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ABAP CDS - cast_expr, Conversion Rules

The following sections describe the conversion rules for cast expressions in CDS DDL.

Data types that cannot be converted to each other are not specified. In these cases, casts are either not possible or only casts between type-friendly operands. If the source type and the target type are technically identical, the content is transferred without being converted.

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Numeric Source Type

Source Types INT1, INT2, INT4, INT8, DEC, CURR, QUAN, DECFLOAT16, and DECFLOAT34

  • Numeric target type

  • The possible target types for all INT1, INT2, INT4, INT8, DEC, QUAN, DECFLOAT16, and DECFLOAT34.

  • The possible target types for source types without DECFLOAT16 and DECFLOAT34 are CURR and FLTP.

  • The source value is converted to the internal representation of the target type.

  • If the value range is exceeded, an exception is raised that can be caught in ABAP using CX_SY_OPEN_SQL_DB. In the case of the target types DEC, CURR, and QUAN, this applies to the integer digits and any surplus decimal places are cut off without rounding.

  • In the case of the target types DEC, CURR, and QUAN, a syntax check warning is produced if it is known statically that an exception can be raised.

  • In the case of the target type FLTP, values that cannot be represented as binary floating point numbers are converted to the next adjacent number.

  • Character-like target type (not for DECFLOAT16 and DECFLOAT34)

  • The possible target types are CHAR, SSTRING, and CLNT (in the case of INT1).

  • The length of the target type must be enough for all potential values in the source type including the sign and decimal separator.


Note

When the source type DEC is converted to a character-like target type, the database specifies whether non-relevant zeros are displayed before and after the decimal separator.

Character-Like Source Type

Source Types CHAR and SSTRING

  • Character-like target type

  • The possible target types are CHAR, SSTRING, NUMC, CLNT, LANG, DATS, TIMS, UNIT, CUKY, and ACCP.

  • The character string is written to the target field as a left-aligned string including leading blanks. If the target type is too short, the string is truncated on the right and a syntax check warning occurs. If the target field is too long, it is padded on the right with blanks.

  • There is no special handling for the special target type for numeric text NUMC and for the date/time types DATS and TIMS. It is advisable to only convert valid values. In the case of the target type NUMC, the built-in function LPAD can be used to create leading zeroes.

  • The target type ACCP must be specified using a data element. The data element must have the same length as the data type ACCP.

Source Type NUMC

  • Numeric target type

  • The possible target types are INT1, INT2, INT4, INT8, DEC, CURR, QUAN, DECFLOAT16, DECFLOAT34, and FLTP.

  • The validity of the content of the source field is not checked, which means that there can be decimal places.

  • The source field must contain a character string that can be interpreted as a number. If not, an exception is raised that can be caught in ABAP using CX_SY_OPEN_SQL_DB.

  • If the value range in the integer digits is exceeded, an exception is raised that can be caught in ABAP using CX_SY_OPEN_SQL_DB.

  • In the case of the target types DECFLOAT16 and DECFLOAT34, rounding takes place to the last significant place.

  • In the case of the target types, INT1, INT2, and INT4, any decimal places in the source field raise an exception. In the case of the target types INT8, DEC, CURR, and QUAN, surplus decimal places are cut off without rounding.

  • In the case of the target type FLTP, values that cannot be represented as binary floating point numbers are converted to the next adjacent number.

  • Character-like target type

  • The possible target types are CHAR, SSTRING, NUMC, CLNT, ACCP, DATS, and TIMS.

  • The validity of the source field is not checked.

  • The character string is written to the target field as a left-aligned string including leading blanks. If the target type is too short, the string is truncated on the right and a syntax check warning occurs. If the target field is too long, it is padded on the right with blanks.

  • The lengths of the source type and target type must match for the special target type for numeric text NUMC and for the date/time types DATS and TIMS. No other special handling takes place. It is advisable to only convert valid values. In the case of the target type NUMC, the built-in function LPAD can be used to create leading zeroes.

Source Types DATS and TIMS

  • Character-like target type

  • The possible target types are CHAR and SSTRING.

  • The validity of the source field is not checked.

  • The character string is written to the target field as a left-aligned string including leading blanks. If the target type is too short, the string is truncated on the right and a syntax check warning occurs. If the target field is too long, it is padded on the right with blanks.

  • The value of the character-like date field or time field is converted to the internal value of the date type or time type.

  • The character-like date field or time field must contain a valid date or a valid time or the initial value. If not, an exception of the class CX_SY_OPEN_SQL_DB is raised.

Source Types CLNT, LANG, UNIT, and CUKY

  • Character-like target type

  • The possible target types are CHAR and SSTRING, which need to be specified using data elements.

  • The validity of the source field is not checked.

  • The character string is written to the target field as a left-aligned string including leading blanks. If the target type is too short, the string is truncated on the right and a syntax check warning occurs. If the target field is too long, it is padded on the right with blanks.