1 Introduction

19

1.1 Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing (SAP)

19

1.2 Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP)

21

1.3 Data Dictionary

22

1.3.1 Data Dictionary Tasks

23

1.3.2 Objects in the Data Dictionary

24

1.4 Summary

25

2 Data Types

27

2.1 Data Types

27

2.1.1 Built-In Elementary Data Types

28

2.1.2 User-Defined Data Types

32

2.2 Mapping of the Data Types

35

2.3 Summary

38

3 Domains

39

3.1 An Introduction to Domains

39

3.2 Attributes of Domains

41

3.2.1 Short Description

42

3.2.2 Properties Tab

42

3.2.3 Definition Tab

43

3.2.4 Value Range Tab

50

3.2.5 Documentation

52

3.3 Creating Domains

52

3.4 Changing Domains

55

3.5 Deleting Domains

56

3.6 Summary

57

4 Data Elements

59

4.1 An Introduction to Data Elements

59

4.2 Attributes of Data Elements

59

4.2.1 Short Description

60

4.2.2 Attributes Tab

60

4.2.3 Data Type Tab

61

4.2.4 Field Label Tab

63

4.2.5 Further Characteristics Tab

64

4.2.6 Documentation

69

4.3 Creating Data Elements

71

4.4 Deleting Data Elements

75

4.5 Summary

76

5 Tables

77

5.1 An Introduction to Tables

77

5.1.1 Transparent Tables

77

5.2 Components of a Table

82

5.2.1 Table Fields

84

5.2.2 Includes

89

5.2.3 Foreign Key

92

5.2.4 Technical Settings

112

5.2.5 Indexes

122

5.2.6 Enhancements in Tables (Append Structures and Customizing Includes)

127

5.2.7 Delivery Class

133

5.2.8 Activation Types

135

5.2.9 Data Browser/Table View Maintenance

136

5.3 Creating Tables

137

5.3.1 Options when Creating Tables

140

5.3.2 Maintaining Technical Settings

143

5.3.3 Creating Foreign Keys

144

5.3.4 Creating Secondary Indexes

147

5.4 Changing Tables

149

5.4.1 Inserting New Fields

150

5.4.2 Deleting Existing Fields

152

5.4.3 Changing Existing Fields

153

5.4.4 Changing Table Category

154

5.4.5 Moving Fields

155

5.4.6 Copying Fields from Another Table

156

5.5 Deleting Tables

158

5.6 Creating Other Dictionary Objects

159

5.6.1 Creating Table Pools

159

5.6.2 Creating Table Clusters

162

5.6.3 Creating Pooled Tables/Cluster Tables

164

5.7 Deleting Other Dictionary Objects

166

5.8 Summary

167

6 Views

169

6.1 An Introduction to Views

169

6.2 Attributes of Views

170

6.2.1 Join

170

6.2.2 Relationship between Foreign Keys and Join Conditions

173

6.2.3 Projection

173

6.2.4 Selection

174

6.2.5 Maintenance Status

175

6.3 Types of Views

176

6.3.1 Database Views

177

6.3.2 Projection Views

179

6.3.3 Append Views

179

6.3.4 Help Views

180

6.3.5 Maintenance Views

181

6.4 Creating and Deleting Views

182

6.4.1 Creating Database Views

183

6.4.2 Creating Projection Views

189

6.4.3 Creating Append Views

191

6.4.4 Creating Help Views

194

6.4.5 Creating Maintenance Views

198

6.4.6 Deleting Views

204

6.5 Summary

204

7 Table Maintenance Dialog

205

7.1 Table Maintenance Dialog: Initial Screen (Transaction: SE54)

206

7.2 Table Maintenance Generator

208

7.2.1 Components of Table Maintenance Generator

208

7.2.2 Creating the Table Maintenance Generator

218

7.2.3 Modifying the Table Maintenance Generator

221

7.3 Maintaining Authorization Groups

239

7.4 Maintaining Function Group

243

7.5 View Variants

245

7.6 View Clusters

250

7.6.1 Structure of a View Cluster

250

7.6.2 Creating View Clusters

251

7.6.3 Testing View Clusters

259

7.7 Summary

261

8 Complex Data Types: Structures and Table Types

263

8.1 Structures

264

8.1.1 Types of Structures

264

8.1.2 Creating Structures

266

8.2 Table Types

271

8.2.1 Access Mode

272

8.2.2 Key Definition

273

8.2.3 Key Category

274

8.2.4 Generic Table Types

275

8.2.5 Correlation between Table Types and Internal Tables

276

8.2.6 Creating Table Types

276

8.2.7 Ranges Table Types

279

8.2.8 Creating Ranges Table Types

280

8.3 Deleting Data Types

283

8.4 Summary

283

9 Search Helps

285

9.1 Introduction to Search Helps

285

9.2 Types of Search Help

286

9.2.1 Elementary Search Help

287

9.2.2 Collective Search Help

294

9.2.3 Search Help Exit

297

9.3 Creating Search Help

300

9.3.1 Creating Elementary Search Helps

300

9.3.2 Creating Collective Search Helps

305

9.4 Value Transport for Input Helps

311

9.4.1 Parameterizing the Import Parameters

311

9.4.2 Returning the Values from the Hit List

312

9.5 Search Help Attachment

312

9.5.1 Search Help Attachment to a Data Element

313

9.5.2 Search Help Attachment to a Check Table

316

9.5.3 Search Help Attached to a Table or Structure Field

318

9.5.4 Search Help Attached to a Screen Field

320

9.5.5 Hierarchy of the Search Help Call

322

9.6 Summary

324

10 Lock Objects

325

10.1 An Introduction to Locks

325

10.2 Lock Mechanisms and Their Attributes

327

10.2.1 Lock Objects

327

10.2.2 Lock Arguments

328

10.2.3 Lock Mode

329

10.2.4 Lock Server

330

10.2.5 _SCOPE Parameter

333

10.2.6 Lock Table

334

10.2.7 Local Lock Containers

336

10.2.8 Function Modules for Lock Requests

337

10.2.9 Foreign Keys in Lock Objects

341

10.2.10 Lock Mechanism

342

10.3 Creating Lock Objects

343

10.4 Deleting Lock Objects

347

10.5 Summary

348

11 Database Utility

349

11.1 An Introduction to the Database Utility

349

11.2 Processing Types

351

11.2.1 Direct

352

11.2.2 Background

352

11.2.3 Enter for Mass Processing

353

11.3 Storage Parameters

363

11.3.1 Storage Parameter for a Table

364

11.3.2 Maintaining Storage Parameters

364

11.4 Runtime Objects

367

11.5 Activation

370

11.5.1 Mass Activation

370

11.5.2 Background Activation

373

11.6 Adjusting Database Structures

374

11.7 Conversion

376

11.7.1 Conversion Process

376

11.7.2 Conversion Problems

380

11.7.3 Continuing Terminated Conversions

381

11.7.4 Finding Terminated Conversions

383

11.8 Editing Dictionary Objects in the Database

383

11.8.1 Editing Tables

384

11.8.2 Editing Views

389

11.9 Summary

394