Technical Articles
ABAP 7.40 Quick Reference
Contents
- Inline Declarations
- Table Expressions
- Conversion Operator CONV
- Value Operator VALUE
- FOR operator
- Reduction operator REDUCE
- Conditional operators COND and SWITCH
- CORRESPONDING operator
- Strings
- Loop at Group By
- Classes/Methods
- Meshes
- Filter
- Document Purpose
1. Inline Declarations
|
Before 7.40 |
With 7.40 |
Data |
|
|
Loop at into work area |
|
|
Call method |
|
|
Loop at assigning |
|
|
Read assigning |
|
|
Select into table |
|
|
Select single into |
|
|
2. Table Expressions
If a table line is not found, the exception CX_SY_ITAB_LINE_NOT_FOUND is raised. No sy-subrc.
|
Before 7.40 |
With 7.40 |
Read Table index |
|
|
Read Table using key |
|
|
Read Table with key |
|
|
Read Table with key components |
|
|
Does record exist? |
|
|
Get table index |
|
|
NB: There will be a short dump if you use an inline expression that references a non-existent record.
SAP says you should therefore assign a field symbol and check sy-subrc.
ASSIGN lt_tab[ 1 ] to FIELD-SYMBOL(<ls_tab>).
IF sy-subrc = 0.
...
ENDIF.
NB: Use itab [ table_line = … ] for untyped tables.
3. Conversion Operator CONV
I. Definition
CONV dtype|#( … )
dtype = Type you want to convert to (explicit)
# = compiler must use the context to decide the type to convert to (implicit)
II. Example
Method cl_abap_codepage=>convert_to expects a string
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
4. Value Operator VALUE
I. Definition
Variables: VALUE dtype|#( )
Structures: VALUE dtype|#( comp1 = a1 comp2 = a2 … )
Tables: VALUE dtype|#( ( … ) ( … ) … ) …
II. Example for structures
TYPES: BEGIN OF ty_columns1, “Simple structure
cols1 TYPE i,
cols2 TYPE i,
END OF ty_columns1.
TYPES: BEGIN OF ty_columnns2, “Nested structure
coln1 TYPE i,
coln2 TYPE ty_columns1,
END OF ty_columns2.
DATA: struc_simple TYPE ty_columns1,
struc_nest TYPE ty_columns2.
struct_nest = VALUE t_struct(coln1 = 1
coln2-cols1 = 1
coln2-cols2 = 2 ).
OR
struct_nest = VALUE t_struct(coln1 = 1
coln2 = VALUE #( cols1 = 1
cols2 = 2 ) ).
III. Examples for internal tables
Elementary line type:
TYPES t_itab TYPE TABLE OF i WITH EMPTY KEY.
DATA itab TYPE t_itab.
itab = VALUE #( ( ) ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ).
Structured line type (RANGES table):
DATA itab TYPE RANGE OF i.
itab = VALUE #( sign = 'I' option = 'BT' ( low = 1 high = 10 )
( low = 21 high = 30 )
( low = 41 high = 50 )
option = 'GE' ( low = 61 ) ).
5. FOR operator
I. Definition
FOR wa|<fs> IN itab [INDEX INTO idx] [cond]
II. Explanation
This effectively causes a loop at itab. For each loop the row read is assigned to a work area (wa) or field-symbol(<fs>).
This wa or <fs> is local to the expression i.e. if declared in a subrourine the variable wa or <fs> is a local variable of
that subroutine. Index like SY-TABIX in loop.
Given:
TYPES: BEGIN OF ty_ship,
tknum TYPE tknum, "Shipment Number
name TYPE ernam, "Name of Person who Created the Object
city TYPE ort01, "Starting city
route TYPE route, "Shipment route
END OF ty_ship.
TYPES: ty_ships TYPE SORTED TABLE OF ty_ship WITH UNIQUE KEY tknum.
TYPES: ty_citys TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF ort01 WITH EMPTY KEY.
GT_SHIPS type ty_ships. -> has been populated as follows:
Row | TKNUM[C(10)] | Name[C(12)] | City[C(25)] | Route[C(6)] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 001 | John | Melbourne | R0001 |
2 | 002 | Gavin | Sydney | R0003 |
3 | 003 | Lucy | Adelaide | R0001 |
4 | 004 | Elaine | Perth | R0003 |
III. Example 1
Populate internal table GT_CITYS with the cities from GT_SHIPS.
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
IV. Example 2
Populate internal table GT_CITYS with the cities from GT_SHIPS where the route is R0001.
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
Note: ls_ship does not appear to have been declared but it is declared implicitly.
V. FOR with THEN and UNTIL|WHILE
FOR i = … [THEN expr] UNTIL|WHILE log_exp
Populate an internal table as follows:
TYPES:
BEGIN OF ty_line,
col1 TYPE i,
col2 TYPE i,
col3 TYPE i,
END OF ty_line,
ty_tab TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF ty_line WITH EMPTY KEY.
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
6. Reduction operator REDUCE
I. Definition
… REDUCE type(
INIT result = start_value
…
FOR for_exp1
FOR for_exp2
…
NEXT …
result = iterated_value
… )
II. Note
While VALUE and NEW expressions can include FOR expressions, REDUCE must include at least one FOR expression. You can use all kinds of FOR expressions in REDUCE:
- with IN for iterating internal tables
- with UNTIL or WHILE for conditional iterations
III. Example 1
Count lines of table that meet a condition (field F1 contains “XYZ”).
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
IV. Example 2
Sum the values 1 to 10 stored in the column of a table defined as follows
DATA gt_itab TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF i WITH EMPTY KEY.
gt_itab = VALUE #( FOR j = 1 WHILE j <= 10 ( j ) ).
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
V. Example 3
Using a class reference – works because “write” method returns reference to instance object
With 7.40 |
---|
|
7. Conditional operators COND and SWITCH
I. Definition
… COND dtype|#( WHEN log_exp1 THEN result1
[ WHEN log_exp2 THEN result2 ]
…
[ ELSE resultn ] ) …
… SWITCH dtype|#( operand
WHEN const1 THEN result1
[ WHEN const2 THEN result2 ]
…
[ ELSE resultn ] ) …
II. Example for COND
DATA(time) =
COND string(
WHEN sy-timlo < '120000' THEN
|{ sy-timlo TIME = ISO } AM|
WHEN sy-timlo > '120000' THEN
|{ CONV t( sy-timlo - 12 * 3600 )
TIME = ISO } PM|
WHEN sy-timlo = '120000' THEN
|High Noon|
ELSE
THROW cx_cant_be( ) ).
III. Example for SWITCH
DATA(text) =
NEW class( )->meth(
SWITCH #( sy-langu
WHEN 'D' THEN `DE`
WHEN 'E' THEN `EN`
ELSE THROW cx_langu_not_supported( ) ) ).
8. Corresponding Operator
I. Definition
… CORRESPONDING type( [BASE ( base )] struct|itab [mapping|except] )
II. Example Code
With 7.40 |
---|
|
III. Output
IV. Explanation
Given structures ls_line1 & ls_line2 defined and populated as above.
Before 7.40 |
With 7.40 |
|
---|---|---|
1 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
- The contents of ls_line1 are moved to ls_line2 where there is a matching column name. Where there is no
match the column of ls_line2 is initialised.
2. This uses the existing contents of ls_line2 as a base and overwrites the matching columns from ls_line1.
This is exactly like MOVE-CORRESPONDING.
3. This creates a third and new structure (ls_line3) which is based on ls_line2 but overwritten by matching
columns of ls_line1.
V. Additions MAPPING and EXCEPT
MAPPING allows you to map fields with non-identically named components to qualify for the data transfer.
… MAPPING t1 = s1 t2 = s2
EXCEPT allows you to list fields that must be excluded from the data transfer
… EXCEPT {t1 t2 …}
9. Strings
I. String Templates
A string template is enclosed by two characters “|” and creates a character string.
Literal text consists of all characters that are not in braces {}. The braces can contain:
- data objects,
- calculation expressions,
- constructor expressions,
- table expressions,
- predefined functions, or
- functional methods and method chainings
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
II. Concatenation
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
III. Width/Alignment/Padding
WRITE / |{ 'Left' WIDTH = 20 ALIGN = LEFT PAD = '0' }|.
WRITE / |{ 'Centre' WIDTH = 20 ALIGN = CENTER PAD = '0' }|.
WRITE / |{ 'Right' WIDTH = 20 ALIGN = RIGHT PAD = '0' }|.
IV. Case
WRITE / |{ 'Text' CASE = (cl_abap_format=>c_raw) }|.
WRITE / |{ 'Text' CASE = (cl_abap_format=>c_upper) }|.
WRITE / |{ 'Text' CASE = (cl_abap_format=>c_lower) }|.
V. ALPHA conversion
DATA(lv_vbeln) = '0000012345'.
WRITE / |{ lv_vbeln ALPHA = OUT }|. “or ALPHA = IN to go in other direction
VI. Date conversion
WRITE / |{ pa_date DATE = ISO }|. “Date Format YYYY-MM-DD
WRITE / |{ pa_date DATE = User }|. “As per user settings
WRITE / |{ pa_date DATE = Environment }|. “As per Environment
10. Loop at Group By
I. Definition
LOOP AT itab result [cond] GROUP BY key ( key1 = dobj1 key2 = dobj2 …
[gs = GROUP SIZE] [gi = GROUP INDEX] )
[ASCENDING|DESCENDING [AS TEXT]]
[WITHOUT MEMBERS]
[{INTO group}|{ASSIGNING <group>}]
…
[LOOP AT GROUP group|<group>
…
ENDLOOP.]
…
ENDLOOP.
II. Explanation
The outer loop will do one iteration per key. So if 3 records match the key there will only be one iteration for these 3 records. The structure “group” (or
“<group>” ) is unusual in that it can be looped over using the “LOOP AT GROUP” statement. This will loop over the 3 records (members) of the group. The
structure “group” also contains the current key as well as the size of the group and index of the group ( if GROUP SIZE and GROUP INDEX have been
assigned a field name). This is best understood by an example.
III. Example
With 7.40 |
---|
|
IV. Output
Group: 1 Role: ABAP guru Number in this role: 3
John
Barry
Arthur
Average age: 40.66666666666666666666666666666667
Group: 2 Role: FI Consultant Number in this role: 2
Alice
Mary
Average age: 39.5
Group: 3 Role: SD Consultant Number in this role: 1
Mandy
Average age: 64
11. Classes/Methods
I. Referencing fields within returned structures
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
II. Methods that return a type BOOLEAN
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
NB: The type “BOOLEAN” is not a true Boolean but a char1 with allowed values X,- and <blank>.
Using type “FLAG” or “WDY_BOOLEAN” works just as well.
III. NEW operator
This operator can be used to instantiate an object.
Before 7.40 |
---|
|
With 7.40 |
|
12. Meshes
Allows an association to be set up between related data groups.
I. Problem
Given the following 2 internal tables:
TYPES: BEGIN OF t_manager,
name TYPE char10,
salary TYPE int4,
END OF t_manager,
tt_manager TYPE SORTED TABLE OF t_manager WITH UNIQUE KEY name.
TYPES: BEGIN OF t_developer,
name TYPE char10,
salary TYPE int4,
manager TYPE char10, "Name of manager
END OF t_developer,
tt_developer TYPE SORTED TABLE OF t_developer WITH UNIQUE KEY name.
Populated as follows:
Row | Name[C(10)] | Salary[I(4)] |
1 | Jason | 3000 |
2 | Thomas | 3200 |
Row | Name[C(10)] | Salary[I(4)] | Manager[C(10)] |
1 | Bob | 2100 | Jason |
2 | David | 2000 | Thomas |
3 | Jack | 1000 | Thomas |
4 | Jerry | 1000 | Jason |
5 | John | 2100 | Thomas |
6 | Tom | 2000 | Jason |
II. SolutionGet the details of Jerry’s manager and all developers managed by Thomas.
With 7.40 |
---|
|
III. Output
Jerry’s manager: Jason Salary: 3000
Thomas’ developers:
Employee name: David
Employee name: Jack
Employee name: John
13. Filter
Filter the records in a table based on records in another table.
I. Definition
… FILTER type( itab [EXCEPT] [IN ftab] [USING KEY keyname]
WHERE c1 op f1 [AND c2 op f2 […]] )
II. Problem
Filter an internal table of Flight Schedules (SPFLI) to only those flights based on a filter table that contains the fields Cityfrom and CityTo.
III. Solution
With 7.40 |
---|
|
Note: using the keyword “EXCEPT” (see definition above) would have returned the exact opposite records i.e all records EXCEPT for those those returned above.
14. Document Purpose
So you’re an experienced ABAP programmer wanting to leverage off the fantastic new functionality available to you in ABAP 7.40!
However, searching for information on this topic leads you to fragmented pages or blogs that refer to only a couple of the new features available to you.
What you need is a quick reference guide which gives you the essentials you need and shows you how the code you are familiar with can be improved with ABAP 7.40.
The below document contains exactly this!
It gives examples of “classic” ABAP and its 740 equivalent. It goes into more details on the more difficult topics normally via examples. This allows the reader to dive in to the level they desire. While this document does not contain everything pertaining to ABAP 740 it certainly covers the most useful parts in the experience of the author.
The document has been compiled by drawing on existing material available online as well as trial and error by the author. In particular the blogs by Horst Keller have been useful and are the best reference I have found (prior to this document ). He has a landing page of sorts for his various blogs on the topic here:
ABAP Language News for Release 7.40
Credit also goes to Naimesh Patel for his useful explanations and examples on ABAP 7.40. Here is his example of the “FOR iteration expression” which I leaned on (links to his other 740 articles can be found at the bottom of the link):
http://zevolving.com/2015/05/abap-740-for-iteration-expression/
I compiled the below document to make the transition to using ABAP 740 easier for myself and my project team. It has worked well for us and I hope it will do the same for you.
Hi Jeffrey,
Very informative blog.
Below syntax is not working for me.
"SELECT * FROM dbtab INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_dbtab) WHERE field1 = @lv_field1."
ABAP version:
Thanks Jitendra.
I am not sure which bits of ABAP 7.40 come in with exactly which version but here is some working code. If this does not work on your box then its fair to say you do not have the relevant version yet.
DATA: lv_bukrs type bukrs VALUE '0001'.
SELECT * FROM t001 INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_t001)
WHERE bukrs = @lv_bukrs.
Hi Jitendra/Jeffrey,
the new open sql syntax was created in ABAP 7.40 SP05 and enhanced in SP08. More information in ABAP News for 7.40, SP08 - Open SQL.
Jeffrey, great blog... very useful.
BR,
Christiano.
Thanks for going to so much effort! Very interesting reading.
Unfortunately some of the code (inside the black borders) is truncated on the right hand side. But I think we can work it out
cheers
Paul
Thanks for your comments Paul.
Was also concerned about truncation on the right but found that if you click on the text and drag to the right that it all becomes visible. Alternatively the scroll bar at the bottom works but it's a bit inconvenient scrolling down to find it.
Cheers,
Jeff
Very much useful document Paul!
Brilliant. Thanks for sharing.
Great post Jeffrey !
Just a suggestion ... I believe that would be less harmful to the blocks with commands have the edges a little thinner.
Good point Raphael! If I can find a relatively easy way to do that I think I will.
Brilliant, looking forward for future blogs..
very helpful, can't wait to use some of the inline expressions
Very Interesting. But I see that clarity and "ease of reading"continues to be vastly underestimated and undervalued. ABAP is going to the dark side 😉
Guy, I thought the exact same thing at first along with others I have chatted to. However, after using it a while I realise it becomes more clear as you get more familiar with the syntax. After years of using the old syntax it has become so familiar to us that it feels like we have to think too much to understand what is being coded in the new syntax. Soon it will be second nature to you and hence easy to read.
Hi Jeffrey,
"after using it a while" the problem is right here. Not everybody is an ABAP programmer and not everybody programs in ABAP on a regular base. I've seen a lot of functional analyst who can follow what's going on in an ABAP program. They do it for many reasons but it's part of their job and the more we change the language to something more obscure, the less they will be able to do it. They will need help from ABAP programmers. This will slow down the process.
On my part, I've worked as an ABAP programmer for 10 years, followed by 10 years of BW developement. I don't write ABAP code on a regular base. This new syntax will keep being obscure.
Nice overview, thanks for sharing it with us!
Great job! Thank you for making our life easy...
Hi Jeffrey,
Very informative matierial.
Thank you very much
Big THX :-).
Just sent this link to the whole team :-).
When I do an inline Declaration of an internal table
SELECT ... FROM ... INTO TABLE @data(lt_data).
Is there also some way, to have this as a sorted / hashed table or at least add secondary keys?
Not that I'm aware of Jakob. If you create a "type" of the kind you want with sorting etc. and call it say ty_mytab you could do a conversion using CONV:
TYPES ty_mytab TYPE SORTED TABLE OF t001w WITH NON-UNIQUE KEY fabkl.
SELECT * FROM t001w INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_t001w).
DATA(lt_new_tab) = CONV ty_mytab( lt_t001w ).
However, this does not save you any time/typing compared to selecting directly into your defined internal table:
TYPES ty_mytab TYPE SORTED TABLE OF t001w WITH NON-UNIQUE KEY fabkl.
DATA: lt_new_tab TYPE ty_mytab.
SELECT * FROM t001w INTO TABLE lt_new_tab.
Nice collection Jeffrey!
Cheers Wilbo!
Thanks for your effort Jeffrey!
Yet there's a little mistake in the Mesh-Example:
ASSIGN lt_developer[ name = 'Jerry' ] TO FIELD-SYMBOL(<ls_jerry>).
DATA(ls_jmanager) = ls_team-developers\my_manager[ jerry ].
Second line should read instead:
DATA(ls_jmanager) = ls_team-developers\my_manager[ <ls_jerry> ].
Same is true for "thomas" a few lines below.
Nevertheless this is the first example I found, where the advantage of meshes can be seen.
All the best
Michael
Thanks for pointing that out Michael. I have corrected that.
The amazing thing is that the code is a copy and paste from a working program I wrote and still have. I've noticed the "<" and ">" get stripped off my field symbols in this document before. My theory is that when it gets converted to HTML that the field symbols sometimes look like HTML tags because they are between the <>. As such they are sometimes stripped out by this conversion to HTML.
That's my theory anyway.
Thanks again.
Sorry to interrupt again, but it was not only the <> missing, which you have corrected, but also the ls_ which is still missing. I don't think this can get lost by an html-conversion-error. Perhaps a missing definition and value assignment from the original coding.
I have copied the example and tried it, and it really works fine, once I could eliminate the syntax-errors because of the missing letters.
Interruption appreciated as you are correct that I forgot to add the "ls_" in. However, I can assure you that the original code has both the "<>" and the "ls_" in. The HTML issue has caused problems in other parts of this document which is why I know about it. In the "Loop at Group By" section it would not let me save the code I added. I finally added the code into the document word by word (i.e. saving after each word) and discovered it was a field symbol causing the problem. When I renamed the field symbol it saved.
Loop in loop is easier to understand and implement. What are the benefits of MESHES?
Thanks for documenting all the new changes. This comes as a helpful doc for all who wants to know the new features of ABAP Programming. The Inline Declaration is a very helpful feature of ABAP 740 and it solves huge effots of developer.
Regards,
Vinay Mutt
... wonderful !
I am just trying to gather some Information about Netweaver 7.40 ABAP for a forthcoming inhouse training here in our company, and found out soon that the original SAP samples are hardly helpful.
Your examples are really straightforward, easy to understand and useful for "real life" developers.
Thank you !
Regards,
Martin Neuss
Hi, experts. How can i fill itab with corresponding fields from structure variable and one field from another table using one statement ? my example:
data(RT_CONFIG_PERS_DATA) =
VALUE BSP_DLCT_PERS( for wa_touser in TOUSER
( CORRESPONDING #( RS_CONFIG_PERS_DATA EXCEPT PERS_FOR_USER ) PERS_FOR_USER = wa_touser-low ) ).
this statement gives syntax error.
so i am just using classic code:
data RT_CONFIG_PERS_DATA type BSP_DLCT_PERS.
LOOP AT TOUSER INTO DATA(wa_touser) .
APPEND INITIAL LINE TO rt_config_pers_data ASSIGNING FIELD-SYMBOL(<fs>).
MOVE-CORRESPONDING rs_config_pers_data to <fs>.
<fs>-pers_for_user = wa_touser-low.
ENDLOOP.
is it possible to do such actions in one statement ?
Hi Konstantin,
Its possible to get it on one line by using each component of the structure instead of the "CORRESPONDING". In your case this would look like:
DATA(rt_config_pers_data) =
VALUE bsp_dlct_pers( FOR wa_touser IN touser
( pers_for_user = wa_touser-low
component = rs_config_pers_data-component
viewname = rs_config_pers_data-viewname
role_key = rs_config_pers_data-role_key
component_usage = rs_config_pers_data-component_usage
object_type = rs_config_pers_data-object_type
object_sub_type = rs_config_pers_data-object_sub_type
changed_by = rs_config_pers_data-changed_by
changed_at = rs_config_pers_data-changed_at
config = rs_config_pers_data-config
parameters = rs_config_pers_data-parameters
config_type = rs_config_pers_data-config_type
invalid_flag = rs_config_pers_data-invalid_flag
marking_flag = rs_config_pers_data-marking_flag
check_flag = rs_config_pers_data-check_flag ) ).
Of course your "classic code" is better not just because the above is longer but also because the above will not work if there is ever a change to the structure bsp_dlct_pers.
Cant we use Filter with Non-Key fields! .. any manipulation possible with declaration?!
Are constructor operators are better in performance ? or It is just a different way of writing the code.
Hi Jeffrey,
Thanks for sharing very informative document with us.This blog help for all who wants to know new features and techniques in ABAP 7.4 programming and helpful to getting started with ABAP 7.4/7/5
Thank you very much.
Thanks and Regards,
Ramesh Kothapally
Great blog, many thanks.
There is a typo for the select into table:
SELECT * FROM dbtab
INTO TABLE DATA(itab)
WHERE fld1 = @lv_fld1.
it should be:
SELECT * FROM dbtab
INTO TABLE @DATA(itab)
WHERE fld1 = lv_fld1.
Please help to correct it.
This can be written also as :
SELECT * FROM dbtab INTO TABLE @DATA(itab WHERE FLD1 = @P_FIELD1. ” P_FIELD1 – Is the value coming from selection screen.
Thanks for the wonderful blog Jeffrey.
BTW, how do we READ table using binary search with the new syntax?
In the new syntax you would probably use a sorted or hashed table. A problem that I have encountered numerous times with the binary search is that the table is not sorted correctly (often because the sort order is changed in a later adjustment of the code and the binary search is overlooked), leading to an incorrect result. Using sorted table makes sure that the sorting of the table is correct. If you need to read the table using different access paths, you can just declare multiple keys.
it would be something like this :
data : lt_kunnr TYPE HASHED TABLE OF kna1 WITH UNQUE KEY kunnr
with non-unique sorted key k_city components ORT01,
**Get a specific customer (if no key is specified, the default key is used, in this case the hashed key)
assign lt_kunnr[ kunnr = '1000023653' ] to field-symbol(<ls_kunnr>).
**Get the first customer of a city, using the sorted key
assign lt_kunnr[ key k_city orto1 = 'BRUSSELS' ] to <ls_kunnr>.
Really very good informative post.........Thanks alot
Thanks a lot Jeffrey Towell ! This article is amazing!
I'll try to implement this features on my developments!
First of all, Great Job Jeffrey Towell! This is an excellent post providing very useful information. Thank you!
But I cannot stop to wonder, are those new ways of writting any better than the older ones performance-wise?
In my point of view, if there is no actual performance gain by using the new methods, apart from some new additions like CONV which are indeed very useful, it seems to me that it will just make the code a lot more complex for other programmers, not familiar with the new methods, to read.
What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Antonis,
maybe not better than older ones performance-wise. But the way you can code know safes a lot of performance while your typing! Don't forgot that every letter you have not to type are saving time. Isn't it? Sure at the beginning it is sometimes hard to read but:it becomes clear after a while. Now ABAP is a little bit closer to other programming languages.
regards
Micha
Hi Antonis,
I haven't tested the performance of old vs new syntax however I would be surprised if SAP have made the new syntax work slower. Presumably where one line of code in the new syntax does the work of multiple lines in the old then the new syntax will be quicker as it will be optimized for the specific function it is carrying out.
In terms of readability it actually becomes easier to read once you are familiar with the syntax. Taking your CONV example, previously you might have passed a value from one variable (say Type I) to another (say Char3) to convert it. While reading this you would not know for sure a conversion is taking place. A value might just be shared between two variables of the same type. With CONV it is obvious what the intent is.
Old: var2 = var1. (Is this a conversion or just a shared value between vars of the same type ?)
New: var2 = conv char3( var1 ).
Much Informative
it is really interesting and anybody can find all information which ich related to ABAP 740. But I have an comment to the II. Methods that return a type BOOLEAN.
IF My_Class=>return_boolean( ). " True ('X')
…
ENDIF.
IF NOT My_Class=>return_boolean( ). " false empty
…
ENDIF.
Regards
Ebrahim
Rather belated thanks from me as well, Jeffrey Towell for this detailed and very helpful list (h/t Jonathan Capps whose recent post linked to yours)!
This list will help me to wrap my head around the (no longer really) new options to write ABAP-statements. I however also share some misgivings others have mentioned earlier, namely that this shortened and arguably streamlined way to write ABAP-code is no longer quite as easy to read and parse - esp. for people new to programming or to folks mostly working on the functional and customizing part of SAP within IT. With the old "long-form" ABAP with spelled out statements, it was usually possible for a technically-minded colleague to at least understand the gist of what is going on in a program, while either looking at the code in SE38/SE80 or during debugging. Considering that I'm having a hard time quickly remembering and understanding what I'm looking at with many of the "new" constructs I can imagine how even more confusing this might look for non-developers.
So, I'm wondering if there's perhaps some additional information needed to highlight the advantage(s) of the new constructs apart from potentially having to type a few characters less? One such advantage might be performance or another hightened security. For me, brevity is not always a bonus and longer but more self-explanatory statements can make life easier once the time comes that changes need to be applied.
Cheers
Baerbel
Apologies Barbel. My response is even more belated than your comment 😉
I think the readability issues are due to us not being familiar with the new syntax. If, like me, you are still looking up some of the syntax when coding then reading existing code will also be slower. However, a given statement in the new syntax can only have one meaning and once we are "fluent" in the syntax its as easy to read as to write.
Your point about non-developers is well taken. Where non-developers have spent years slowly learning what is now legacy syntax they will now be impeded when trying to read/debug code in new syntax.
If I wrote: "Thx 4 ur comment" it would save me 8 characters. If I was writing this statement frequently it would start saving me time and I'd be able to read it as quickly as the full version.
I cannot speak to performance in terms of running the code. But in terms of debugging it is quicker as we now have one line of code doing what multiple lines of code used to do. For example a 15 line case statement becomes a 1 line COND statement that can be stepped over with one F6 in debug mode. I also think the COND is as easy to read.
Jeff
Hi,
Under many headings i could only find Before 7.40 . There is nothing in With 7.40 .
Please help.
Regards,
Jp
Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
It is really a useful info and It changes our job easy, especially with FILTER, GROUP, VALUE, FOR etc.
How to pass inline declared internal table to a subroutine. e.g.
SELECT kappl,
objky,
kschl,
spras,
FROM nast
INTO TABLE @DATA(gt_nast) .
IF sy-subrc is initial.
Perform get_entries using gt_nast
ENDIF.
"Declaration of perform
GET_ENTRIES USING p_nast type ????
If declare a type and then tries to pass it here , it says type mismatch . So what to do while declaring a perform for internal table fetched with literals.
Eclipse ADT "quick fixes" to declare the variable explicitly (DATA BEGIN OF ...), change DATA into TYPES, and use that type name...
(well, you could type your parameter with TYPE STANDARD TABEL, but the probably would not be useful in most cases)
I often struggle with that a bit!
It's not possible to pass on a inline-declared table from a select so what I tend to do is some of these:
- Have it only as a temporary structure, while programming the select - replace it with a explicitly declared variable later (QuickFix in AdT, like Sandra Rossi mentioned)
- have an additional, explicitly declared table, and fill that from the inline-declaration table.
- have my get_data method be way loooonger than it should be....
best
Joachim
Nice blog.. All at one place.
Hello
Can someone help me with the syntax error in the attached code ?
It gives error "No components exists with the name 'FOR' "
Thanks
Yes, but only if you ask the question in the forum...
Getting error with New Operator as well.
Hi Vishal,
True. This would be an error since the type ty_ord is a structure.
lv_new_table = NEW ty_ord( ( vbeln = '000000001' posnr = '0000001' vbtyp = 'L' ).
This would work. If you want multiple entries, then you could declare a table type as follows and then your code would work.
TYPES ty_t_ord TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF ty_ord WITH EMPTY KEY.
Regards,
Rajesh P Nair
the first one will not work because you still define two opening parentheses ( (
Instead use only one opening parenthesis:
Hi Sandra,
You are correct. That was a typo, I have copied from Vishal's message and removed the closing parenthesis, but not the opening one. I was suggesting Vishal that multiple entries will not work for the type ty_ord since it represents a flat structure and we can use multiple entries only if we use a table type of ty_ord.
Regards,
Rajesh P Nair
Hi Guys,
Suppose I have a table with only one column and my requirement is to get all the contents of the table in a string separated by (,) and ending with (.) e.g. Value1, Value2, Value3.
Any pointers on how to do this with the new syntax without concatenating.
Huh, seems I missed this blog so far (found it now via https://blogs.sap.com/2018/09/13/abaps-new-syntax-tips-from-experience/ ) - this seems like a very helpful resource, thanks!
Hi Joachim Rees ,
Thanks a lot for recommeding my blog. You are also an inspiration for many of us.
Thanks and Regards,
Ankit Maskara.
Thank you very much! Incredibly useful post!
I just have only a small question - is in the first table with "inline declarations" not missing a sign "@"?
SELECT * FROM dbtab
INTO TABLE @DATA(itab)
WHERE fld1 = @lv_fld1.
Best regards
Paweł
Yes, I think you are right!
Thanks Pawet (and Joachim).
I've no idea how that slipped through the cracks for the last 5.5 years this article has been up. 🙂
I've made the correction.
When you are working with such a client where issues arises daily, they have to be met daily.
In addition your team get 3-4 Functional specs on daily.
Stringent timelines have to be submitted to client.
How can one motivate team to do these adornments ?
I have been requesting sap ,please with joined hands,finalize your product.
What you want to give to others ?.
You have been used to work in abap with a particular style of coding, why you will change it at first place ?
These things are not enhancements but an open outlet journey for some people to leave field of abap altogether.
You work with team with diverse kind of people. Some teams even are more than 30-50 abaper count .
Why make life of others hard to fulfill these stupid desires which final equate to same sense ?.
And mind you its important to understand.You are in field of AI,Machine learning,Deep learning neural networks.But what i think in this case you are trying to prove that human brain is different.
Just a new version is released,does that mean its the fault of customer or he should be penalized for that ?
Wow, this ABAP 7.40 Quick Reference is awesome, giving old/new examples for many features like Inline Declarations, Table Expressions, Value Operator VALUE, etc.
This will help me a lot!
Yes, I still need such references, despite the blog and those "new" features being some years old already (2015).
Thanks a lot!
Joachim
PS: I now see on the comments, that I had already discovered that blog post in 2020 ... seems I could work on my knowledge management, or just be happy about this re-discovery!
To progress with ABAP 7.40 we need help from AI to convert existing code. Such tools are part of GPT-3 , but they do not include ABAP.
In CORRESPONDING - mapping EXCEPT works also with *
8. CORRESPONDING operator
Thanks, Jeffrey Towell for the valuable knowledge.