Method Display_data – but don’t dump!

I am am using my display_data-method quite often.

And every now and then, I stumbled over a dump, e.g. wenn the table provided was “deep” -> included other components that where themselves tables.

I often thought: If we could just drop those columns but display all the others – would’t that be nice?!
But I never created the thing.
Until now.

So here it is:

(Edit: it was improved a little here: https://blogs.sap.com/2023/09/13/method-display_data-but-dont-dump-version-2/ )

METHODS display_data_deep_enabled IMPORTING it_data TYPE ANY TABLE.

  METHOD display_data_deep_enabled.
    DATA lo_table_descr  TYPE REF TO cl_abap_tabledescr.
    DATA lo_struct_descr TYPE REF TO cl_abap_structdescr.

    lo_table_descr ?= cl_abap_tabledescr=>describe_by_data( it_data ).
    lo_struct_descr ?= lo_table_descr->get_table_line_type( ).
    "note: this might fail if it's a single-coloum-Table.

    DATA(lt_components_with_ref) = lo_struct_descr->get_components( ).
    DATA(lt_components_simple_tab) = lo_struct_descr->components.

    "find and remove the components that would hurt us (that is: dump)
    LOOP AT lt_components_simple_tab ASSIGNING FIELD-SYMBOL(<component>)
                                    WHERE type_kind = cl_abap_tabledescr=>typekind_table.
      DELETE lt_components_with_ref WHERE name = <component>-name.
    ENDLOOP.

    " New Structure + Table.
    lo_struct_descr = cl_abap_structdescr=>create( p_components = lt_components_with_ref ).
    lo_table_descr = cl_abap_tabledescr=>create( p_line_type = lo_struct_descr ).
    DATA lt_new TYPE REF TO data.
    " Create the Data-Ref of the new Type.
    CREATE DATA lt_new TYPE HANDLE lo_table_descr.
    " Fill it with data:
    lt_new->* = CORRESPONDING #( it_data ).

    TRY.
        cl_salv_table=>factory( IMPORTING r_salv_table = DATA(lref_alv)
                                CHANGING  t_table      = lt_new->*  ).
      CATCH cx_salv_msg.
    ENDTRY.

    lref_alv->get_layout( )->set_key( VALUE #( report = sy-repid ) ).
    lref_alv->get_layout( )->set_default( abap_true ).
    lref_alv->get_layout( )->set_save_restriction( if_salv_c_layout=>restrict_none ).
    lref_alv->get_functions( )->set_all( abap_true ).
    lref_alv->display( ).
  ENDMETHOD.

Bonus:

– This made me use / (again) learn about the ABAP RTTS (RTTI + RTTC)
– It always bothered me a bit, that that parameter to display_data had to be a CHANGING one. Now it’s IMPORTING. Feels way better.