What RAP is
RAP is a programming model for building business services and applications in ABAP. It brings together CDS data models, transactional behaviour and service exposure into one consistent, end-to-end approach.
The word "RESTful" in the name reflects the goal: applications built with RAP are exposed as OData services that modern user interfaces, such as SAP Fiori, can consume directly.
The building blocks
A RAP application starts with CDS views that model the business object — for example, a travel request with its bookings. A behavior definition then describes what can be done with that object: create, update, delete, and any custom actions.
The behavior implementation contains the ABAP code behind those operations, and a service definition with a service binding exposes the whole thing as an OData service ready for a Fiori app.
Managed and unmanaged scenarios
In a managed scenario, the RAP framework handles the transactional work — saving, locking and numbering — for you, which is the standard choice for new applications. In an unmanaged scenario, the developer takes control of these steps, which is useful when integrating existing legacy logic.
Why RAP matters for your career
RAP is the direction SAP development is moving. Developers who understand CDS, behavior definitions and service bindings are ready for modern S/4HANA projects — and all of it builds on the ABAP foundation.