Overview
With the XML format defined in the Interface Repository, SAP establishes a standardized exchange of business management data on a semantic level across the web. XML documents which are generated according to the XML format and defined in the Interface Repository are called business documents.
The number of business documents exchanged between two partners to invoke a business management function depends on the underlying interface type and the usage scenario. During a synchronous call of a BAPI or RFC, two business documents (request and response document) are exchanged. During an asynchronous call, only a request document is exchanged.
Characteristics of business documents are:
Use of XML envelopes.
Common structure for request and response documents.
Common way of representing parameters.
Common error handling concepts.
Note:
IDocs do not support all of these features.