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ABAP SQL - Restrictions for Path Expressions

In principle, the same restrictions apply to path expressions in ABAP SQL and the CDS associations or CTE expressions used there as when using a corresponding join expression. For example, a path expression cannot be used together with the addition ORDER BY PRIMARY KEY. These restrictions are documented in the clauses in question. The following restrictions currently also apply:

  • Requirements on the CDS entities or common table expressions
  • The target data sources of the associations of a path expression cannot be database tables or database views with replacement objects.
  • No literals with prefixed #domain or :domain can be used in the CDS associations of the path expression to check the fixed value in the value range of a domain.
  • Due to implicit client handling, no associations can be used whose ON condition accesses the client columns of their source data source or target data source. This cannot be bypassed using the obsolete addition CLIENT SPECIFIED either.
  • Requirements on ABAP SQL
  • If a value greater than 1 is defined for the cardinality of an association of a path expression in the FROM clause for max, an identical path expression must also be specified in the SELECT list.
  • If the addition CORRESPONDING or an inline declaration @DATA(...) is used in the INTO clause of a SELECT statement, any columns of the SELECT list specified using a path expression must have an alias name alias defined using AS.
  • A data source specified as a path expression in the FROM clause can be used in the SELECT statement only by using an alias name tabalias defined using AS in front of the column selector ~.
  • The obsolete addition CLIENT SPECIFIED cannot be used together with path expressions containing CDS associations whose target data source is client-specific. In path expressions in the FROM clause, the source data sources of the associations cannot be client-specific either.
  • If the alias name tabalias is specified statically using AS when the FROM clause source_syntax is specified dynamically, no path expressions can be used here.
  • Path expressions cannot be used in the ON condition of a join expression.
  • In SELECT statements, path expressions cannot currently be used together with the addition FOR ALL ENTRIES.

Other versions: 7.31 | 7.40 | 7.54


Note

Fewer restrictions apply to the path expressions path_expr in the ABAP CDS CDS DDL. If CDS association reads are required that are possible in ABAP CDS but not in ABAP SQL, they can be moved to a CDS view.