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ABAP Keyword Documentation →  ABAP - Release-Specific Changes →  Changes in Releases 7.5x →  Changes in Release 7.51 

ABAP CDS in Release 7.51


1. Client handling


2. Expressions and functions


3. Cross join


4. Associations


5. Session variables


6. CDS view enhancements


7. Annotations


8. Access control

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Modification 1

Client Handling

The new annotation @ClientHandling specifies the client handling of CDS views and CDS table functions. It replaces the annotation @ClientDependent and makes it obsolete.

Modification 2

Expressions and Functions

The following enhancements have been implemented:

  • In a CAST expression, operands of the types SSTRING can now be cast to types other than themselves and back. Here, the type SSTRING behaves like the data type CHAR.
  • In a CAST expression, operands of the types CLNT, LANG, TIMS, and UNIT can now be cast to the types CHAR and SSTRING. Here, the target type must be specified as a data element.
  • In a CAST expression, the data types CHAR, SSTR, and NUMC can now be cast to ACCP, and the other way round.
  • New Functions
  • The following additional string functions are now supported: UPPER and LOWER
  • A new built-in conversion function FLTP_TO_DEC can be used to convert arguments of type FLTP to packed numbers.
  • In cond_expr conditions, fields of data sources of the type ACCP can now be compared with fields of the same type, and with literals of the type NUMC.

The following changes have been made:

  • In CAST expressions to data elements, the restriction no longer applies that the data type, the length, and the number of decimal places of operand and target data type must match precisely. This restriction can now be applied as an optional restriction using the new addition PRESERVING TYPE. This addition specifies explicitly that casts are to be applied to the semantic attributes of a data element. PRESERVING TYPE suppresses the syntax warning that handles casts of identical technical types.

Modification 3

Cross Join

As well as an inner and outer join, it is now possible to use a cross join in a SELECT statement.

Modification 4

Associations

  • Associations can now be published for union sets formed with UNION. In this case, special rules apply.
  • WITH DEFAULT FILTER can be used to specify a default filter condition for an association. This condition is used as a filter condition in a path expression if no condition is specified for the association here.
  • In a path expression, *: can be used to declared an association as a polyvalent association explicitly.

Modification 5

Session Variables

When a CDS view is accessed using ABAP SQL, it is possible to access the new session variable $session.system_date in which the values of the system field sy-datum are available.

Modification 6

CDS View Enhancements

The statement EXTEND VIEW can now be used to extend the following CDS views too:

For enhancements of the GROUP-BY clause and UNION clauses, the existing CDS view must contain the new annotation array AbapCatalog.viewEnhancementCategory[ ] with suitable values. The value #NONE of this annotation array can be used to prevent any enhancements being made to a CDS view using CDS view enhancements.

Modification 7

Annotations

  • Annotation for Key Fields
The new view annotation AbapCatalog.preserveKey can be used to override the default behavior of the addition KEY for defining key fields of a CDS view. If the annotation is specified with the value true, the key fields defined using KEY are also used for the associated CDS database view.
  • Null Values of Annotations
For each element annotation that is not part of an annotation array, the special value null can be specified (without quotation marks). This means that the annotations are ignored in the evaluation with class CL_DD_DDL_ANNOTATION_SERVICE by default.
  • Metadata Extensions
Metadata extensions are new CDS objects that allow CDS annotations for a CDS entity to be created and transported separately from their CDS source code. Metadata extensions are included by default in the evaluation of annotations with the class CL_DD_DDL_ANNOTATION_SERVICE.
Metadata extensions are created using the DDL statement ANNOTATE VIEW and can be joined to new CDS variants, enabling different extensions to be be created for a CDS entity. Furthermore, each metadata extension is linked to a layer, such as a branch, customer, or partner, which determines the priority if there is an identical variant or no variant.

Caution

CDS variants are not currently released for general use. It is not possible to define

standalone CDS variants and the use of CDS variants in metadata extensions produces a syntax check warning.

Modification 8

Access Control

The following enhancements have been implemented in CDS access control: