Skip to content

ABAP Keyword Documentation →  ABAP - Reference →  Processing External Data →  ABAP - Database Accesses →  Open SQL →  Open SQL - Read Accesses →  SELECT 

SELECT - group

Short Reference

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Syntax


... GROUP BY { {col1 col2 ...} | (column_syntax) } ... .

Effect

The addition GROUP BY combines groups of rows that have the same content in their specified columns col1 col2 ... in the resulting set into a single row.

The use of GROUP BY has the prerequisite that SELECT only individual columns, not all the columns, are specified using *. If GROUP BY is used, all columns that are specified directly after SELECT and not specified as an argument of an aggregate function must be listed there. This means that columns not listed after GROUP BY can only be listed after SELECT as the argument of an aggregate function. The aggregate functions define how the content of these columns is determined in the combined row from the contents of all the rows of a group.

After GROUP BY, the same column identifiers must be specified as after SELECT. The specification can either be specified statically as a list col1 col2 ... or dynamically as a brackted data object column_syntax that - at execution of the statement - contains the syntax of the static specification or is set to initial value. For column_syntax, the same applies as for the dynamic specification of columns after SELECT.

If the content of column_syntax initial, either all the rows or no rows at all are grouped together. The columns after SELECT must then be listed either solely as arguments of aggregate functions or solely directly. If not, this would trigger an exception CX_SY_OPEN_SQL_DB that can be handled.

Columns specified after GROUP BY cannot be of the type STRING, or RAWSTRING.


Notes

  • With the use of GROUP BY, the statement SELECT avoids the SAP buffering.
  • Using GROUP BY and aggregate functions ensures that aggregates and groups are assembled by the database system, not the application server. This can considerably reduce the volume of data that has to be transported from the database to the application server.
  • The class CL_ABAP_DYN_PRG contains methods that support the creation of correct and secure dynamic column specifications.


Example

The rows of database table SFLIGHT that have the same contents in column CARRID are combined. The lowest and highest values in column PRICE are determined for each of these groups and placed into the combined row.

DATA: carrid   TYPE sflight-carrid, 
      minimum TYPE p DECIMALS 2, 
      maximum TYPE p DECIMALS 2. 

SELECT carrid MIN( price ) MAX( price ) 
       FROM sflight 
       INTO (carrid, minimum, maximum) 
       GROUP BY carrid. 
  WRITE: / carrid, minimum, maximum. 
ENDSELECT.

Example

After entering any column of database table SPFLI the selected data is organized according to this column, which means that similar entries are combined. In count the number of flight connections for the different values in column spflicol is determined. If you enter, for example, "cityfrom" as spflicol, then the number of destinations for each departure city is determined in count.

PARAMETERS spflicol TYPE c LENGTH 20. 

DATA: dref TYPE REF TO data, 
      long_name TYPE string, 
      count  TYPE i, 
      fieldlist TYPE string. 

FIELD-SYMBOLS <fs> TYPE any. 

long_name = 'spfli-' && spflicol. 
CREATE DATA dref TYPE (long_name). 
ASSIGN dref->* TO <fs>. 

fieldlist = spflicol && ' count(*)'. 

SELECT DISTINCT (fieldlist) 
       INTO (<fs>, count) 
       FROM spfli 
       GROUP BY (spflicol). 
  WRITE: / <fs>, count. 
ENDSELECT.