In SAP Business Warehouse, what is an extractor and what is its main purpose in data acquisition from source systems?

Introduction / Context:
In SAP Business Warehouse and modern SAP analytics architectures, data must be extracted from source systems such as SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, or external applications. The concept of an extractor is central to this process. Interviewers often ask what an extractor is and why it is important, because extractors determine what data is available for reporting and how efficiently it can be loaded, including initial loads and delta updates.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The environment includes SAP source systems and a SAP BW or BW based reporting system.
• Data must move from operational tables to a staging area or InfoProviders in BW.
• Standard and custom extractors exist for application areas such as FI, CO, SD, and MM.
• The question focuses on the definition and purpose of an extractor, not on detailed configuration steps.

Concept / Approach:
An extractor consists of metadata and logic that define how data is read from a source system and provided to the data target. In SAP BW terminology, this is typically represented by a DataSource with an associated extractor program. The extractor selects fields, joins tables if needed, applies filters, and structures the output into a record format that BW understands. Many SAP delivered extractors support delta mechanisms so that only changed data is sent after the initial load, which is essential for performance and near real time reporting.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Consider the path of data from a transactional SAP module such as SD into BW. Tables like VBAK and VBAP hold sales orders in the source system. Step 2: A standard SD extractor selects the relevant fields from these tables and presents them as a structured record through a DataSource. Step 3: This extractor can be replicated into BW, where it feeds InfoSources and InfoProviders, such as InfoCubes or DataStore objects. Step 4: For ongoing operations, delta enabled extractors record which source records have changed since the last load and send only those records, reducing load times and system impact. Step 5: Option a describes an extractor as a data source object and program logic that reads from the source system and passes data in a structured, often delta capable way to BW. Step 6: The other options describe deleting data, editing ABAP, or compressing files, which are not the purpose of SAP BW extractors.

Verification / Alternative check:
In SAP systems, transactions such as RSA3 can be used to test an extractor. The result clearly shows that the extractor returns business data records according to the defined structure. SAP documentation lists many standard extractors with names like 2LIS or 0FI that match application areas, confirming that extractors are part of the data acquisition layer rather than general utilities or editors.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b is wrong because data deletion in BW is handled by administration tasks and process chains, not by extractors. Option c is incorrect because ABAP editing is done in tools such as SE38 or SE80. Option d refers to operating system utilities and does not involve BW metadata or delta logic, so it is unrelated to the extractor concept.

Common Pitfalls:
A common pitfall is to treat extractors as simple table dumps and ignore their business content and delta capabilities. Another mistake is to modify standard extractors without understanding their impact on upgrades and support. Good practice is to enhance extractors in a controlled way and to document which fields and filters are used. Understanding what an extractor is makes it easier to design robust data warehousing solutions in SAP landscapes.

Final Answer:
An extractor is a data source object and program logic that reads data from source systems and passes it in a structured form to SAP BW or other targets, often with support for delta loads.