Every ABAP handler receives business object data in the same format (flat structure). However, each ABAP handler has specific requirements for business objects that are determined by the complexity of the WebSphere business object definition, the native API that SAP provides, and the level of functionality that the ABAP handler provides. For these reasons, ABAP handlers may interpret business object data by parsing it into a structure specific to the business object. This enables the ABAP handler to more easily manipulate the data.
The adapter provides several ABAP handlers, such as an IDoc handler. The IDoc handler leverages SAP's IDoc technology by providing an ABAP handler to interpret business object data by reformatting it into an IDoc-based structure for the ABAP handler to use.