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INCLUDE - TYPE, STRUCTURE

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Syntax


INCLUDE { {TYPE struc_type} | {STRUCTURE struc} } 
        [AS name [RENAMING WITH SUFFIX suffix]].

Extras

1. ... AS name
2. ... RENAMING WITH SUFFIX suffix

Effect

These statements can only be declared within a structure definition with the additions BEGIN OF and END OF of the statements TYPES, DATA, CLASS-DATA and STATICS. It copies all the components of the structured type struc_type or the structure struc at the specified point in to the current structure definition. The INCLUDE statement does not create a substructure, that is, the components are inserted as if they would be listed individually in place of the INCLUDE statement.

struc_type can be a local, structured type, a visible structured type of a global class or a global interface, or a structure from the ABAP Dictionary. struc must be a structure of the same program or a visible attribute of a global class or global interface.


Notes

  • The INCLUDE statement described here must no longer be used for the following reasons:

  • If further structure components are to be added to existing components using the INCLUDE statement of if multiple INCLUDE statements are used in a structure, then there can be syntax errors due to name conflicts. This is particularly problematic if structures are to be inserted that are not defined in the same program and which are to be changed at a later date.

  • The embedded structures cannot be addressed as such without restrictions.

  • The necessary metadata is created again for every component of an embedded structure, whereas the metadata for the components of a substructure are only stored once when defining the substructure.

  • In contrast to real substructures, structures embedded using INCLUDE cannot be declared as static boxes during embedding.
Despite the INCLUDE statement, real substructures are to be formed when possible. At the very least you should use the addition RENAMING WITH SUFFIX to avoid naming conflicts. This recommendation applies for embedding structures in the ABAP Dictionary where the structures of database tables cannot contain any real substructures.
  • Outside of ABAP objects, flat structures, database tables, or views of the ABAP Dictionary can also be specified for struc with the addition STRUCTURE.
  • In constant structures defined with CONSTANTS, no components can be embedded with INCLUDE as these cannot be assigned a start value.
  • With regard to their alignment, structures integrated with INCLUDE behave like substructures, meaning that there can be alignment gaps before or after the last component. These do not appear if the components are declared directly.
  • When a static box is copied from a structure to another, it is copied as a boxed component.

Addition 1

... AS name

Effect

By specifying the name name after the addition AS you can either address all components of the embedded structure struc_type or struc together using the name name or individual components using the structure component selector (-).


Note

A name name specified with AS name is only used for additional addressing purposes and is ignored in statements such as MOVE-CORRESPONDING or SELECT INTO CORRESPONDING. An component renamed with RENAMING WITH SUFFIX actually has this name and is therefore not ignored.

Addition 2

... RENAMING WITH SUFFIX suffix

Effect

With the addition RENAMING WITH SUFFIX every individual component is renamed by adding the suffix, whereby naming conflicts between components of the same name can also be avoided. suffix must be specified directly.


Note

Using the RENAMING WITH SUFFIX addition makes it possible to embed an individual structure multiple times.


Example

In this example the structure week is defined by repeatedly copying the components on the structured type t_day. The components of week are all at the same level and can be declared as follows: week-work_mon, week-free_mon, week-work_tue, and so on. Alternatively, the following addressing is also possible: week-monday-work, week-monday-free, week-tuesday-work, and so on.

TYPES: BEGIN OF t_day, 
         work TYPE c LENGTH 8, 
         free TYPE c LENGTH 16, 
       END OF t_day. 

DATA BEGIN OF week. 
  INCLUDE TYPE t_day AS monday    RENAMING WITH SUFFIX _mon. 
  INCLUDE TYPE t_day AS tuesday   RENAMING WITH SUFFIX _tue. 
  INCLUDE TYPE t_day AS wednesday RENAMING WITH SUFFIX _wed. 
  ... 
DATA END OF week.

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