What is external procedure call in SAP (BC-ABA - ABAP Runtime Environment)?

SAP Term: external procedure call

• Component: BC-ABA

• Component Name: ABAP Runtime Environment

• Description: Procedure call from a different ABAP program in the same AS ABAP. The first time one of its procedures is called, the required program is loaded into the internal session of the calling program if not already there and, apart from in class pools, the event LOAD-OF-PROGRAM is trig gered. See also Program Group.

Smart SAP Assistant

• Key Concepts: 
  External Procedure Call (EPC) is a feature of the ABAP Runtime Environment (BC-ABA) that allows an ABAP program to call an external procedure or function. This external procedure can be written in any language, such as C, C++, Java, or Python. The external procedure can be used to perform complex calculations or access external data sources. 
  
  How to use it: 
  To use EPC, the external procedure must first be registered in the ABAP system. This is done by creating a function module in the ABAP system and specifying the name of the external procedure. The function module can then be called from an ABAP program using the CALL FUNCTION statement. 
  
  Tips & Tricks: 
  When using EPC, it is important to ensure that the parameters passed to the external procedure are correctly mapped to the parameters of the function module. It is also important to ensure that any data returned from the external procedure is correctly handled by the ABAP program. 
  
  Related Information: 
  For more information on EPC, please refer to SAP Help Portal documentation on External Procedure Calls (https://help.sap.com/viewer/product/ABAP_RUNTIME_ENVIRONMENT/7.50/en-US).