ABAP Cloud Debugging: Tools & Techniques 2025

What’s Different in ABAP Cloud?

No Longer Available

/h debugger command
SAP GUI Debugger (SE38, SE80)
BREAK-POINT statement
Dynpro debugging
Direct DB access in debugger

New Tools

ADT Debugger (Eclipse)
ABAP Console (cl_demo_output)
Feed Reader (Background Jobs)
Application Log (BAL)
SQL Trace (Performance)

1. ADT Debugger (Main Tool)

Starting the Debugger

Method 1: Set breakpoint

In ADT: Double-click on line number → Breakpoint (blue dot)
Run program (F9 or Preview)
Debugger stops at breakpoint

Method 2: Run As → ABAP Application (Debug)

Right-click on class/program
Debug As → ABAP Application

Debugger Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Code (current line marked)     │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│  Variables (variable values)    │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│  Breakpoints (all breakpoints)  │
├─────────────────────────────────┤
│  Call Stack (call history)      │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

Key Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`F5`	Step Into (jump into method)
`F6`	Step Over (execute line)
`F7`	Step Return (return from method)
`F8`	Resume (to next breakpoint)
`Ctrl+Shift+B`	Toggle Breakpoint
`Ctrl+Alt+B`	Show all breakpoints

Inspecting Variables

METHOD calculate.
  DATA(lv_a) = 5.
  DATA(lv_b) = 3.
  DATA(lv_result) = lv_a + lv_b.  " Breakpoint here

  " In Variables tab:
  " lv_a = 5
  " lv_b = 3
  " lv_result = 8
ENDMETHOD.

Changing variables:

Right-click on variable → Change Value
Enter new value
Continue debugging with changed value

Watchpoints

Stops when variable changes:

Right-click on variable → Toggle Watchpoint
Debugger stops on every change

Conditional Breakpoints

Only stop when condition is met:

Right-click on breakpoint → Breakpoint Properties
Condition: lv_id = '12345'
Only stops when lv_id has this value

2. ABAP Console (Output During Development)

Instead of WRITE or debug outputs:

METHOD process_data.
  " Simple output
  cl_demo_output=>display( 'Starting processing' ).

  " Output variable
  cl_demo_output=>write( |Customer ID: { lv_customer_id }| ).

  " Output table
  cl_demo_output=>write( lt_customers ).

  " Final output
  cl_demo_output=>display( ).
ENDMETHOD.

Output:

Appears in Console tab in ADT
Only use in development!
In production: Use Application Log

Advantages:

Faster than debugger
For complex data structures
Stays in log (scrollable)

3. Logging with Application Log

For production code:

METHOD process_order.
  TRY.
      " Create log
      DATA(lo_log) = cl_bali_log=>create_with_header(
        header = cl_bali_header_setter=>create(
          object      = 'ZORDERS'
          subobject   = 'PROCESS'
          external_id = |Order { iv_order_id }|
        )
      ).

      " Info message
      lo_log->add_item(
        item = cl_bali_free_text_setter=>create(
          severity = if_bali_constants=>c_severity_information
          text     = |Processing order { iv_order_id }|
        )
      ).

      " Processing...

      " Success message
      lo_log->add_item(
        item = cl_bali_free_text_setter=>create(
          severity = if_bali_constants=>c_severity_status
          text     = 'Order processed successfully'
        )
      ).

      " Save log
      cl_bali_log_db=>get_instance( )->save_log( log = lo_log ).

    CATCH cx_bali_runtime INTO DATA(lx_error).
      " Error handling
  ENDTRY.
ENDMETHOD.

View log:

Transaction SLG1 (Classic)
Fiori App: “Application Logs”

Severity levels:

c_severity_error - Error (red)
c_severity_warning - Warning (yellow)
c_severity_information - Info (blue)
c_severity_status - Status (green)

4. SQL Trace (Performance Debugging)

Problem: Find slow SELECT statements

Activate SQL Trace

In ADT:

Run → Run Configurations
Tab Trace Requests
Enable SQL Trace
Run program

Analyze Trace

SQL Console opens:

SELECT * FROM kna1
  Duration: 1.2s  ❌ SLOW!
  Rows: 1,000,000

SELECT name1 FROM kna1
  WHERE kunnr = '12345'
  Duration: 0.001s  ✅ Fast
  Rows: 1

Optimization:

❌ Avoid SELECT *
❌ FOR ALL ENTRIES with empty table
✅ Explicit fields
✅ WHERE on indexed fields

5. Feed Reader (Background Jobs)

Problem: Debug background jobs

Setup

Start job (Fiori App / SM37)
In ADT: Window → Show View → Feed Reader

Enter Feed URL:

https://<system>/sap/bc/adt/runtime/traces/abaplogs

Output

Feed Reader shows:

Console outputs
Application Logs
Runtime errors

Live updates while job runs!

6. Debugging Strategies Without Debugger

Strategy 1: Unit Tests

Instead of debugging: Write tests

METHOD test_calculate_discount.
  " Given
  DATA(lv_amount) = 1000.

  " When
  DATA(lv_discount) = zcl_pricing=>calculate_discount( lv_amount ).

  " Then
  cl_abap_unit_assert=>assert_equals(
    act = lv_discount
    exp = 100
    msg = |Expected 100, got { lv_discount }|  " Debug info!
  ).
ENDMETHOD.

Advantage: Reproducible, automated

Strategy 2: Defensive Assertions

METHOD process_order.
  " Check precondition
  ASSERT iv_order_id IS NOT INITIAL.

  " Business logic
  DATA(lv_customer) = get_customer( iv_order_id ).

  " Check postcondition
  ASSERT lv_customer IS BOUND.
ENDMETHOD.

In production: ASSERT is ignored (only active in debug mode)

Better for production: Exceptions

IF lv_customer IS NOT BOUND.
  RAISE EXCEPTION TYPE zcx_customer_not_found.
ENDIF.

Strategy 3: Logging Framework

Custom logging wrapper:

CLASS zcl_logger DEFINITION.
  PUBLIC SECTION.
    CLASS-METHODS log
      IMPORTING iv_level TYPE string DEFAULT 'INFO'
                iv_text  TYPE string.
ENDCLASS.

CLASS zcl_logger IMPLEMENTATION.
  METHOD log.
    " In Dev: Console
    IF sy-sysid = 'DEV'.
      cl_demo_output=>write( |[{ iv_level }] { iv_text }| ).
    ELSE.
      " In Prod: Application Log
      " ... BAL code ...
    ENDIF.
  ENDMETHOD.
ENDCLASS.

" Usage
zcl_logger=>log( iv_level = 'DEBUG'
                 iv_text  = |Processing customer { lv_id }| ).

7. Common Debug Scenarios

Scenario 1: Exception in RAP

Problem: Validation fails, but why?

METHOD validateIsbn.
  READ ENTITIES OF zi_book IN LOCAL MODE
    ENTITY Book
      FIELDS ( Isbn )
      WITH CORRESPONDING #( keys )
    RESULT DATA(lt_books).

  LOOP AT lt_books INTO DATA(ls_book).
    " Debug output
    cl_demo_output=>write( |Checking ISBN: { ls_book-Isbn }| ).

    IF strlen( ls_book-Isbn ) <> 13.
      cl_demo_output=>write( 'ISBN invalid - length mismatch' ).

      APPEND VALUE #( ... ) TO reported-book.
    ENDIF.
  ENDLOOP.

  cl_demo_output=>display( ).
ENDMETHOD.

Scenario 2: CDS View Returns Wrong Data

Strategy:

SQL Console: Query CDS View directly
Data Preview: In ADT right-click on view → Open With → Data Preview
Check source tables: Is raw data correct?

Scenario 3: Performance Problem

Approach:

Activate SQL Trace
Identify slow SELECTs
ABAP Console: Log timestamps

DATA(lv_start) = cl_abap_context_info=>get_system_time( ).

" Slow operation
SELECT ... INTO TABLE lt_data.

DATA(lv_end) = cl_abap_context_info=>get_system_time( ).
cl_demo_output=>write( |Duration: { lv_end - lv_start } µs| ).

8. Debugging Best Practices

DO

Set breakpoints sparingly (not 50 of them!)
Conditional breakpoints for large datasets
Unit tests instead of live debugging
Logging in production code
SQL Trace for performance

DON’T

Debug production (only as last resort!)
Leave BREAK-POINT in code
Console output in production
Use debugger as only tool

9. Tools Overview

Tool	Use Case	Where available?
ADT Debugger	Interactive debugging	ADT/Eclipse
ABAP Console	Quick outputs	ADT (Dev only)
Application Log	Production logging	All systems
SQL Trace	Performance analysis	ADT
Feed Reader	Background job logs	ADT
Data Preview	Check CDS View data	ADT

Summary

ABAP Cloud Debugging Workflow:

1. Write unit tests
   ↓ (if test fails)
2. Use ADT Debugger
   ↓ (performance problem?)
3. Activate SQL Trace
   ↓ (production?)
4. Analyze Application Log

Mindset shift:

Classic ABAP: Debugger-First
ABAP Cloud: Test-First, Logging, then Debugger

See also:

ABAP Unit Testing
ABAP Cloud Performance Optimization
RAP Tutorial Part 3: Best Practices

Happy Debugging!