ABAP Keyword Documentation → ABAP - Dictionary → Built-In Data Types in ABAP Dictionary
Overview of All Built-In Dictionary Types
The following tables show the built-in types in
ABAP Dictionary and their fundamental technical attributes. For each built-in data type in ABAP Dictionary, the last column specifies the
built-in ABAP type
to which the built-in type is mapped in type references from an ABAP program to ABAP Dictionary. An initial value is assigned to most built-in data types. These initial values are applied, for example, when initial
dynpro fields are displayed, when database fields are
initialized, and in the ABAP SQL condition IS INITIAL.
Other versions:
7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54
General Types
Built-in data types without special .semantic attributes.
Numeric Types
| Type | Valid Places m | Decimal Places n | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INT1 | 3 | - | 0 | 1-byte integer, 0 to 255 | b |
| INT2 | 5 | - | 0 | 2-byte integer, -32,768 to 32,767 | s |
| INT4 | 10 | - | 0 | 4-byte integer, -2,147,483,648 to +2,147,483,647 | i |
| INT8 | 19 | - | 0 | 8-byte integer, -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to +9,223,372,036,854,775,807 | int8 |
| DEC | 1-31 | 0-m, maximum 14 |
0 | Packed number in BCD format | p, length mDIV 2 + 1, decimal places n |
| DECFLOAT16 | 16 | - | 0 | Decimal floating point number | decfloat16 |
| DF16_DEC | 1-15 | 0-m, maximum 14 |
0 | Decimal floating point number stored in BCD format | decfloat16 |
| DF16_RAW | 16 | - | 0 | Decimal floating point number stored in binary format | decfloat16 |
| DECFLOAT34 | 34 | - | 0 | Decimal floating point number | decfloat34 |
| DF34_DEC | 1-31 | 0-m, maximum 14 |
0 | Decimal floating point number stored in BCD format | decfloat34 |
| DF34_RAW | 34 | - | 0 | Decimal floating point number stored in binary format | decfloat34 |
| FLTP | 16 | 16 | 0 | Binary floating point number | f |
See Integers, Packed Numbers, Binary Floating Point Numbers and Decimal Floating Point Numbers.
Character-Like Types
| Type | Valid Places m | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHAR | 1-30000, maximum of 1333 for table fields | m blanks |
String | c, length m |
| LCHR | 256-32000 | None | long character string | c, length m |
| SSTRING | 1-1333 | Empty string | Character string | string |
| STRING | 256-... | Empty string | Character string (CLOB) | string |
See Character-Like Types and Byte-Like Types.
Byte-Like Types
| Type | Valid Places m | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAW | 1-32000 maximum of 255 for table fields | None | Byte string | x, length m |
| LRAW | 256-32000 | None | Long byte string | x, length m |
| RAWSTRING | 256-... | Empty string | Byte string (BLOB) | xstring |
See Character-Like Types and Byte-Like Types.
Special Types
Built-in data types with special semantic attributes.
Date Fields, Time Fields, and Time Stamp Fields
| Type | Valid Places m | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DATN | 8 | 0 | Date | d |
| DATS | 8 | 00000000 | Date in the format YYYYMMDD | d |
| TIMN | 6 | 0 | Time | t |
| TIMS | 6 | 000000 | Time in the format HHMMSS | t |
| ACCP | 6 | 6 blanks | Posting period in the format YYYYMM | n, length 6 |
| UTCLONG | 27 | 0 | Time stamp (exact to 100 ns) | utclong |
See Date Fields, Time Fields, and Time Stamp Fields.
Character-Like Types with Special Semantics
| Type | Valid Places m | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUMC | 1-255 | m zeroes |
Numeric text | n, length m |
| CLNT | 3 | 000 | Client | c, length 3 |
| LANG | 1 | Blank | Language key | c, length 1 |
See Special Character-Like Types.
Currency Fields and Quantity Fields
| Type | Valid Places m | Decimal Places n | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURR | 1-31 | 1-m, maximum 14 |
0 | Currency field in BCD format | p, length mDIV 2 + 1, decimal places n |
| CUKY | 5 | - | 5 blanks | Currency key for currency fields | c, length 5 |
| QUAN | 1-31 | 0-m, maximum 14 |
0 | Quantity field in BCD format | p, length mDIV 2 + 1, decimal places n |
| UNIT | 2-3 | - | 2 or 3 blanks | Unit key of a quantity field | c, length m |
See Currency Fields and Quantity Fields.
Geodata Types
| Type | Valid Places m | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEOM_EWKB | - | Empty string | Geometric data in EWKB representation | xstring |
See Geodata Types.
Obsolete Types
| Type | Valid Places m | Initial Value | Meaning | ABAP Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF16_SCL | 16 | 0 | Decimal floating point number stored in binary format with scaling specified (obsolete) | decfloat16 |
| DF34_SCL | 34 | 0 | Decimal floating point number stored in binary format with scaling specified (obsolete) | decfloat34 |
| PREC | 2 | 0 | Obsolete data type | s |
| VARC | 1-... | None | Obsolete data type | c, length m |
See Obsolete Types.