TYPES - tabkind
Short Reference
ABAP Syntax ... { {[STANDARD] TABLE}
| {SORTED TABLE}
| {HASHED TABLE}
| {ANY TABLE}
| {INDEX TABLE} } ... .
What does it do? Defines the table category of an internal table.
You can specify the non-generic table categories
standard table ( STANDARD TABLE
), sorted table ( SORTED TABLE ),
and hashed table ( HASHED TABLE ),
as well as the generic table categories ANY TABLE and INDEX
TABLE . The addition STANDARD is optional for standard tables.
The non-generic table categories specify the internal administration
and primary access type for an internal table in ABAP programs:
Standard tables are managed-internally in the system by using a
primary table index . New rows are
either appended to the table or inserted at specific positions.
Like standard tables, sorted tables are also managed using a
primary table index . The entries
in this index are always sorted in ascending order by the primary table
key. The sort order is in ascending order and returns the same result as
the SORT statement with no additions.
Hashed tables are managed by a hash algorithm. There is no
primary table index . The entries
are not ordered in the memory. The position of a row is calculated by
specifying a key using a hash function.
The generic table categories define a generic table type that can only
be used for typing formal parameters and field
symbols:
ANY TABLE covers all table categories
INDEX TABLE covers standard tables and sorted tables
ABAP_PGL Use a suitable table
category
Latest notes: For non-generic table categories, the definition of the
table key key determines whether the
defined table type is generic.
The additions to the TYPES statement listed above are language
element additions for defining table categories. They are not to be
confused with the generic ABAP types
with the same name.
A generic table type cannot be used as a component of a
structured type .
Documentation extract taken from SAP system, � Copyright SAP AG. All rights reserved