Basic Topics

• What is ABAP?
• ABAP WorkBench
• ABAP Dictionary
• Data Types
• Intenal Tables
• Views
• Search Help
• Programming Language

What is ABAP?

ABAP/4 is the progamming language used by SAP A.G. to develop and customize the source code of the ERP tool - SAP.

ABAP stands for Advanced Business Application Programming and is the programming language.

ABAP is designed to support the application development of business tasks (mass data processing, currency specific display, multilingual capability, etc.).

ABAP is also designed for developing user dialogs in a distributed R/3 system. Developers need not concern themselves with communication and distribution aspects of the system.

ABAP programs in conjunction with the SAP Basis are platform independent. ABAP contains a special set of commands for database access called ABAP Open SQL.

ABAP application development can be done in project teams which is organized by using the Workbench Organizer.

The following Areas are standardized specifically in ABAP Development Projects :

• Evaluation of development projects


• Process design


• Technical design


• Naming conventions for Repository objects: Naming conflicts between customer Repository objects and Repository objects from SAP and SAP partners can be avoided by using standard naming conventions.
• Interface Style Guide:
SAP delivers a Style Guide that standardizes your interface according to ergonomic principles.

• Program documentation:
Repository objects can be documented in various different ways.

• Modification Handling:
Installation rules and logbook of all modifications made to a customer’s system

ABAP WorkBench

Within the Benchbench, one can define data types and store in the following two areas:

• ABAP Dictionary

The ABAP Dictionary contains 23 predefined data types, which serve as a basis for all other ABAP Dictionary objects (such as domains, data elements, data types, and so on). These ABAP Dictionary types are available for use globally throughout the system.

As well as the Dictionary objects used to access tables (tables, views, search helps, and so on), you can also (from Release 4.5) create global data types in the ABAP Dictionary.

Previously, the only way to define global data types was to use a type group. Type groups are still supported, but the concept is actually obsolete now that it is possible to define global data types in the ABAP Dictionary.

• ABAP programs

Data types that you define in an ABAP program are local, that is, only valid within that program. You use the ten predefined ABAP data types as a basis for your own types.

ABAP Dictionary

The ABAP Dictionary permits a central management of all the data definitions used in the R/3 System.

In the ABAP Dictionary you can create user-defined types (data elements, structures and table types) for use in ABAP programs or in interfaces of function modules. Database objects such as tables and database views can also be defined in the ABAP Dictionary and created with this definition in the database.

The ABAP Dictionary also provides a number of services that support program development. For example, setting and releasing locks, defining an input help (F4 help) and attaching a field help (F1 help) to a screen field are supported.

Components of ABAP Dictionary

• Tables and database views can be defined in the ABAP Dictionary.
• These objects are created in the underlying database with this definition. Changes in the definition of table or database view are also automatically made in the database.
• Indexes can be defined in the ABAP Dictionary to speed up access to data in a table. These indexes are also created in the database.

There are three different type categories in the ABAP Dictionary:

• Data elements: Describe an elementary type by defining the data type, length and possibly decimal places.


• Structures: Consist of components that can have any type.


• Table types: Describe the structure of an internal table.

Data Types

• CURR - Used to represent a currency
• CUKY - Used to represent the type of currency (eg. USD / INR / etc.)

• QUAN - Used to represent the Numberic Value of Quantity
• UNIT - Used to represent the Unit of the Quantity

• FLTP - Used to represent the very large or very small number
• NUMC - Used to represent numbers but it is ideal to represent Zip Codes / Postal Codes.

Data Element

Data elements have a business meaning (field label, help text, and so on). Up to and including Release 4.0, it was only possible to specify the technical attributes of a data element by specifying a domain. Each domain had to have a predefined Dictionary type assigned to it. This is still possible.

However, it is now possible to enter a predefined Dictionary type directly. If you want to ensure that the technical attributes of a group of data elements can only be changed centrally, you should continue to use domains.

As part of ABAP Objects, you can now designate a data element a reference type and declare global types for references to global classes or interfaces. Note that, in this case, the type of the data element is no longer elementary, but nested. The same applies when you use the predefined types string and rawstring.

Structure

Each component of a structure must have a name so that it can be addressed directly. For the type of a component you may specify a predefined Dictionary type, a data element, a structured type, or a table type. This allows you to construct nested data types.

Note the consequences we have already mentioned with particular kinds of access. For example, if a structure contains a component with the type reference or string, you cannot use INTO CORRESPONDING FIELDS OF in a SELECT statement. Instead, you must list the components in the INTO clause.

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