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ABAP Database Access

All the data relevant for all applications in AS ABAP, including metadata and technical data, is saved and managed centrally in the standard database. AS ABAP supports database systems from different vendors. The database objects used as data repositories and to access this data, such as database tables, database views, or stored procedures, are created as platform-specific objects by the ABAP-specific frameworks ABAP Dictionary (including ABAP CDS) and AMDP and are in the ABAP database schema.

  • In ABAP Dictionary, database tables, views, and non-abstract CDS entities are defined as platform-independent objects. Instances of these objects are created in the ABAP database schema when they are activated. At the same time, database tables, views, and CDS entities defined in ABAP Dictionary are also structures in ABAP Dictionary and can be used as globally visible structured types in ABAP programs.

All database objects defined and managed in AS ABAP are known as:

To enable access to database objects, every database system uses the largely standardized language SQL, which can be implemented in different ways to suit specific platforms. The following is possible when accessing ABAP-managed database objects:

For (mostly) platform-independent access to database tables, views, and non-abstract CDS entities in ABAP Dictionary, the ABAP SQL statements embedded in ABAP are used, which themselves are transformed to platform-specific SQL using the ABAP SQL interface in AS ABAP. This method also covers ABAP-specific evaluations, such as implicit client handling or CDS access control.
Framework used to manage and call database procedures and database functions in ABAP.
To use platform-specific SQL in ABAP, Native SQL can be passed to the database as follows using the Native-SQL interface:
  • Using the object-oriented framework ADBC
  • Using embedded Native SQL statements after the ABAP statement EXEC SQL.
Additional specific methods are available when accessing SAP HANA databases from ABAP.
The Object Services framework makes object-oriented access to the database possible by placing a wrapper around the actual database reads in question.

The following topics also deal with important aspects of database access:

LUW concepts must be employed to ensure data consistency when handling persistent data in databases.
Database connections can be used to provide access to other databases too.
The class CL_ABAP_DBFEATURES can be used to detect features of database.

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54


Notes

  • If a SAP HANA database is used as the standard AS ABAP database, it is handled in ABAP programs like any relational database.

  • As well as the statements described here for database reads, the following are also available:

  • The framework for logical databases is an obsolete wrapper framework for database access.

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ABAP-Managed Database Objects

ABAP SQL

AMDP - ABAP Managed Database Procedures

Native SQL

ABAP and SAP HANA

Object Services

Data Consistency

Database Connections

System Class for Database Features