SAP Fiori Elements provides a powerful framework for rapidly developing consistent, feature-rich business applications by leveraging metadata-driven UI and pre-built templates. At the heart of this framework are Smart Controls, a set of reusable, intelligent UI components designed to adapt dynamically based on annotations and context.
This article explores what Smart Controls are, their role within Fiori Elements, and best practices for working with them to build efficient SAP Fiori applications.
Smart Controls are advanced UI components in SAPUI5 that interpret OData metadata annotations to automatically generate UI elements with built-in features like filtering, sorting, grouping, and data visualization.
Unlike standard UI controls, Smart Controls reduce the need for manual coding by using semantic information from backend services to determine their structure and behavior.
Fiori Elements applications rely heavily on Smart Controls to implement standardized UI patterns without custom coding. For example:
SmartTable combined with SmartFilterBar for displaying and filtering lists.SmartForm and SmartField to render detailed object views.SmartChart to visualize data.By binding directly to OData services and interpreting annotations, Smart Controls ensure consistency, reduce development time, and enhance maintainability.
Smart Controls read metadata annotations (such as UI, SelectionFields, LineItem, and PresentationVariant) from the backend OData service or CDS views. These annotations define:
This metadata-driven approach allows Smart Controls to configure themselves dynamically, reducing manual setup and ensuring the UI aligns with the underlying data model.
sap.ui.comp.smarttable.SmartTable or sap.ui.comp.smartfilterbar.SmartFilterBar.entitySet, useVariantManagement, or ignoreFromPersonalisation.beforeRebindTable to add custom filters or modify binding parameters.Smart Controls are a cornerstone of SAP Fiori Elements, enabling developers to build sophisticated, metadata-driven applications with minimal effort. By leveraging the power of backend annotations, Smart Controls deliver dynamic, user-friendly, and consistent interfaces that align closely with business data and processes.
Mastering Smart Controls empowers SAP developers to accelerate Fiori app development, reduce custom code, and maintain high-quality, scalable enterprise applications.