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ABAP System Fields

System fields are filled by the ABAP runtime environment and can be used in an ABAP program to query system statuses. Except for one field (sy-repid), the system fields are variables, but nevertheless they should be used only for read access; otherwise, important information for the execution of subsequent programs may be lost. System fields in ABAP programs can be overwritten in rare cases only, to control system behavior.

With the exception of sy-repid, the data types of the system fields are defined in the structure SYST in ABAP Dictionary, and are instantiated in ABAP programs as components of the predefined structure sy. The structure sy exists once in an internal session and is shared by all programs in this internal session.

The structure sy can also be addressed using syst. There is also a predefined data type sy, which can be used instead of the data type SYST of ABAP Dictionary.

The table below shows the system fields which can be used in ABAP programs. All other components of structure sy are either intended only for internal use by the ABAP runtime environment or are obsolete.

Name Type Length Content
sy-abcde c 26 Contains the Latin alphabet. Can be used to access individual letters directly by specifying the offset/length, regardless of thecode page.
sy-batch c 1 "X" in an ABAP program running in the background; otherwise initial.
sy-binpt c 1 "X" when processing batchinput sessions and in ABAP programs called by CALL TRANSACTION USING; otherwise initial.
sy-calld c 1 A blank in the first program of a call sequence; otherwise "X". Set to "X" after calls using CALL TRANSACTION,CALL DIALOG, or SUBMIT ... AND RETURN. Empty if the program was started using LEAVE TO TRANSACTION or by a transaction code entered on thescreen. A call using SUBMIT (without AND RETURN) takes the value of the calling program.
sy-callr c 8 When printing lists, contains a value that indicates where printing was started, for example NEW-PAGE for program-driven printing or RSDBRUNT for printing from theselection screen.
sy-colno i - Current position during the creation of a list in the list buffer. Counting begins at 1. In non-Unicode systems, thisposition also corresponds to the column in the displayed list. In Unicode systems this is only guaranteedfor the lower and upper output limits, since a single character may occupy more columns in the list than positions in the list buffer.
sy-cpage i - Page number of the top page in the list display where a list event was triggered. Counting begins at 1.
sy-cprog c 40 In externally called procedures,the name of the calling program; otherwise the name of the current program. If an externally called procedure calls another external procedure, sy-cprog contains the name of theframework program, and is not set to the name of the framework program of the subsequent calling program.
sy-cucol i - Horizontal cursor position on the screen layout of a screen. Counting begins at column 2.
sy-curow i - Vertical cursor position on the screen layout of a screen. Counting begins at line 1.
sy-datar c 1 "X" for PAI, if at least one input field of a screen was changed by a user or some other data being passed.
sy-datlo d - User date, for example "19990723"; can be set by GET TIME.
sy-datum d - System date. Can be set by GET TIME.
sy-dayst c 1 "X" in summer time in the system time zone; otherwise initial.
sy-dbcnt i - SQL statements set the content of sy-dbcnt to the number of table rows processed.
sy-dbnam c 20 For executable programs, the associated logical database.
sy-dbsys c 10 Central database system, for example "ORACLE" or "INFORMIX".
sy-dyngr c 4 Screen group of the current screen. In Screen Painter, multiple screens can be assigned to the same screen group, which can be used, for example, to make modifications to all screens in the group at once.
sy-dynnr c 4 Number of the current screen. In selection screen processing, the current selection screen. In list processing, the number of the subscreen container. When processing asubscreen screen (including intabstrips), the number of this screen.
sy-fdayw b - Factory calendar weekday in the system time zone; Monday = 1, ..., Friday = 5.
sy-fdpos i - Occurrence when using certain searches in character-like and byte-like data objects.
sy-host c 32 Network name of the computer on which the current application server is instanced, for example "KSAP0001" or "HS01234".
sy-index i - Loop index. In DO and WHILE loops, contains the number of previous loop passes, including the current pass.
sy-langu c 1 Single-character language key, for example "E", "D", "F", for the currenttext environment. Set by the logon language of the user or by the statement SET LOCALE.
sy-ldbpg c 40 In executable programs, the database program of the associated logical database.
sy-lilli i - List row on which a list event was triggered. Counting begins at 1 and includes the page header.
sy-linct i - Side length of the current list when the list is created. sy-linct is 0 for a standard list of any length and has a value not equal to 0 for lists with fixed side lengths.
sy-linno i - Current list row when the list is created. Counting begins at 1 and includes the page header.
sy-linsz i - Row width of the current list in the list buffer when the list is created.
sy-lisel c 255 Content of the list row in the list buffer where the cursor was in the displayed list when a list event was triggered (limited to the first 255 characters).
sy-listi i - List level of the list in which a list event was triggered.
sy-loopc i - Number of currently displayed rows in a table control.
sy-lsind i - List level of the list that is currently being created (basic list: 0; detail lists: greater than0). For every interactive list event, sy-lsind is automatically increasedby an increment of 1. sy-lsind can be changed in ABAP programs when navigating between details lists.
sy-macol i - Number of columns on the left margin when printing lists.
sy-mandt c 3 Client ID used by the current user to log on, for example "401" or "800".
sy-marow i - Number of rows on the top margin when printing lists.
sy-modno i - Indexing of the external sessions. Contains the value 0 in the first session. In new sessions that are opened using the Create Session function or by calling atransaction with /o in the command field of thestandard toolbar, this value is increased by 1.
sy-msgid c 20 After the statement MESSAGE, contains the message class.
sy-msgno n 3 After the statement MESSAGE, contains the message number.
sy-msgty c 1 After the statement MESSAGE, contains the message type.
sy-msgv1 ... sy-msgv4 c 50 After the statement MESSAGE, contain the field content used for the placeholders of the message.
sy-opsys c 10 Operating system of the current application server, for example "SOLARIS" or "HP-UX".
sy-pagno i - Current page when the list is created.
sy-pfkey c 20 GUI status of the current screen.
sy-prdsn c 6 Contains the name of the spool file when printing.
sy-repid c 40 Name of the current ABAP program In procedures called externally, the name of theframework program of theprocedure. If sy-repidis passed to an external procedure as an actual parameter, then the formal parameter is set to the name of the caller.
sy-saprl c 4 AS ABAP release, for example "46D" or "610".
sy-scols i - Number of columns in the current screen layout.
sy-slset c 14 Variant used to fill a selection screen. The associated program name can be seen in sy-cprog.
sy-spono n 10 Contains the name of the spool number when printing lists.
sy-srows i - Number of rows in the current screen layout.
sy-staco i - Number of the first displayed column of the list in which a list event was triggered. Counting begins at 1.
sy-staro i - Number of the top displayed list row of the top displayed page of the list where a list event was triggered. Counting begins at 1 and does not include thepage header.
sy-stepl i - Index of the current row in a table control. This is set for every loop pass.
sy-subrc i - Return code set by many ABAP statements. In general, the value 0 means that the statement was executedwith no problems. Depending on which statement set sy-subrc, the cause ofan error can be derived from this value. The content of sy-subrc is undefined after statements where sy-subrc's setting is not documented explicitly.
sy-sysid c 8 Name of AS ABAP, for example "S01" or "K99".
sy-tabix i - Row number in the table index of an internal table. Contains the last row accessed using aprimary orsecondary table index. Is set to 0 when accessed using ahash algorithm.
sy-tcode c 20 Name of the current transaction code. Initial inbackground processing, unless a transation was called during background processing.
sy-tfill i - In the statements DESCRIBE TABLE, LOOP AT,and READ TABLE, sy-tfill is given the number of rows of the accessed internal table.
sy-timlo t - User time, for example "152557". Can be set by GET TIME.
sy-title c 70 Text that appears in the title bar of the screen.
sy-tleng i - In the statements DESCRIBE TABLE, LOOP AT,and READ TABLE, sy-tleng is given the row size of the accessed internal table.
sy-tvar0 ... sy-tvar9 c 20 You can assign values to these system fields in the program. In the event TOP-OF-PAGE,the content of sy-tvar0 through sy-tvar9 replacesthe placeholders "&0" through "&9" in the list headers and column headers of the text elements of the program.
sy-tzone i - Time difference of the system time to theUTC reference time in seconds, for example "3600" or "10800".
sy-ucomm c 70 Function code that triggered the event PAI.
sy-uline c 255 Contains a horizontal line of the length 255 for displays in lists.
sy-uname c 12 Logon name of the user, for example "KELLERH".
sy-uzeit t - System time; can be set by GET TIME.
sy-vline c 1 Contains a vertical line (
sy-wtitl c 1 Set to "N" in the statements REPORT, PROGRAM,and FUNCTION-POOL, if the addition NO STANDARD PAGE HEADING is used; otherwise initial.
sy-zonlo c 6 User time zone, for example "CET" or "PST".

The system field sy-repid is no longer a part of the structures syst or sy. Instead, each program contains the predefined constants sy-repid and syst-repid, which both contain the name of the relevant program. There are also two predefined types with the same names, sy-repid and syst-repid, of type c and length 40.

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Programming Guidelines


Notes

  • The content of system fields is defined only as stated in the table above, or as described in individual ABAP statements. In any other contexts, you cannot rely on the content of system fields. In particular those statements whose effect on system fields is undocumented can influence the content of certain system fields in undefined ways, for example sy-subrc. This applies especially to statements that call ABAP code implicitly or explicitly when executed.

  • If possible, a system field should be evaluated directly after the statement that set it, to prevent it from being overwritten by other statements. If necessary, the values of system fields should be saved in auxiliary variables.

  • A system field should only be used as an operand in a read position if its content is not set by the same statement. Otherwise, the system may behave unexpectedly.

  • System fields and the associated structure SYST have an entirely program-internal function. No dynpro fields should be created with reference to system fields, since the associated field helps are not intended for end users.

  • Internal system fields are intended entirely for internal use in the ABAP runtime environment and in the ABAP kernel. Never overwrite them from within an ABAP program; do not even process them in read-only mode.

  • The obsolete system fields were usually kept during the transition from R/2 to R/3, however they are no longer filled. You are not allowed to use these system fields.

  • An extended list of system fields is available in the Application Help.

  • The static methods of the system class CL_ABAP_SYST also provide important system states. The use of these methods can replace the evaluation of the associated system fields in cases where you need to ensure that a system field has not been incorrectly overwritten in the program.