Use the CData ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway, you gain database-like access to live SAP Netweaver Gateway data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for SAP Netweaver Gateway in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time SAP Netweaver Gateway data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SAP Netweaver Gateway data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to SAP Netweaver Gateway, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SAP Netweaver Gateway and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can easily visualize and analyze SAP Netweaver Gateway data in SAS.

Connect to SAP Netweaver Gateway as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to SAP Netweaver Gateway follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

SAP Gateway allows both basic and OAuth 2.0 authentication. You can use basic authentication to connect to your own account, or you can use OAuth to enable other users to retrieve data from your service with their accounts. In addition to authenticating, set the following connection properties to access SAP Gateway tables.

• Url: Set this to the URL of your environment, or to the full URL of the service. For example, the full URL might appear as: https://sapes5.sapdevcenter.com/sap/opu/odata/IWBEP/GWSAMPLE_BASIC/. In this example, the environment URL would just be: https://sapes5.sapdevcenter.com.
• Namespace: Set the appropriate Service Namespace. In the example above, IWBEP is the namespace. It is optional if the full URL to the service is specified.
• Service: Set this to the service you want to retrieve data from. In the example above, the service is GWSAMPLE_BASIC. It is not required if the full URL is specified.

Authenticate via Basic Authentication

In basic authentication, you use your login credentials to connect. Set the following properties:

• User: This is the username you use to log in to SAP Gateway.
• Password: This is the password you use to log in to SAP Gateway.

Authenticate via OAuth Authentication

You can connect to SAP Gateway using the embedded OAuth connectivity (without setting any additional authentication connection properties). When you connect, the OAuth endpoint opens in your browser. Log in and grant permissions to complete the OAuth process. See the OAuth section in the online Help documentation for more information on other OAuth authentication flows.

When you configure the DSN, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

Windows

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData SAPGateway Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway
Description = My Description
User = user
Password = password
URL = https://sapes5.sapdevcenter.com/sap/opu/odata/IWBEP/GWSAMPLE_BASIC/
InitiateOAuth = GETANDREFRESH

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a SAP Netweaver Gateway Library in SAS

Connect to SAP Netweaver Gateway in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for SAP Netweaver Gateway.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK. 👁 Creating a library for SAP Netweaver Gateway in SAS.
   

Create a View from a SAP Netweaver Gateway Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live SAP Netweaver Gateway data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK. 👁 Selecting table(s) to visualize.
   
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc. 👁 Selecting columns(s) to visualize and configuring the query.
   
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK. 👁 Create a local view to work with SAP Netweaver Gateway data.
   

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
    create view salesorderlineitems_view as
    select 
    productid, 
    quantity 
    from 
    odbclib.salesorderlineitems 
    where 
    Quantity = '15';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize SAP Netweaver Gateway Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze SAP Netweaver Gateway data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the SAP Netweaver Gateway SalesOrderLineItems data.

   proc print data=salesorderlineitems;
    title "SAP Netweaver Gateway SalesOrderLineItems Data";
   run;
   

   👁 A simple SAP Netweaver Gateway data report.
   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the SalesOrderLineItems data.

   proc gchart data=salesorderlineitems;
    pie productid / sumvar=quantity
    value=arrow
    percent=arrow
    noheading
    percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
    slice=inside value=none
    name='SalesOrderLineItemsChart';
   run;
   

   👁 A simple SAP Netweaver Gateway data chart.