Z-function
A custom RFC function developed by SAP customers under the Z* namespace, typically encapsulated by internal integration teams. Such functions lack official documentation and upgrade guarantees, and may break during SAP upgrades when underlying table structures or function signatures change.
Timeline (last 90 days)
Without planned governance, an organization may simultaneously have two paths — Joule creating sales orders through the S/4HANA public API and a custom agent creating sales orders through a Z-function REST endpoint — leading to a 12% discrepancy in order counts at month-end closing.
BAPI (Business API) is a standard interface officially released by SAP that is stable across versions, with complete documentation, version management, and backward-compatibility commitments; a Z-function is an RFC function custom-developed by the customer under the SAP namespace Z*, lacking official documentation and upgrade guarantees.
During SAP upgrades, BAPI compatibility is SAP's responsibility, whereas Z-functions may silently fail due to changes in underlying table structures or function signatures.
The order count discrepancy in the article caused by the two agents taking different paths is a typical manifestation of inconsistency between the BAPI path and the Z-function path in transaction semantics (such as commit timing, error rollback, and concurrency locking).
All Facts (4)
BAPI (Business API) is a standard interface officially released by SAP that is stable across versions, with complete documentation, version management, and backward-compatibility commitments; a Z-function is an RFC function custom-developed by the customer under the SAP namespace Z*, lacking official documentation and upgrade guarantees.
50%UnverifiedDuring SAP upgrades, BAPI compatibility is SAP's responsibility, whereas Z-functions may silently fail due to changes in underlying table structures or function signatures.
50%UnverifiedThe order count discrepancy in the article caused by the two agents taking different paths is a typical manifestation of inconsistency between the BAPI path and the Z-function path in transaction semantics (such as commit timing, error rollback, and concurrency locking).
50%UnverifiedWithout planned governance, an organization may simultaneously have two paths — Joule creating sales orders through the S/4HANA public API and a custom agent creating sales orders through a Z-function REST endpoint — leading to a 12% discrepancy in order counts at month-end closing.
50%