With the latest release of Gekkobrain, we introduced our automatic code fixing modulefor HANA-readiness. What you might not know is its use doesn’t begin and end with SAP HANA — it can also be used to improve performance in your existing ECC-system.

Gekkobrain now comes with our access to our automatic code fixing module as standard. Every one of our customers has the ability to fix most mandatory HANA-readiness issues and a number of performance issues with a single click.

The module works by scanning your system’s ABAP codebase to find any issues based on SAP standard syntax checks. In HANA-readiness mode, Gekkobrain will focus on issues that, if not fixed, will cause operating problems, and even critical system failures, in SAP HANA.

Watch our free webinar to learn how to clean up ABAP code for SAP HANA

Gekkobrain uses a number of algorithms to ensure code issues are adapted correctly, and once fixed they are sent to the DEV system using the standard SAP Transport – where they can be reviewed, rejected or approved.

This all happens extremely quickly and efficiently, with Gekkobrain even generating a list of transactions to run in order to test the refactored code.

Gekkobrain Improves Performance in Existing SAP Systems

Even if you aren’t planning on migrating to SAP HANA in the foreseeable future, Gekkobrain delivers demonstrable value for your business by optimizing code issues for better performance.

Simply by switching to performance mode, the automatic code fixing module targets most SELECT * statements in your ABAP code and adapts them, using the same processes shown above in HANA-readiness mode. 

As many of you will know, SELECT * is shorthand for selecting every column in the table or tables you’re involving in your query.  

While this may take less time to write, best-practice for ABAP code is to explicitly list the columns you need – for example, “SELECT colA, colB, colC, colD“.

There are many reasons SELECT * statements are considered poor coding, including:

• Some data providers don’t support the use of an asterisk to select all fields, resulting in errors.
• If columns are added or removed, they will automatically affect query results, which may not have been the intention.
• SELECT * statements are often used with modifiers (e.g. “SELECT * EXCEPT colB“) and will likely retrieve more data than necessary – slowing access and increasing load, as well as taking more time to process.
• Well-written ABAP code that only retrieves required data is easier to read and  understand, especially for developers unfamiliar with the codebase.

Optimizing your ABAP codebase with Gekkobrain’s automatic code fixing module will dramatically improve the performance of your custom code. In fact, we’ve seen performance improvements of up to 50% in often-used programmes for some customers.

There’s No Reason Not to Optimize Your ABAP Code

As we mentioned earlier, our Gekkobrain automatic code fixing module also optimizes your ABAP code and improves the performances of your SAP systems today.

When you consider these changes will need to be made anyway if you decide to migrate to SAP HANA, there really is no reason not to fix your HANA-incompatible code today. Especially as Gekkobrain automatically tracks the ABAP code you write and alerts you to any new HANA-readiness issues. 

Please contact us if you are interested in discussing your options or if you wish to arrange for a demo of the tool. We look forward to hearing from you.