ABAP Keyword Documentation → ABAP - Reference → Obsolete Language Elements → Obsolete Declarations → Field Symbols

FIELD-SYMBOLS - obsolete_typing

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Obsolete Syntax

... { } | STRUCTURE struc DEFAULT dobj ...

Extras

1. ... { }
2. ... STRUCTURE struc DEFAULT dobj

Effect

These additions of the statement FIELD-SYMBOLS produce an obsolete typing of the field symbol and are forbidden in classes.

Addition 1

... { }

Effect

If no explicit type is specified after FIELD-SYMBOLS, the field symbol is typed implicitly with the fully generic type any. Also, the field symbol is assigned the predefined constant space when the context is loaded. This means that the field symbol is not initial directly after it has been declared, and a check using IS ASSIGNED is true.

Addition 2

... STRUCTURE struc DEFAULT dobj

Effect

If the addition STRUCTURE (which is forbidden within classes) is specified for a field symbol instead of typing and struc is a local program structure (a data object, not a data type) or a flat structure from ABAP Dictionary, this structure is cast for the field symbol <fs>. dobj must be used to specify a data object that is assigned to the field symbol as an initial object.

The field symbol inherits the technical attributes of structure struc as if it were completely typed. For a structured data object dobj, the Unicode fragment view has to match the struc view. In the case of an elementary data object, the object must be character-like and flat, and struc must be purely character-like. The same applies to assignments of data objects to field symbols typed using STRUCTURE when using the statement ASSIGN.

Notes

Field symbols declared using the addition STRUCTURE are a mixture of typed field symbols and a utility for casting to structured data types. The additions TYPE or LIKE of the statement FIELD-SYMBOLS should be used to type field symbols, while the addition CASTING of the statement ASSIGN is used for casting.
In obsolete non-Unicode programs, the full data type is not checked for dobj or in assignments of a data object using ASSIGN. Instead, there is only a check to see whether the data type has at least the length of the structure and its alignment. Here, problems can be caused by the missing checks on trailing alignment gaps.

Example

The first example shows the obsolete usage of the addition STRUCTURE.

DATA wa1 TYPE c LENGTH 512. 
FIELD-SYMBOLS <scarr1> STRUCTURE scarr DEFAULT wa1. 
<scarr1>-carrid = '...'.

The second example shows the replacement of STRUCTURE with the additions TYPE and CASTING.

DATA wa2 TYPE c LENGTH 512. 
FIELD-SYMBOLS <scarr2> TYPE scarr. 
ASSIGN wa2 TO <scarr2> CASTING. 
<scarr2>-carrid = '...'.