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ABAP Keyword Documentation →  ABAP - Release-Specific Changes →  Changes in Releases 7.5x →  Changes in Release 7.54 

ABAP SQL in Release 7.54


1. Client handling

2. INTO clause revised

3. Definition of associations

4. New aggregate function STRING_AGG


5. New built-in functions

6. Addition DISTINCT optional in aggregate function COUNT


7. Window expressions

8. SQL conditions revised

9. Temporal hierarchies


10. New hierarchy navigators

11. Aggregate expressions in SQL expressions

12. CAST matrix revised

13. Strict mode in the syntax check

14. Syntax check for literals and host constants

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54

Modification 1

Client Handling

The new additions

make it possible to switch implicit client handling from the current default client to multiple clients.

This makes the addition CLIENT SPECIFIED obsolete in queries and obsolete in the write statements UPDATE SET and DELETE FROM.

Modification 2

Extensions of the INTO Clause

The INTO clause has been extended as follows:

  • The new addition NEW can be used to implicitly create anonymous data objects as target areas. The addition NEW now also makes inline declarations possible when using dynamic tokens and after the statement FETCH.
  • The new addition INDICATORS can be used to specify a null indicator.

Modification 3

Definition of Associations

When associations of a common table expression are published using the addition WITH ASSOCIATIONS, new CTE associations can be defined by specifying JOIN TO ONE|MANY. These CTE associations can be used in the subsequent queries of the current WITH statement, either in path expressions or as hierarchy associations in the hierarchy generator HIERARCHY.

Definitions of associations require strict mode from Release 7.54.

Modification 4

New Aggregate Function STRING_AGG

The new aggregate function STRING_AGG can be used to chain character-like results of the rows of the results set of a query or of the current group as a string.

Modification 5

New Built-In Functions

ABAP SQL Now supports the following new built-in functions:

Modification 6

Addition DISTINCT Optional in Aggregate Function COUNT

The aggregate function COUNT( sql_exp ) can now be used without the addition DISTINCT. In this case, it counts all rows in which the value of the argument is not the null value.

Modification 7

Window Expressions

Window expressions defined using OVER can now be used in the SELECT list of a query. Window expressions define windows as a subset of the results set and apply window functions to them.

Modification 8

SQL Conditions Revised

The SQL conditions were revised as follows:

Modification 9

Temporal Hierarchies

The hierarchy generator HIERARCHY can now use the new addition PERIOD FROM TO VALID FROM TO to create temporal hierarchies in which the hierarchy nodes are limited by time intervals.

Modification 10

New Hierarchy Navigators

The new hierarchy navigators HIERARCHY_DESCENDANTS_AGGREGATE HIERARCHY_ANCESTORS_AGGREGATE can be used to calculate aggregate functions for descendant nodes and ancestor nodes. The latter also supports the new aggregate function PRODUCT.

Modification 11

Aggregate Expressions in SQL Expressions

From Release 7.54, aggregate expressions can be specified as operands of SQL expressions.

Modification 12

CAST Matrix Revised

The matrix of types that can be converted to each other with a CAST expression has been expanded. In particular, the new data types of the ABAP Dictionary are taken into account. The new types DECFLOAT16 and DECFLOAT34 can also be specified after the addition AS of the aggregate function AVG.

Modification 13

Strict Mode in the Syntax Check

If one the new features listed above is used in an ABAP SQL statement, the syntax check is performed in a strict mode, which handles the statement more strictly than the regular syntax check.

Modification 14

Syntax Check for Literals and Host Constants

The fact that conversions of host variables in read positions need to be lossless is checked for literals and host constants in the strict syntax check modes from Release 7.50 and Release 7.51 and hence can produce syntax errors. From Release 7.54, a syntax check warning is produced when this rule is broken outside of the strict mode too.