ARTICLE
Naming
The naming of the repository objects defined outside of a program and of
the entities declared within the program (such as data types, data
objects, and procedures) is of vital importance for understanding and
editing the program. All names used must be readable, easy to learn, and
appropriate. You can meet these requirements by using meaningful names.
It is also important to avoid naming conflicts.
Choosing the Language
Descriptive Names
Names of Repository Objects
Program-Internal Names
Note
These guidelines deliberately use the term naming and not naming
conventions. The term "programming guidelines" is frequently equated
with naming conventions. Many of the current programming guidelines are
mainly concerned with the definition of prefixes and suffixes, which are
more or less meaningful. However, we pursue a different approach here.
Part of these guidelines is rightly dedicated to the discussion of
meaningful names. However, this discussion does not represent the core
of these guidelines.
A maintenance organization is responsible for maintaining monolithic
ABAP applications that have evolved over time and that may include
complex procedures without a clearly defined task, large quantities of
global data objects and cryptic/misleading names. For this type of
organization, the appeal for strict naming conventions with standardized
prefixes and suffixes may be understandable. However, the current
programming guidelines are designed to support the new development of
robust ABAP programs, which can be developed and maintained
cost-efficiently. Consequently, it would be wrong to insist on naming
conventions (for new developments) that address problems in older code,
which are excluded from the outset anyway, if the programming meets
current standards.
The rules on naming listed below meet the requirements of modern ABAP
development. The only disadvantage is that it is difficult to use
automatic checks, to monitor whether these requirements are adhered to.
Our rules address human readers (and not automated test tools), who want
to understand ABAP programs and eliminate ambiguous elements as quickly
as possible. With regards to older code, we recommend refactoring
based on the basic guidelines presented here. This enables you to get
down to the root of maintenance problems. If you simply try to
retroactively change names in line with technical naming conventions,
you are only attempting to cure the symptoms and not the problem itself.
Documentation extract taken from SAP system, � Copyright SAP AG. All rights reserved