ABAP Keyword Documentation → ABAP - Reference → Processing Internal Data → Internal Tables → Processing Statements for Internal Tables → DELETE itab
DELETE itab - itab_line
Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54
Syntax
... {TABLE itab table_key}
| {itab INDEX idx [USING KEY keyname]}
| {itab [USING KEY loop_key]}.
Alternatives
1. ... TABLE itab table_key
2. ... itab INDEX idx [USING KEY keyname]
3. ... itab [USING KEY loop_key]
Effect
These alternatives specify which single row of the internal table itab is to be deleted.
Alternative 1
... TABLE itab table_key
Effect
If you use the variant with the TABLE addition, you specify the row by using
the primary table key table_key.
Alternative 2
... itab INDEX idx [USING KEY keyname]
Addition
Effect
If the INDEX addition is used, the DELETE statement
deletes the row of the row number specified in idx with respect to a table index. idx is a
numerical expression
position of the operand type i. If idx contains a value of 0 or less, an exception is raised that cannot be handled.
If the addition USING KEY is not used, the addition INDEX can only be used with
index tables and determines the row to be deleted from the
primary table index.
Example
Deletes the table row that has the same value as carrid in the key field p_carrid, by specifying a primary table index.
PARAMETERS p_carrid TYPE scarr-carrid.
DATA scarr_tab TYPE SORTED TABLE OF scarr
WITH UNIQUE KEY carrid.
SELECT *
FROM scarr
INTO TABLE @scarr_tab.
READ TABLE scarr_tab WITH TABLE KEY carrid = p_carrid
TRANSPORTING NO FIELDS.
IF sy-subrc = 0.
DELETE scarr_tab INDEX sy-tabix.
ENDIF.
Addition
... USING KEY keyname
Effect
If the addition USING KEY is used, a table key can be declared in keyname to declare the table index to be used explicitly.
If the table has a sorted
secondary key, this can be specified in keyname. The row to be deleted is then determined from its
secondary table index. You cannot declare a secondary
hashed key.
If the primary table
key is specified under the name primary_key, the table must be an index table, and the behavior is the same as when USING KEY is not specified.
Note
If a sorted secondary key exists, the INDEX addition can be used for all table types, if USING KEY is used.
Alternative 3
... itab
Addition
Effect
This variant is only possible within a LOOP
across the same internal table. The current table row of the LOOP is then
deleted implicitly. If the addition USING
KEY is specified in LOOP, then the variant USING KEY loop_key must be specified for this variant.
If the current row has already been deleted in the same loop, however, the behaviour is undefined.
This variant is not allowed outside of a LOOP and raises a warning in the syntax check, if the check cannot detect (statically) its presence in a loop.
Note
We do not recommend that you use this alternative. Instead, use the INDEX addition to specify the row number explicitly.
Example
The following loop deletes all lines in an internal table, since the short form of the DELETE statement always deletes the current first line.
DATA itab TYPE TABLE OF i.
DATA wa LIKE LINE OF itab.
LOOP AT itab INTO wa TO 6.
DELETE itab.
ENDLOOP.
Addition
... USING KEY loop_key
Effect
This addition is required if the table key used by the LOOP is specified
explicitly in the statement LOOP. It states explicitly that the current table
row is deleted by the LOOP. No other key can be specified apart from the
predefined name loop_key.
If no explicit table key is specified for LOOP, then the addition USING KEY loop_key is optional.