kibana dashboards
Alert Notification	Proactive alerts (email, webhook, Slack)
Automation Pilot	Automated incident response (remediation)

Pitfalls

• No MTA wrapper → Cause: deploying individual apps without MTA. Solution: always use cds add mta and deploy via mbt build → cf deploy.
• Destinations not found → Cause: destinations are subaccount-scoped. Solution: create destinations in the same subaccount as the consuming app; use cf env APP_NAME to verify binding.
• CF memory crash → Cause: app exceeds memory limit. Solution: check cf app APP_NAME for mem usage; scale with cf scale APP_NAME -m 256M.
• Kyma vs CF confusion → Cause: choosing runtime by familiarity. Solution: prefer CF for stateless CAP/API workloads; Kyma for event-heavy, polyglot, or stateful container stacks.
• Missing xs-security.json → Cause: app deployed without authentication. Solution: cds add xsuaa generates the security descriptor; customize scopes/roles in xs-security.json.

Verification

cf apps                                    # list deployed apps
cf services                                # list service instances
cf logs APP_NAME --recent                  # recent logs
curl https://<app>.cfapps.<region>.hana.ondemand.com/health -s