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ABAP Keyword Documentation →  ABAP - Reference →  Predefined types, data objects, and functions →  Predefined Data Types 

Predefined Types in ABAP Dictionary

The following table lists the predefined types in ABAP Dictionary. These types cannot be used directly in ABAP programs, and are therefore also known as external data types. Instead, they are used in ABAP Dictionary to define data types and database fields to which you can refer from ABAP programs. Each predefined data type in ABAP Dictionary is assigned to the ABAP type listed in the last column of the table.

Type Permitted Positions m Meaning ABAP Type
ACCP 6 Posting period n, Length 6
CHAR 1-30000 Character string c, length m
CLNT 3 Client c, Length 3
CUKY 5 Currency key for currency fields c, Length 5
CURR 1-31 Currency field in BCD format p, length (m+1)/2
DATS 8 Date d
DEC 1-31 Packed number BCD format p, length (m+1)/2
DF16_DEC 1-15 Decimal floating point number stored in BCD format decfloat16
DF16_RAW 16 Decimal floating point number stored in binary format decfloat16
DF16_SCL 16 Decimal floating point number stored in binary format with subsequent scaling decfloat16
DF34_DEC 1-31 Decimal floating point number stored in BCD format decfloat34
DF34_RAW 34 Decimal floating point number stored in binary format decfloat34
DF34_SCL 34 Decimal floating point number stored in binary format with subsequent scaling decfloat34
FLTP 16 Floating point number f
INT1 3 1-byte integer b
INT2 5 2-byte integer s
INT4 10 4-byte integer i
LANG 1 Language c, Length 1
LCHR 256-... long character string c, length m
LRAW 256-... long byte string x, length m
NUMC 1-255 Numeric text n, length m
PREC 2 Obsolete data type s
QUAN 1-31 Quantity field in BCD format p, length (m+1)/2
RAW 1-255 Byte string x, length m
RAWSTRING 256-... Byte string (BLOB) xstring
SSTRING 1-1333 Character string string
STRING 256-... Character string (CLOB) string
TIMS 6 Time t
UNIT 2-3 Unit key of a quantity field c, length m

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54


Notes

  • The ABAP types b and s, assigned to the types INT1 and INT2, cannot be specified either statically or dynamically in ABAP statements. These types only occur in ABAP programs, in relation to the types INT1 and INT2 from ABAP Dictionary.

  • The types RAWSTRING and STRING for LOBs have a variable length. You can specify a maximum length, but there is no upper limit.

  • The type SSTRING also has a variable length, but there is an upper limit. The maximum length is 1333. The benefit of using it, and not CHAR, is that it is assigned to the ABAP type string. Its advantage over STRING is that it can also be used for key fields in database tables and in WHERE conditions.

  • The maximum length of data types that are based on RAWSTRING, STRING, and SSTRING can be determined using the predefined function dbmaxlen.

  • The maximum number of characters of the types LCHR and LRAW is the value of a preceding INT2 field in a transparent database table.

  • If a data type CURR, DEC, DF34_DEC, DF16_DEC, or QUAN has an even number of characters (not recommended), the length of the associated ABAP type p is rounded up and hence becomes the next highest uneven number.

  • The data type PREC is obsolete and you should no longer use it. In ABAP Dictionary and in ABAP programs, it is handled like INT2, despite the predefined length (2). The length 2 is relevant only for screen fields of the type PREC, which can have two-character positive values at most. The property sign cannot be set for a domain of the type PREC

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Use of Predefined Data Types from ABAP Dictionary